After thinking about things I have watched recently, I realized I haven't been paying as much attention to World War II related content as I probably should. I decided to solve two issues at once and made sure the ww2 thing I saw was a cartoon as well, since those rarely get a review from me. The cartoon is part of the series of ever-evertaining Private SNAFU short films, which focuses on the eponymous US soldier as he informs real servicemen about security, various military subjects, and tries to improve morale. His name is a commonly used military acronym, but I cannot say what it means here for a specific reason (it's easily acquired information anyway). As for this short itself, it stars Snafu (voiced by Mel Blanc) and shows that he is stuck in a miserable, bitterly cold barracks with pictures of pinup girls as well as a record player. The song currently playing has a few lyrics of how nice it is to be at home, and this really gets on Snafu's nerves. He obliterates the turntable with a mallet. He then turns to the viewers and expresses his frustration; the people in his hometown probably don't even know America is at war right now, and the rest of his family members are comfortably living out their lives just as they always have. We're then shown Snafu's thoughts pertaining to what he believes his relatives to be doing as he is busy risking his life overseas for his country: his father is probably still playing pool at a pool hall he frequents while smoking cigars. His mother is most likely busy having all her friends over, talking to them while playing cards and not accomplishing anything else. And as for his grandfather, let's just say he brought his binoculars to a burlesque show for a reason. Worst of all, Snafu's fiancee Sally is free to go out with any guy she pleases in his absence, while he's stuck in Europe with nothing but all the time in the world to think about it. After griping about his current situation, Snafu says aloud that he just wishes he could see the people he knows back home to make sure they're also doing their parts to achieve victory. Hearing his wish, Snafu is visited by "Technical Fairy First Class," (also voiced by Blanc), who proceeds to summon a television screen with his magic wand. Using this, Snafu is able to see that his assumptions weren't so correct as he thought: his father is busy assembling tanks in a factory, his mother grows crops for the war effort, his grandpa rivets the bows of naval vessels, and Sally has joined the Women's Auxiliary Corps. Now feeling much more confident and reassured, Snafu extends his face forward to kiss Sally, who is somehow able to beckon to him through a tv screen. At the last moment, she morphs into the fairy, who remarks he didn't think Snafu cared so much as he flies off. This short was decent. I don't think I've ever actually seen a Private Snafu film before, and this seemed good a place as any to begin, but I was disappointed to learn Chuck Jones didn't direct it (he did quite a lot of them). The character himself was created by none other than Frank Capra. I believe his role in film history needs no introduction, but his great contributions to ww2 related subjects are much more unknown today. Joining the military just after Pearl Harbor, the 44 year old Frank was not eligible to be drafted, as he was above conscription age. However, he wanted to be in the action anyway. During the war, he produced a number of films intended for soldiers, known as the "Why We Fight" series, which are all still excellent today. Given the task of working under George Marshall (one of the only men in ww2 to achieve the rank of 5 star general), Capra spent the rest of the war producing these films and was eventually promoted to colonel. Overall, this Snafu short was entertaining, but anyone who knows anything about the war should already be aware of the homefront contributions americans made. Still, anything that combines a script by Dr. Seuss and Mel Blanc's voice is sure to be fun at least.
