Educational films The first Disney educational film was Tommy Tucker’s Tooth, which Walt Disney prepared for a local dentist in Kansas City in 1922. When World War II arrived, he realized that animation could help in training, by showing things that could not be shown in live action, so he made Four Methods of Flush Riveting as a sample (for Lockheed Aircraft Company), and soon was making dozens of films for the U.S. Government. These films did not feature the Disney characters, but instead utilized graphics, stop-motion, limited animation, and diagrams to get across a point. After the war, the techniques he learned on the war films came in handy as he continued to produce films, such as The ABC of Hand Tools and Bathing Time for Baby, under contract for various companies. How to Catch a Cold and The Story of Menstruation, produced during this period, became widely used in schools. Soon thereafter, however, Walt decided to get out of the educational film business. He reasoned that his business was entertainment, not education. With the advent of television and changes in education in the 1950s, however, he saw that there were ways in which he could teach, but still entertain. One of the finest examples was Donald in Mathmagic Land. After Walt’s death, the company moved even deeper into educational productions, incorporating a subsidiary, the Walt Disney Educational Materials Company (later Walt Disney Educational Media Company), in 1969 and embarking on a prolific program of film strips, films, study prints, and other materials for schools. Many of these materials would win awards from educational organizations. In the 1990s, the education arm was renamed Disney Educational Productions.
