The Home Front

After thinking about things I have watched recently, I realized I haven't been paying as much attention to World War II related content as I probably should. I decided to solve two issues at once and made sure the ww2 thing I saw was a cartoon as well, since those rarely get a review from me. The cartoon is part of the series of ever-evertaining Private SNAFU short films, which focuses on the eponymous US soldier as he informs real servicemen about security, various military subjects, and tries to improve morale. His name is a commonly used military acronym, but I cannot say what it means here for a specific reason (it's easily acquired information anyway). As for this short itself, it stars Snafu (voiced by Mel Blanc) and shows that he is stuck in a miserable, bitterly cold barracks with pictures of pinup girls as well as a record player. The song currently playing has a few lyrics of how nice it is to be at home, and this really gets on Snafu's nerves. He obliterates the turntable with a mallet. He then turns to the viewers and expresses his frustration; the people in his hometown probably don't even know America is at war right now, and the rest of his family members are comfortably living out their lives just as they always have. We're then shown Snafu's thoughts pertaining to what he believes his relatives to be doing as he is busy risking his life overseas for his country: his father is probably still playing pool at a pool hall he frequents while smoking cigars. His mother is most likely busy having all her friends over, talking to them while playing cards and not accomplishing anything else. And as for his grandfather, let's just say he brought his binoculars to a burlesque show for a reason. Worst of all, Snafu's fiancee Sally is free to go out with any guy she pleases in his absence, while he's stuck in Europe with nothing but all the time in the world to think about it. After griping about his current situation, Snafu says aloud that he just wishes he could see the people he knows back home to make sure they're also doing their parts to achieve victory. Hearing his wish, Snafu is visited by "Technical Fairy First Class," (also voiced by Blanc), who proceeds to summon a television screen with his magic wand. Using this, Snafu is able to see that his assumptions weren't so correct as he thought: his father is busy assembling tanks in a factory, his mother grows crops for the war effort, his grandpa rivets the bows of naval vessels, and Sally has joined the Women's Auxiliary Corps. Now feeling much more confident and reassured, Snafu extends his face forward to kiss Sally, who is somehow able to beckon to him through a tv screen. At the last moment, she morphs into the fairy, who remarks he didn't think Snafu cared so much as he flies off. This short was decent. I don't think I've ever actually seen a Private Snafu film before, and this seemed good a place as any to begin, but I was disappointed to learn Chuck Jones didn't direct it (he did quite a lot of them). The character himself was created by none other than Frank Capra. I believe his role in film history needs no introduction, but his great contributions to ww2 related subjects are much more unknown today. Joining the military just after Pearl Harbor, the 44 year old Frank was not eligible to be drafted, as he was above conscription age. However, he wanted to be in the action anyway. During the war, he produced a number of films intended for soldiers, known as the "Why We Fight" series, which are all still excellent today. Given the task of working under George Marshall (one of the only men in ww2 to achieve the rank of 5 star general), Capra spent the rest of the war producing these films and was eventually promoted to colonel. Overall, this Snafu short was entertaining, but anyone who knows anything about the war should already be aware of the homefront contributions americans made. Still, anything that combines a script by Dr. Seuss and Mel Blanc's voice is sure to be fun at least.

Whenever I see a WWII-themed cartoon - whether a Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoon or a Pvt. Snafu cartoon - it reminds me that the government no longer tells us to actually contribute things to the war effort (except of course to get killed). "The Home Front" portrays Snafu in a miserably cold setting assuming that his friends and family are sitting pretty; specifically that grandpa is watching a striptease! But then, a sort of guardian angel appears and shows Snafu by TV that everyone is contributing to the war effort.

So, it was wartime propaganda, but a clever form thereof. Not to mention that some of the stuff here would have been R-rated for the era (of course, these shorts didn't get shown in theaters). Worth seeing.

Snafu is disliking the weather at the military campgrounds. He starts to picture how much fun his family and girlfriend are having back home. And not knowing how bad the war is.

Until Technical Fairy First Class appears and show Snafu what his Dad, Mom, Grandpa, and girlfriend are doing back home.

This Snafu short has references to the War jobs that are offered during WW2. Including Tank plants, Victory Gardens, Ship Building and W.A.C. It points out that the Soldiers aren't alone in the war as there's a lot of support back home for them to win the war.

It's another good Snafu short. Has some jokes here and there. And a small scene that shows Snafu's vision of his Girlfriend going out with a taller more handsome guy who stares at her breasts when he says "What large eyes you have" Which is the only mature theme you'd see in this short.

The Home Front (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Another fun entry in the Private Snafu series has him complaining thinking that everyone in his hometown are having fun while he's preparing for battle. He thinks his mom is just gossiping while grandpa is watching dirty ladies and his girlfriend is out with other men. We then see what they're actually doing back at home. This series from the War Department was created to train soldiers and it's obvious that the main lesson to take away from this entry is that soldiers shouldn't always think the worst because there are many avenues for "help" during war time. This entry is certainly an entertaining one as the animation is top-notch and once again Mel Blanc is good with his vocal work. I really liked the sequences showing what grandpa was supposed to be doing as they've got some adult nature to them.

Private Snafu is dealing with the miserable cold and grousing that his family back home is probably living it up without a care in the world. The Technical Fairy, First Class shows up to let Snafu see how wrong he is and we see that his family and girlfriend are working hard contributing to the war effort at home. A fun entry in the Snafu series of shorts made for use by the US Army during WW2. Because they didn't have to pass the Production Code, these shorts often had more racy humor and images than other cartoons from the period. Highlights of this one include Snafu's grandfather watching strippers and a horse making manure jokes. The black & white animation is nice. The voice work from Mel Blanc is wonderful. It's not the best Snafu short but it is very enjoyable.