Censored (film)

Last updated

Censored is an animated short, directed by Frank Tashlin, produced by Leon Schlesinger and first released in July 1944. It is part of the Private Snafu series. [1]

Contents

Plot

Censored, 1944

The film opens at nighttime with Snafu attempting to send a message to his girlfriend Sally Lou. He is certain that his unit is going to be sent to the South Pacific Ocean. While attempting to crawl past the censor's office, Snafu triggers an electric eye. He is detected and his message in censored. [2] He later attempts to send a second message in the form of a paper airplane, and a third through a carrier pigeon. In each case the message is intercepted by the ever-vigilant censors. [2]

Finally, the Technical Fairy 1st Class turns up and agrees to pass a coded message to Sally Lou. It contains the exact location of the next big operation, the island of Bingo Bango, but Sally Lou decides to pass the information on to her mother. From there the information spreads through gossip until it reaches the Japanese lines. A buck-toothed and bespectacled soldier notifies Tokyo. The island receives massive reinforcements and camouflaged fortifications. [2]

By the time Snafu and his unit do arrive, a trap is set for them. The entire invasion force is trapped—then Snafu wakes up from a nightmare. The Fairy hands him back his letter and Snafu personally censors the letter to Sally Lou, preventing the disaster. [2]

Censorship

Ironically, a topless image of Sally Lou was censored and edited out. [3]

Sources

Related Research Articles

Private Snafu Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Private Snafu is the title character of a series of black-and-white American instructional adult animated shorts, ironic and humorous in tone, that were produced between 1943 and 1945 during World War II. The films were designed to instruct service personnel about security, proper sanitation habits, booby traps and other military subjects, and to improve troop morale. Primarily, they demonstrate the negative consequences of doing things wrong. The main character's name is a play on the military slang acronym SNAFU, "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up".

<i>Army–Navy Screen Magazine</i>

The Army–Navy Screen Magazine was a bi-weekly short film series which was shown to American military personnel around the world during World War II. It included a newsreel and a cartoon of Private Snafu. Originally titled The War when first released in May 1943, it was renamed after ten episodes. A total of fifty issues were produced until early 1946 by the Army Signal Corps under the supervision of director Frank Capra. The Private Snafu series was designated classified and were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions/Warner Bros. Cartoons, UPA, MGM, and Harman-Ising Studio.

<i>Any Bonds Today?</i> 1942 propaganda song and film

"Any Bonds Today?" is a song written by Irving Berlin, featured in a 1942 animated propaganda film starring Bugs Bunny. Both were used to sell war bonds during World War II.

<i>Swing Shift Cinderella</i> 1945 film by Tex Avery

Swing Shift Cinderella is a 1945 MGM animated cartoon short subject directed by Tex Avery. The plot involves the Big Bad Wolf and Cinderella. Frank Graham voiced the wolf, and Sara Berner voiced both Cinderella and The Fairy Grandmother, with Imogene Lynn providing the former's singing voice.

<i>Hare Ribbin</i> 1944 animated short film by Robert Clampett

Hare Ribbin' is a 1944 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert Clampett and featuring Bugs Bunny. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. on June 24, 1944. The title is a pun on "hair ribbon".

<i>Going Home</i> (1944 film) 1944 film by Chuck Jones

Going Home is part of the Private Snafu series of animated shorts produced by Warner Bros. during World War II. Made in 1944, the 4 minute cartoon features the vocal talents of Mel Blanc and was directed by Chuck Jones. The screenwriters for the Snafu cartoons were typically uncredited, though some animation historians believe that the writer of this short was Dr. Seuss.

Bosko's Picture Show is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Hugh Harman and Friz Freleng. It was the last Looney Tunes Bosko cartoon produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising for Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. The duo moved on to produce cartoons for MGM, the first of which were released in 1934. The music score was a work of Frank Marsales.

<i>Snafuperman</i> 1944 film

Snafuperman is a 1944 animated short comedy produced by Warner Bros. and directed by Friz Freleng. It is one of a series of black and white "Private Snafu" cartoons created for the Army-Navy Screen Magazine and shown only to American soldiers. The "Private Snafu" cartoons were not released commercially, until December 2010. The cartoon's title is a play on "Superman" and parodies the popular Superman cartoons of the 1940s.

<i>Bacall to Arms</i> 1946 film by Bob Clampett

Bacall to Arms is a 1946 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series short planned by Bob Clampett and finished by Arthur Davis, in his second-to-last cartoon at Warner Bros. The short was released on August 3, 1946.

<i>Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike</i> 1944 film

Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike is an animated short film, directed by Chuck Jones and first released in March 1944. It features Private Snafu facing a malaria-transmitting mosquito.

Of Thee I Sting is a 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, written by Michael Maltese and narrated by Robert C. Bruce that is a parody of World War II documentaries. Material was reused from the Target Snafu cartoon. The short was released on August 17, 1946.

<i>A Lecture on Camouflage</i> 1944 American film

A Lecture on Camouflage is a 1944 American animated film directed by Chuck Jones, a Private Snafu cartoon short made for the troops during World War II.

<i>Commando Duck</i> 1944 Donald Duck cartoon

Commando Duck is a Walt Disney anti-Japanese propaganda cartoon starring Donald Duck. It was released on June 2, 1944.

Gas is an animated short, directed by Chuck Jones and first released in May 1944. It features Private Snafu learning the value of a gas mask in warfare. The cartoon was produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The script writers for the Snafu cartoons were typically uncredited, though animation historians consider that several of them were written or co-written by Dr. Seuss and Munro Leaf.

The Chow Hound is an animated short, directed by Frank Tashlin and first released in June 1944. It is part of the Private Snafu series.

Outpost is an animated short film, directed by Chuck Jones and first released in August 1944. It is part of the Private Snafu series. As in all the Snafu films, the voice of Private Snafu is performed by Mel Blanc.

Payday is an animated short film, directed by Friz Freleng and first released in September 1944. It is part of the Private Snafu series. As in all the Snafu films, the voice of Private Snafu is performed by Mel Blanc.

<i>Stop That Tank!</i> 1942 Canadian film

Stop That Tank! is a 22-minute 1942 instructional film created during World War II by Walt Disney Productions for the Directorate of Military Training, The Department of National Defence and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Its purpose, akin to "edutainment", was to instruct Canadian soldiers in the handling and care of the Boys Mk.1 Anti-tank rifle for use in combat against Nazi tanks. The film presented information in an entertaining manner as well as providing an anti-Nazi propaganda message.

<i>Donalds Decision</i> 1942 Donald Duck cartoon

Donald's Decision is a four-minute educational short animated film made by the Walt Disney Studios, for the National Film Board of Canada. The film was released theatrically on January 11, 1942 as part of a series of four films directed at the Canadian public to buy war bonds during the Second World War.

<i>Swing Symphony</i> Film series

Swing Symphony is an American animated musical short film series produced by Walter Lantz Productions from 1941 to 1945. The shorts were a more contemporary pastiche on Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, and often featured top boogie-woogie musicians of the era. While the first cartoon include the characters Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda, it mainly features a variety of different characters created exclusively for the series, with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit making an appearance in one cartoon.

References

  1. ↑ Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 195–196
  2. 1 2 3 4 Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 196
  3. ↑ Cohen (2004), p. 41–42
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.