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 (1944-03)
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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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".

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Rumors is part of the Private Snafu series of animated shorts produced by Warner Bros. during World War II. Released in 1943, the cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng.

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<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.

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<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.

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Three Brothers is part of the Private Snafu series of animated shorts produced by Warner Bros. during World War II. Screened for troops in September 1944, the cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng and features the familiar voice of Mel Blanc.

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<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.

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