Coming!! Snafu

The Private Snafu films were clearly made to be seen by soldiers and not by the general public. The dirty jokes, sexual innuendos and language is relatively tame today but never would have been allowed in the regular theaters due to the Production Code. But, such off-color remarks went over very well with the enlisted men and helped to illustrate important information in a humorous and memorable fashion.

This is the very first Snafu cartoon and it is very short--almost like a teaser film. It introduces the character, gives the audience a few jokes AND explains what S.N.A.F.U. stands for--though the word "fouled" is substituted for the actual F-word! As I said above, this is definitely an adult cartoon compared to the standard films made by Warner Brothers. If there was any problem with COMING!! SNAFU is that it's just too short, though it definitely gets the viewer interested in seeing more.

The first of a series of black & white cartoon shorts made for use by the U.S. Army during World War II. The shorts all centered on Private Snafu, an incompetent buffoon who shows soldiers what NOT to do in various situations. The shorts did not have to pass the Production Code so they were usually more risqué than what was allowed in theaters at the time. Mel Blanc did the voice for Snafu in all of them and the directing was handled by some of animation's best at the time. This first one was directed by Chuck Jones and is basically just about introducing the character of Private Snafu. We see how he ignores recommended procedures and daydreams of a curvy blonde stripping (my favorite part of the short!). It's a brief cartoon, clocking in at three minutes. But it manages to make an impact with some nice animation and racy humor.

This is the first appearance of WB's anti-war hero, Private Snafu.

It's only 3 minutes long.

So it's a little short for an actual Looney Tune short.

It's more of an advertisement/comical of the cartoon.

He's known as the worst solider of the US Army.

Snafu stands for "Situation Normal All Fowled Up" which fits perfectly in this character.

It also lists the names of the shorts that he's in as well.

I recommend this to those who want to know who Snafu is.

It's one of the best WW2 cartoons there was.

You KNOW this animated short was made for the military guys, not for kids, when they tell you right in the beginning was SNAFU stands for.....well, almost. They hesitate of the f-word, shake the camera...and then say "fouled" up instead of what it really stands for, but you get the message. The explanation was there because this was the first of the "Pvt. Snafu" cartoons which had the purpose of giving a common-sense message to soldiers on how to behave during a tense war situation.

"Pvt. Snafu" is introduced as "the goofiest solider in the U.S. Army." Actually, as they explain here, he represents dumb soldiers, guys who mean well but "foul up" all the time. He used as an example of how NOT to do things. Mainly, he just dreams about naked women. (Well, I can't blame him on that one.)

There aren't really humorous, at least today, but they served a good purpose and they part of World War II history, even if in a very small way.

I served in the military for twenty five years and served during two wars and in all of that time I knew quite a few "Snafus" Soldiers that didn't deserve the title that had everythingn wrong with them from poor hygiene to being mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence. These old Army training films from World War II must have given our great grandfathers in service a big horse laugh. Starring the "man of a thousand voices" Mel Blanc snafu is one of those people who makes you feel better about yourself on your worst day because you think that at least I am not as screwed up as him. I am glad I found these little gems and get a good laugh from them.