Home > Private Snafu
Private Snafu is the title character of a series of black-and-white instructional cartoon shorts produced between 1943 and 1945 during World War II. The character was created by director Frank Capra, chairman of the Armed Forces Motion Picture Unit , and the shorts were written by " Dr. Seuss" Theodore Geisel. Although the United States Army gave Walt Disney Studios the first crack at creating the cartoons, Leon Schlesinger of the Warner Bros. animation studio underbid Disney by two-thirds and won the contract.Most of the Private Snafu shorts are educational, and although The Pentagon had to approve the storyboards, the Warner directors were allowed great latitude in order to keep the cartoons entertaining. Through his irresponsible behavior, Snafu demonstrates to soldiers what not to do while at war. In "Malaria Mike," for example, Snafu neglects to take his malaria medications or to use his repellant, allowing a suave mosquito to get him in the end -- literally. In "Spies," Snafu leaks classified information a little at a time until the GermansThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east and JapaneseJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honsh piece it together and sink his transport ship.
Later in the war, however, Snafu's antics became more like those of fellow Warner alum Bugs Bunnycartoons including the Looney Tunes series. Bugs Bunny is a fictional street-smart gray rabbit appearing in the Looney Tunes series of cartoons, and is one of the most recognizable characters, real or imaginary, in the world. According to his bio, he was, a savvy hero facing the enemy head-on. The cartoons were intended for an audience of soldiers (as part of the bi-weekly " Army-Navy Screen Magazine " newsreel), and so are quite risqué by 1940's standards, with minor cursing, bare-bottomed GIs, and plenty of scantily clad women. The depictions of Japanese and Germans are quite racist by today's standards, but were par for the course in wartime U.S.
The Snafu shorts are notable because they were produced during the Golden Age of Warner Bros. animation. Directors such as Chuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones ( September 21, 1912 February 22, 2002) was an American artist and director of animated films, most memorably for the Warner Brothers movie studio. He directed many of the classic short cartoons starring Bugs Bunny and the oth, Friz FrelengIsadore "Friz" Freleng ( August 21, 1905 May 26, 1995) was an animator and cartoonist best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. He introduced several of the studio's biggest stars, including Porky, Bob ClampettRobert "Bob" Clampett ( 8 May 1913 4 May 1984) was an animator and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes series of cartoons from Warner Bros. and the television show Time for Beany''. Clampett showed an interest in animation and puppetry f, and Frank TashlinFrank Tashlin ( February 19, 1913 May 5, 1972) was an animator, screenwriter, and director. Tashlin drifted from job to job after dropping out of high school in New Jersey at age 13. In 1930, he started working for Paul Terry as a cartoonist on the Aesop' worked on them, and their characteristic styles are in top form. P.D. (Philip Dey) Eastman was a writer and storyboard artist for the Snafu shorts. Eastman would later go on to write such beloved children's books as "Are You My Mother" and "Go, Dog, Go!" and to contribute to both the "Gerald McBoing-Boing" and "Mister Magoo" animated series. Voice characterizations were provided by the celebrated Mel BlancMelvin Jerome Blanc better known as Mel Blanc ( May 30, 1908 July 10, 1989) was a famous American voice actor for many animation studios, primarily the Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera studios. Blanc's ability to create voices for multiple characters fir. Towards the end of the war, other studios began producing Snafu shorts as well (the Army accused Schlesinger of padding his bills), though some of these never made it to celluloid before the war ended. The Snafu films are also partly responsible for keeping the animations studios open during the war -- by producing such training films, the studios were declared an essential industry.
After the war, the Snafu cartoons went largely forgotten. Prints eventually wound up in the hands of collectors, and these form the basis for The Complete, Uncensored Private Snafu, a VHS and DVD collection from Bosko Video. Bosko's collection is currently the only one available, but it has been criticized for the poor quality of its transfer.
