Anti-War meassage?...not seeing it?

[Captain]

Anybody remember this old film from their childhood?

YouTube - Toys : 6 minute anti-war film from 1966

In Canada, the CBC would air it around Christmas time during the late sixties to very early seventies. Usually between Sesame Street and Mr. Dressup or the Gentle Giant. I used to be glued to the tv whenever it came on, and thought it was the greatest thing ever put on tv.

At the time I completely missed the anti-war message it was trying to portray to kids...and reading the comments it seems I wasnt the only one. Even now, 40 years later, it still looks cool, and makes me want to dig out the old Joes for some good old combat action!

[ctc]

AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! CLOWNS!!!!!!

Even as a kid, stuff like this would have been lost on me. I see this and think "Wow, GI Joe RULES!!!!! Take THAT, Barbie!"

Don C.

[Mikey]

I never seen it or heard of it before.

Guess it never aired in the United States

I'm surprised they would air something so graphic like that directed at such young children.. ie babies.

Like they're the one who start wars.

I don't like it one single bit (for that purpose),

For the toys, it's terrific.

All it needed was voices and it would be Robot Chicken

[HardyGirl]

I think this film (or a similar one) is on my GIJoe commercials video. I really didn't get the anti-war sentiment. I just got kids looking in the window, seeing what they wanted for Christmas.

[megoscott]

Yeah, that just makes war look like fun.

Have you seen the Smurfs UNICEF ad? It's way more effective and VERY disturbing.

YouTube - Unicef - The Smurfs

[Captain]

Yikes! That Smurfs bit isnt exactly subtle.

On the other hand, if you combined the two and had GI Joe blowing the Smurfs off the face of the planet....well thats a cartoon I would watch anyday!

[Werewolf]

Both are in poor taste and I question how effective they are/were.

The GI JOE one more than likely would make little boys want the toys even more and give them ideas to set them on fire. Boys generally like to play adventures going all the way back to wooden toy swords to lead army men and up to action figures. It's a harmless part of childhood and it is pointless and tastless to try and politicize it.

The Smurfs one I've seen before. It was fully authorized by Peyo's family and was intend only for adults and was to air only late at night. But again I question the effectiveness and tastefullness of it. I don't see it being really all that effective on the general adult population and I cringe at the idea of kids seeing it.

[Drain]

I agree about kids being lost on the meaning. It reminds me of the 70's commerical, when they brought the Batman crew back minus Adam West as Batman. Where Batman and Robin are tried up and a bomb is about to go off. Batgirl comes through the window to save the day but instead she starts talking about equal pay for men and women. What little kid cares about that. They only care that Batman, Robin and Batgirl are on TV.

[DocDrako]

Wow. As a kid that would have made me want to play GI Joes. When I was a kid, I was well aware that people killed each other in war, but it was a necessary evil.

Those clowns were freaky. Nightmares for me tonight.

[Mikey]

I love the smurf one.

It's like a dream come true for all the people who totally hated that show

[Wee67]

I do not claim that I had any special insight when I was a kid, but I'm pretty sure I would felt something was wrong there. I may not have been able to articulate that it was an anti-war message, but I would have been disturbed by it. It would definitely not have kept me away from GI Joes, by any means. I'm really kind of surprised this was shown to kids at all.

[ctc]

>Have you seen the Smurfs UNICEF ad?

Holee Smokes! THAT is AWESOME!!!! I've dreamed of that since I was a kid! (I'm not what you'd call a "Smurf fan.")

>I don't see it being really all that effective on the general adult population and I cringe at the idea of kids seeing it.

True. Plus, I don't know if a kid could put it in context enough to get anything out of it other than "some bad people blew up the Smurfs." For an adult it's probably too cartoony to take seriously, and (as is the case with me) could have an entirely different effect depending on their view of the Smurf thing.

Don C.