Private Snafu

WARNING! This article contains content that may not be seen as age appropriate or upsetting for some readers. It may contain visuals and language that is seen as a product of American propaganda during World War II, in addition to racial and gender stereotypes that are harmful by today's standards. Reader discretion is advised.

This article is about the series of instructional shorts made during World War II. For the character himself, see Private Snafu (character).

Private Snafu
On-screen title card.
Created by	U.S. War Department
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor:	United States Army
Original release	June 28, 1943 ― December 22, 1945
Run time	4 minutes
Starring	Mel Blanc
Producer(s)	Leon Schlesinger
Music composed by	Carl W. Stalling
Writer(s)	Theodor Geisel Phil Eastman Munro Leaf
Director(s)	Chuck Jones Friz Freleng Bob Clampett Frank Tashlin George Gordon

Private Snafu is a series of American instructional animated shorts created by the U.S. War Department, and originally running from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. They were distributed by the United States Army, as part of the bi-weekly Army-Navy Screen Magazine newsreel, and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons for 24 cartoons, and an additional two that were unreleased. Following the end of the war, one last cartoon was produced in 1946 by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, at Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer.

Designed to educate service personnel with low literacy skills, the shorts follow the titular Private Snafu, a soldier of the U.S. Army. His irresponsible actions and bumbling ineptitude are a demonstration to what soldiers not to do, with topics that range from security, weapon maintenance, booby traps, food rations, camouflage, using gas masks, censorship, among several others. They are also noted for their highly irreverent humor – similar to Warner's Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series – but also contained material that is considered more risqué than their usual fare.

Due to the shorts being produced for the U.S. government, all of the shorts fall under the public domain.

Production

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Music

The score was composed Carl W. Stalling.

Shorts

Title	Number	Release date
Coming!! Snafu	1	June 28, 1943
Gripes	2	July 5, 1943
Spies	3	August 13, 1943
The Goldbrick	4	September 13, 1943
The Infantry Blues	5	September 20, 1943
Fighting Tools	6	October 18, 1943
The Home Front	7	November 15, 1943
Rumors	8	December 13, 1943
Booby Taps	9	January 10, 1944
Snafuperman	10	February 6, 1944
Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike	11	March 27, 1944
A Lecture on Camouflage	12	April 24, 1944
Gas	13	May 29, 1944
The Chow Hound	14	June 19, 1944
Censored	15	July 17, 1944
Outpost	16	August 1, 1944
Pay Day	17	September 25, 1944
Target: Snafu	18	February 6, 1944
Three Brothers	19	December 4, 1944
In the Aleutians – Isles of Enchantment	20	February 12, 1945
It's Murder She Says	21	February 26, 1945
Hot Spot	22	July 2, 1945
No Buddy Atoll	23	October 8, 1945
Operation Snafu	24	December 22, 1945
Seaman Tarfu in the Navy	25	1946

Unreleased shorts

The following is a table consisting of three shorts that were never released.

Title	Number	Planned release date	Notes
Going Home	1	1944	There are numerous theories as to why the short was never released, among which include that the "super weapon" depicted was too reminiscent to the American nuclear weapons program.
Secrets of the Caribbean	2	1945	The master was given to the army. It currently exists as a lost cartoon.
Mop-Up	3	1945	The project was planned to be directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at MGM, but was aborted before filming. It was also known as How to Get a Fat Jap Out of a Cave.

Cast

• Mel Blanc as Private Snafu, Technical Fairy, and others

Legacy

This article or section is a stub. You can help the Looney Tunes Wiki by expanding it.