User Reviews

Sure, it's a propaganda film. But that doesn't make it any less a classic piece of art. Art is about form more than content. Two of the most classic films of all time -- Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will -- deserve a 10/10 rating for their form, but their content is worse than reprehensible.

Just as DW Griffith was embarrassed by the criticism he received for Birth of a Nation, Disney must have been similarly embarrassed at the reaction it received for Our Friend the Atom. A few years later, they produced an updated (and greatly shortened) version called The Atom: a Closer Look, where they point out some of the dangers of nuclear power that they omitted in their first film. Both Disney films can easily be found on the Internet for free, and are certainly worth a look.

As you can see from the reviews here, nuclear power is a controversial issue. In fact, it's such a controversial issue that it's much easier to find people who completely love it or people who completely hate it. Balanced views are few and far between -- the only balanced view I've seen is the short and informative Wikipedia article on background radiation.

I found out about the film via the anti-nuclear book "The Radioactive Boy Scout." The author mocks the movie as rah-rah propaganda, which isn't far from the truth. Still, nuclear power is becoming a more important issue than ever before, thanks to the impending catastrophe of climate change which we must quickly solve somehow. Therefore, it is important to consider all sides of the argument -- both pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear. You can't hope to learn the truth if you've only seen one side of the story.

So says Heinz Haber in Disneyland's "Our Friend the Atom" -- a fantastic effort at explaining atomic physics that holds up 50 years later. Like Disney's other Tomorrowland documentaries, it combines accurate science and marvelous illustration. You could show this in any high school class -- heck, it should be shown in the first class of most college-level physics 101 courses.

Its descriptions of complicated applications, such as how radioactivity can be used for medicine and biology, sill hold as fairly accurate. (Note, listen carefully, he's not saying radiation will make plants and animals grow, but could be used to tag other molecules as they are processed by plants and animals -- something that HAS been a mightily useful tool in science.)

It also describes the potential of commercially available atomic energy. While it might seem naive to some, this was made before the naive and irrational fear of nuclear energy took root in the United States. Don't dismiss this unique documentary as Cold War propaganda. Like Haber said, the coal and oil we use now is finite and we have better uses for them as raw materials.

Also, safely ignore Leonard Maltin's apologetic introduction on the DVD (all Disney Treasures DVDs, for that matter, we don't need someone to explain to us it is wrong for Donald to use a gun!).

I only wish someone could make documentaries like this again.

This is a Disney film explaining how atomic energy can be used as a power source. Each element has a different atom. Heinz Haber shows us uranium, a radioactive element. Einstein showed that mass can be converted to energy when atoms are split. A single proton can start a chain reaction. Chain reactions can be controlled by reactors and used to make electricity. Someday our coal and oil will run out. This is Disney, and so science and fantasy are combined. A cartoon fisherman harnesses a magical genie to represent mankind harnessing atomic power. This film was made during an era when there was great enthusiasm for atomic energy. Its application has proved to be a long, arduous process. Sort of like putting a man on Mars!

Fantastic mix of education and entertainment! If we had embraced this technology there is a good chance that climate change would be a footnote instead of a crisis. The more you learn about nuclear power the more you like nuclear power!

I watched this recently and am surprised there is only one other review here on IMDb. Disney Studios were masters in production, animation, visual effects, storyline.. This piece is really very well made. The history of the study of the atom in itself is very interesting and here it is presented very straightforwardly and in a way that is very easy to understand. Also, the artwork and effects are very far ahead of their time and still very captivating more than 50 years later. This shows how high the level Disney were at, miles away from any other competitors in the field. I think this has much to do with the man himself. However, I can't help but doubt his aims in producing this film.

This piece is in fact a very nasty, horrible piece of propaganda in favor of nuclear power, with the memories of the Second World War still very fresh. It was designed to literally brainwash young children into thinking that radioactive nuclear power was a necessity and something positive. Sadly, I think it had a very high success rate in regards to that. It might be so, however the dangers and the instability of radioactive sources were already well known at the time and are now more than proved as deadly. By now, they have already altered our planet to a frightening degree. It is clear that this piece attempted and succeeded in lying to generations of young children and planted highly dangerous ideas in their head, disguised as being beneficial and necessary. It is ridiculous that only the last 5 or 10 mins of the program were dedicated to explaining the dangers of nuclear power. And always with a note that the dangers can and are easily controlled. What bull****!!! The enormous consequences of the recent Fukushima event are still unfolding and will continue to do so for a long time now. This is only a small example in the recent past, one in many in the last 50 years. 50 years!!!

I think it is very important to denounce this type of fakery, which at the end it is because it announces itself as something and is actually something very different.

If we are aware of it, we won't allow it to happen again in the future. And I wonder what other interests Disney may have had and how he may have used his company and its productions as a vehicle for them...