Merry Christmas (and Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanza, Cool Yule, Blessed Solstice, or whatever holiday greetings are appropriate for your particular creed). Did you remember to get me a present? Aw, that's okay, I know people are pretty tapped out this time of year. If at some point in the future you happen to have a few extra clams lying around, feel free to make a small donation to my translation fund. Obviously people who can't afford to donate or those who are already helping me in other ways can ignore this, but every little bit helps! http://skarohuntingsociety.blogspot.com Here's my Christmas present to all of you. It's the very first Japanese feature length cartoon ever made, a WWII propaganda film written and directed by Misuyo Seo that has to be seen to be believed. My favorite three things about this film: 1\. The fact that apart from Momotaro himself (the famous "Peach Boy" of Japanese folklore) the Japanese navy seems to be exclusively staffed by cutesy cartoon animals. 2\. The "shadow play" in the middle of the film (directed by Kenzo Masaoka, the director of the "Tora-chan" shorts) in which Western colonialists invade an unspoiled native island. 3\. The climax of the film, in which the cartoon animal paratroopers storm an allied base. The allies are hilarious, bumbling, stuttering Caucasian caricatures, similar to the way caricatures of Germans and Japanese people were featured in scores of US propaganda cartoons.