Cartoons depictions of non-WWII-related 20th/21st century wars?

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David the old one

New member
Today's discussion topic from me: what cartoons have depicted the *non*-World War II wars of the 20th and 21st centuries that the US was involved in?

World War II gets so much attention (between the actual 40s theatrical shorts and various modern retellings---Grandpa Simpson as a vet, the JLA time-traveling back to WWII, the JSA *in* WWII, etc.), for understandable reasons; however, I'd like to know what cartoons have depicted the other major conflicts of the past century.

Said conflicts I'm considering for the list:
World War I
Korean War
Vietnam War
The Gulf War (90s)
The War in Afghanistan
The War in Iraq

The various 80s "police missions" of the US (Panama, etc.) I'll also consider, or any other real-world minor conflicts the US was involved in during this time.

*Not* looking for: fictional wars, the Cold War in general (a political situation, not an actual conflict), wars from before the 20th century (save maybe the Phillippine-American War which ended in 1902; the Spanish-American War of 1898 doesn't count), or "GI Joe's a govt. backed agency who's been fighting COBRA for years"-type scenarios.

So, to start things off...

World War I:
I'm sure there's various cartoons produced during this era (silent shorts), but not sure if any of them dealt with the "Great War" (as it was called).

Snoopy in "Peanuts" as the "World War I Flying Ace."

Enemy Ace, a WWI pilot, appeared in "Batman: Brave and the Bold".

A neighbor Bart worked for in "The Simpsons" episode "Three Men and a Comic" noted her brother was killed in the first World War by "holding a grenade too long." (which must make her extremely old...).

The Korean War:

Not sure... only instance is a comic book (Pa Kent got retconned into being a Korean War vet in the 90s instead of a WWII one... guessing if not now, soon he'll be a Vietnam War vet).

The Vietnam War

Guessing this one will be the biggest category, since a lot of recent TV cartoons have referred back to this war, even if it makes the characters too believably old/things look dated before long...

Stan's uncle Jimbo on "South Park" and Ned are Vietnam vets.

Principal Skinner is also a Vietnam vet.

The Gulf War

A flashback to this war happened on an episode of "The Critic."

"The Simpsons" apparently also had a flashback (per their sliding-timeline issues) to this war in some episode.

The War in Afghanistan/War in Iraq

Not sure if anything's referred to either of these conflicts yet (probably some Fox series?)...
 
Yep, I think both Family Guy and American Dad have referenced it, along with just about every other major event in history and/or popular culture. :sweat:
 
Stewie and Brian join the military for a while in one episode of Family Guy.

Stan Smith took his son Steve to a Vietnam War Re-Enactment, does that count?
 
Not looking for characters generically joining the military (there's a zillion of those) unless they get sent to a specific war (Vietnam, Iraq, etc.). And no, war re-enactments don't count either... I want the "real thing". :-)
 
It wasn't a generic war. It was either Afghanistan or Iraq. I remember them shooting each other in the foot so they wouldn't have to go only for George Bush to have won the war and sing a song about bringing peace and democracy to one of those countries.
 
Huh, interesting question. I do remember the Family Guy episode where they went to Iraq, though I don't recall there being any combat or anything.

Justice League: The New Frontier starts off during the Korean War, I believe, with Hal Jordan in a dogfight with a North Korean soldier. That's the only animated example I can think of from that war.
 
I think the reason WWII gets the most attention was because it affected the most people. I know my family and as a result I was affected by the War. And it's not just in cartoons it get's such attention, it's movies, TV shows, video games, documentaries and books as well.
 
The Vietnam War was referenced in the Hey Arnold episode "Veterans Day", where Gerald's father is revealed to be a Vietnam War veteran.
 
I think JL/JLU did reference the war in Afghanistan in the episode with Eclipso.

They also in a roundabout way referenced North/South Korea conflict and Bosnia in other eps.
 
IIRC, Bill from King of the Hill is a veteran of the Vietnam War. Considering the time frame the show was set in and during one episode where Bill caused a bar fight over what war was greatest war, and it involved WWII, & Gulf War vets, he mentions "Vietnam, what a war.". Considering that Bill's job on the show is being an army barber, him being in the army is a permanent stable of the show.

Also, I believe there was one episode where there were a conflict between Cotton and some other Vietnam war veterans.
 
Hey Arnold's Christmas episode referenced the Vietnam War. Mr. Hyunh lived in Vietnam during the war, and when American Troops evacuated people from Saigon, he gave them his daughter so she could escape.
 
I believe there was an episode of the Simpsons where Grampa Abe claimed he fought in world war one complete with a cut scene of Abe as a child in the military. Or maybe I dreamed that.
 
Nope. You're not dreaming! It was a scene of when Grampa joined WWI ("Of course I had to lie about my age.").
He was also a WWII vet (like in "Simpsons Christmas Stories" and "Thursdays With Abie").
 
From Cartoon Brew

Since war films depict the politics of thier time, we need to examine the political structure surounding each war before we try to select the cartoons. The cartoons may not openly mention their associated war, relying on background references to tell the story.

World War II was an open war. There was no controversy. But, more recent wars had more political consequences. I doubt any of today's conflict will be directly mentioned outside satires.
 
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