Soldado Snafu - Snafuperman

Snafuperman is a good-looking and amusing cartoon, but as far as Private Snafu cartoons go I do prefer The Goldbrick(apart from the Japanese Goldbrick character). The story does feel a little thin even for a cartoon so short a length and the point about the concept not been particularly inspiring or interesting is understandable and to me that is also the reason. Snafuperman does put its moral across well enough, if on the forceful side. It's also one of the tamest Snafu cartoons, after seeing parts of The Goldbrick and especially The Home Front- though you may argue that The Home Front is a bit heavy on the daring stuff-, not that it's a problem as such but with not as interesting a subject matter and compared to those two it does feel a tad bland. Snafuperman 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 Snafuperman is not an exception, the orchestration is very lush and the pacing is characteristically lively. The instructional parts of the cartoon may not as come across as effectively as it could have done but the humour still shines visually and verbally, the beginning is priceless and the dialogue is appropriately as sharp as a razor and delivered with zany zest by Mel Blanc(one of the most talented, versatile and consistent voice actors there ever was). Snafu is still endearing but is very funny in how inept he is at everything, which provides much of the laughs in his cartoons. All in all, amusing and pretty good but not one of the best Private Snafu cartoons in my humble opinion. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Arguably the most famous Private Snafu short, due to it being a parody of Superman. For those who don't know, Snafu was a moronic soldier character that appeared in many black & white instructional shorts made for use by the military. The idea was to teach soldiers how to properly follow safety procedures and the like by showing them what would happen if they didn't. Snafu was a putz who rarely did what he was told, insisting he knew better. This time Snafu dismisses studying his field manual, claiming he isn't going to beat the Nazis with books but rather a "bellyful of lead." This causes a very funny 'fairy godmother' type of character to show up and give Snafu the powers of Superman in order to fight the Nazis. Despite his newfound powers, Snafu is still a screw-up who almost bombs the Capitol building! This one was directed by Friz Freleng with the great Mel Blanc providing Snafu's voice. It's not quite as racy as some of the other Snafu cartoons but it is amusing and the animation is nice. If you're a Superman fan, this probably has an added bit of appeal for you. Not the best Snafu but enjoyable.

Friz Freleng's 'Snafuperman' is one of the lesser Private Snafu shorts. A warning of the importance of studying your field manual, 'Snafuperman' makes it point rather clumsily. The story, in which Technical Fairy, First Class makes Snafu into a superhuman in order to help him see the error of his ways, is predictable and unfunny. Freleng's earlier Snafu short 'Rumours' had been bursting with ideas and laughs but here the director is lumbered with a rather boring topic and he struggles to make an entertaining short from it. Even at around three minutes long, 'Snafuperman' seems to drag and, unlike the best cartoons in the series, it feels like an instructional film first and entertainment second. Though they were knocked out more quickly than the usual Warner cartoons, the Snafu shorts largely maintained a surprisingly high standard. 'Snafuperman' is a reflection of the sort of quality you'd more reasonably expect from a less talent bunch of creative minds.

A Private Snafu cartoon short that is a parody of the 1940s Superman cartoons.

You even get a snatch of the Superman cartoon theme.

Snafu gets superpowers and becomes Snafuperman as he fights the Japs and the Germans.

However his failure to read the field manual causes him all sorts of problems.

Snafuperman nearly bombs Washington instead of Berlin.

This was a fair parody with the educational aspect being. Read the instructions.

This time, Pvt. Snafu gets tired of reading manuals ("Don't conk the enemy over the head with a book! Pump 'im full of lead!"), and gets to be Superman. His immediate conviction of infallibility and omnipotence may be a metaphor for any superpower's wartime elephantiasis; he embodies the belligerent all-brawn-and-no-brain mentality that takes over. Certainly in "Snafuperman", Snafu learns the hard way that it pays to read the manuals. Of course, he has help from voice artist Mel Blanc and director Frank Tashlin. Worth seeing.

As for that line "Messerschmitts! A whole mess of Messerschmitts!", that line also appeared in the Daffy Duck vehicle "Daffy - The Commando", in which Daffy ribs a Nazi Kommandant.