The animated film, the composite art form that blossomed during World War II, became a means of wartime mobilization for many countries, Axis and Allied alike. This rare study unearths the buried history of the copious propaganda films produced in the 1930s and 1940s, centering on the Tripartite Pact nations and the chief Allied Powers, and paints a vivid picture of the multiple leaders of the early animation world. It also analyzes the ideology and poetics involved. The expanded Japanese edition adds many illustrations to the highly acclaimed original.