User Reviews

During the Second World War the animation studios did a lot of informational films. This two-reel combination cartoon and live action from the Disney Studios was meant to show Canadian troops how to care for and use their anti-tank guns. It is enlivened by a short cartoon at the beginning showing Hitler and a bunch of heiling tanks being taken out by some anti-tank troops. Then follows the instructional, live action sections, and the whole thing is ended by a cartoon gag, showing a Private-Snafu-type of soldier in a British helmet going to bed with his anti-tank gun.

You may, of course, find the instructional section rather dry, but the cartoon sections are fairly amusing.

This is a case where I'll withhold rating a film--mostly because it really is not the sort of thing you can score. That's because the cartoon is NOT meant for the general public and its value is quite ephemeral. It's a movie made by the Disney Studios for the Canadian government. In fact, during WWII, the studio made several films for the Canadians--all in an effort to bolster the war effort. Of course, the studio also made many cartoons for the American government at that time.

"Boys Anti-Tank Rifle" (also called "Stop That Tank") was a film made in an effort to allay the fears of men who were given this anti-tank gun. That's because it had a terrible reputation and was only effective on light tanks. Heavily armored tanks simply were too difficult for the Boys to damage. So, the film uses a bit of humor and mostly cartoon simulations of the gun as well as live footage to explain its use as well as to insist that it IS effective and useful (which, in many instances, it wasn't).

So is this film worth seeing? Well, for the average viewer, absolutely not. However, for history lovers, it's worth seeing--though certainly not a 'must-see' movie.

If your into WW2 history (hence why I watched this) then maybe this is worth a look at but unless you want detailed instructions on how to fire and maintain a Boys anti-tank rifle I can't really see much point watching this.

The cartoon at the start is interesting if you're into old cartoons but they make up such a small part of the overall film that they're not enough to provide a suggestion.