Rumors

This Snafu short has a lesson not to spread bad rumors about the war.

But knowing Snafu he ends up telling it to one guy then told to another, and another till the whole rumor is spread out in the base.

This short has allot of random stuff to it. Not to mention the large use of talking baloney that say nothing but Rumors. A Horn Bird and Bed Gator that are similar to Dr. Seuss's Animals. And a Smoke being as well.

Snafu gets frighten by all those things. I wouldn't blame him since I too would be creep out if I see Balony talking to me.

It's another good snafu cartoon. Random but good to view.

Very entertaining Private Snafu cartoon made for use by the U.S. military during World War II. This one's directed by Friz Freleng with a script by Dr. Seuss and Phil Eastman. Here we see Snafu learn a lesson about gossiping and the unintended impact it can have. He takes one comment from another G.I. about "bombing weather" and tells it to another, changing the meaning and tone of the original comment to something more sinister. Then that soldier tells another, who tells another, and so on, with each telling growing more and more exaggerated until the final result is a widespread panic about a Japanese invasion of the U.S. It's a fun short, possibly the best in the whole Snafu series, with lots of wacky Dr. Seuss touches and great black & white animation. The scene where Snafu is chased up a telephone pole is terrific stuff.

Friz Freleng's 'Rumours' is an excellent Private Snafu cartoon that warns against spreading panic-inducing rumours during wartime. Produced, as were all the Snafu shorts, to be shown to military audiences as entertaining instructional films, 'Rumours' is extremely imaginative and crams tons of ideas into its very brief lifespan. When Snafu starts a rumour about a bombing, it escalates into an eventual rumour that America has lost the war. This is illustrated brilliantly by way of a long, rubbery piece of baloney and several strange, fictional creatures who come back to haunt Snafu with ever more terrible news about his country's military. 'Rumours' is inventive, fast paced and funny, all of which help to overshadow the rather laboured, "don't badmouth the military" message. It stands up as one of the best of the Private Snafu shorts.

Many of the Private Snafu cartoons are very enjoyable, being very well-made, entertaining and educational with good morals and interesting historical and instructional material. Even when inept, Snafu is still very much endearing and fun for a vast majority of his cartoons.

'Rumors' is up there with the best Private Snafu cartoons, certainly one of the most entertaining and most creative. In hindsight the message may be a little on the laboured side, but still makes its point without being preachy or patronising. It warning against rumour spreading and its consequences if done is educational and come to think of it is still very much relevant now.

As usual, 'Rumors' is very well-animated though with fluid character designs, detailed and not sparse backgrounds and lively colours/shadings. Carl Stalling always did write outstanding music for the many cartoons he scored for and that is true for 'In the Aleutians', the orchestration is very lush and the pacing is characteristically lively.

The narration entertains, resonates and teaches and doesn't fall into the trap of over-explaining or being over-used. Snafu endears and amuses even when so inept at what he does, while the writing is classic Dr Seuss and gets increasingly wilder, more creative and at times more nightmarish the bigger the rumours get. The voice acting is suitably zesty.

Overall, great and one of the best Private Snafu cartoons. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Rumors (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Fun entry in the series has Private Snafu hearing a brief comment regarding a bombing so his over-active brain thinks that something must be about to happen. He tells one soldiers about the bombing and soon rumors are spreading all over the place. This War Department short is another good entry in the series as once again we're treated to some excellent animation and there's Mel Blanc's once again terrific vocal work. Fans of Daffy Duck will also notice the same voice being done during one sequence here. For the most part this here is one of the most entertaining in the series because the spreading of the rumor was done in a very fun and creative way. Director Friz Freleng certainly knows how to "spread" the rumor and there are some nice laughs throughout.