A 1945 Educational Animated Short by Disney and General Motors About the Proper Use of Hand Tools

“The ABCs of Hand Tools” is an educational animated short that was made by Disney and sponsored by General Motors in 1945. The film uses a character named “Primitive Pete” to demonstrate the proper use of hand tools.

The film, which is in Technicolor, is fully animated and opens with a caveman character “Primitive Pete” seen inventing the first hand tool: an early model hammer made from stone with a stick handle. The film then goes on to elegantly show different types of basic hand tools…

This classic film comes from the archives of Periscope Film.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k.

The ABCs of Hand Tools
ABCs of Hand Tools Disney
Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.