Hot Spot

Another entry in the Private Snafu series made for use by the US Army during World War II. This one's directed by Friz Freleng and focuses on the hazards of transporting supplies across the mountains and desert areas of the Middle East. The Devil (voiced by the Great Gildersleeve himself, Harold Peary) leaves his cushy seat in Hell to go to Iran because he's told how hot it is and refuses to believe it's anything more than propaganda. He discovers it's true as he watches a group of soldiers (including a surprisingly mature if still not entirely competent Snafu) work in the scorching heat to transport supplies across dangerous terrain. Fun stuff helped greatly by Peary's marvelous voice work.

This Snafu short is educational and funny to watch.

The Devil who is working in his office in Heck received a call about a place hotter than where he's at. He goes to the place hotter than Heck which is Iran.

Throughout the short the Devil watches the U.S. Army build camps and transport shipments to Russia. He reads facts and info of the country. We even get to see Snafu do his usual screw ups.

Some funny parts here and there.

I recommend this short to those who want to know the basics of Iran.

All and all it's another Worthy Snafu Cartoon.

To me there are better and funnier Private Snafu cartoons than Hot Spot, especially Spies and Booby Traps, Hot Spot outside of the Devil's heat reaction and the camel(both of which are funny) is more amusing than hilarious. Snafu while still likable and entertaining has also been more interesting, here he is in a secondary role and there are cartoons in the Private Snafu series that do a better job at showing Snafu's appeal.

However that is not to knock the cartoon because Hot Spot is still very well done and interesting. The animation is slick and fluidly drawn and the black and white is very crisp. If you are a fan of Carl Stalling, which I am, his music here does not disappoint, lively, lush and filled with energetic character it is quite possibly the best thing about the cartoon. The cartoon is entertaining and there are two particularly fun moments, but again the series has been funnier. The story is a good length and goes at a cracking pace, Hot Spot is more an informational cartoon and the cartoon certainly is informative and doesn't preach so it does a good job in that respect. Snafu is likable but the Devil is the more interesting character and features more, good news is the Devil is a great and engaging character being cute and amusing. Mel Blanc and Harold Peary's voice work is fine, no complaints in this regard.

Overall, interesting, informative and well done but not one of the best in the series. 8/10 Bethany Cox

During WWII, the US government financed a series of Private Snafu cartoons. Using a wonderful sense of humor, they were able to convey important messages to the troops--and the films were not shown to the general public. You can tell this in a few of the films, as the humor is a bit more adult than you could have gotten away with in theaters. Today, you can find these shorts on DVD as well as for free downloads at archive.org.

The purpose of "Hot Spot" is to familiarize troops about conditions in Iran, as this was used as a staging point to bring war supplies to the Soviet Union. The Devil himself hears about how hot it is there and decides to have a look for himself. There he sees Snafu and the rest of the troops working amazingly hard in the sun. Most of it isn't all that funny, but the Devil was quite cute and engaging. Worth seeing but not brilliant. Oh, and by the way, it does NOT get up to 180 degrees there....ever.