Destination Earth (1956)

A Cold War lesson on why Big Oil and Capitalism are great things

Produced at the height of the Cold War, and made at the behest of the American Petroleum Institute (still the biggest lobby for the U.S. oil and gas industry), this great little promotional film from John Sutherland Studios champions not only the wonders of oil as might be expected, but also free-market capitalism.

John Sutherland voiced the adult Bambi in the 1942 film Bambi. Sutherland produced 45 films from 1945–1973 promoting capitalism and the drawbacks of government regulations.

Synopsis

Destination Earth begins on the planet Mars, where the emperor Ogg (reminiscent of Stalin) is addressing an arena of his subjects. During the speech, Ogg dictates his audience's reactions, through a remote-controlled teleprompt. He then welcomes a bumbling subordinate Martian, Captain Cosmic, onto the stage to share his discoveries from a mission to Earth.

In a flashback scene, Cosmic exalts Ogg's ingenious discoveries, such as Ogg-Energy (a Martian powered treadmill). However, Ogg's method of powering his royal limousine with Ogg-Stick dynamite proves faulty; thus, he orders Captain Cosmic into space to find out other planets' energy sources. The Martian sets off and lands in the United States. He ventures into a nearby city and becomes awestruck when he sees average citizens with "powerful and reliable automobiles" that make their daily lives easier.

The Martian then enters a library and researches the "secrets" of the remarkable power source. The Martian triumphantly returns to Mars with stolen library books on the oil industry. After reading from them, the population of Mars deserts Ogg and sets up their own oil companies. The short ends with the slogan "destination unlimited" written across the screen. ~ Wikipedia