Snafuperman

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Snafuperman
Snafuperman.PNG
Technical Fairy, First Class, transforms Private Snafu into Snafuperman.
Directed by I. Freleng
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Starring Mel Blanc
Tedd Pierce
Music by Carl Stalling
Color processBlack & white
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
March 1944
Running time
5 minutes
LanguageEnglish
The 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.

Contents

Synopsis

Snafu annoys his fellow soldiers by listening to loud swing music and banging pots and pans in rhythm. The other soldiers at the barracks are busy studying maps, field manuals, and air recognition charts. Snafu dismisses their interest in studying, and claims he is not going to clunk the enemy over the head with books. [1] In response, Technical Fairy, First Class—a miniature, shirtless, gravel-voiced G.I. with wings, who appears in nine of the shorts—grants Private Snafu the powers of Superman in order to fight the Nazis. But Snafu is still Snafu.

His first task is to transport a bomb to Berlin and bomb it. He refuses to read a map and ends up in Washington, D.C. He drops the bomb over the United States Capitol. The Fairy stops the bomb and informs Snafu that the Americans are on their side, and Snafu melts into a puddle in the air in embarrassment over his near blunder. [1] His next task involves stopping a "lumbering Japanese tank". He has actually misidentified an American tank and angers its commander, an American general. He nervously salutes the officer. [1]

He next spots "a mess of Messerschmitts" about to bomb an American port. He successfully intercepts their aerial bombs and piles them up on a pier. As he proudly sits upon the pile, while claiming that they're harmless as a burned out match, he fails to recognize the delay-action bombs among them. They explode beneath him. As a result of his own ignorance, Snafu ends up hospitalized. The Fairy visits him, asking if there is anything he could do. Snafu angrily demands a field manual, ending the short. [1]

Analysis

The short is one of several satirical takes on Superman produced during World War II. The purpose of the short was to entertain and educate low-literacy enlisted men. [2] Snafu ends up doing the wrong thing because of his refusal to read his field manual. [2]

The short uses a segment of Sammy Timberg's theme for Superman, which was previously heard in the Superman shorts by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios. Stalling was able to use the song without any legal issues since the Private Snafu shorts were meant exclusively to educate US soldiers and not for public viewing.

Availability

The "Private Snafu" cartoons have fallen into the public domain and are widely available in free downloads and on unofficial VHS and DVD releases. Many have also been released officially. Snafuperman is a bonus feature on Warner Home Video's Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 and Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition (coincidentally, Warner Bros. and Superman's publishers, DC Comics, merged in 1969, which made the cartoon's inclusion in the latter set possible).

See also

Sources

Related Research Articles

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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.

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.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 192
  2. 1 2 Weldon (2013), p. 68-69

References