The armed services also used a series of animated cartoons to teach new recruits the importance of discipline and following military regulations. One of the most memorable was the Private Snafu series, written by Ted Geisel (better known as children's author Dr. Seuss) and Phil Eastman, and directed by legendary Warner Brothers animators Chuck Jones, Fritz Fre-leng, and others. The instructional cartoons, which relied heavily on humor to convey their very important messages, covered everything from the hazards of spreading rumors to the need for camouflage.

Many theatrically released animated cartoons from Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, and other studios also addressed the war. Perhaps best known among the dozens of cartoons produced during the war years is the Academy Award–winning Donald Duck cartoon Der Führer's Face (1943), which mocked Adolf Hitler as a buffoon. Other wartime animated classics include Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (Warner Brothers, 1944), in which Bugs takes on stereotypical Japanese forces; Herr Meets Hare (Warner Brothers, 1945), in which Bugs tangles with Nazi Hermann Goering by disguising himself as Hitler and Joseph Stalin; The Blitz Wolf (MGM, 1942), which features a wolf in Nazi clothing; and Swing Shift Cinderella (MGM, 1945), a war-era retelling of the classic fairy tale.