History WesternAnimation / PrivateSnafu

A WartimeCartoon series made during the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1940s]], starring the eponymous Private Snafu[[note]]An acronym for "'''S'''ituation '''N'''ormal, '''A'''ll '''F'''ucked '''U'''p" -- though the "Fucked" part would be {{Bowdlerise}}d as "Fouled"[[/note]] set during the struggle of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Produced by Creator/WarnerBros for the Army-Navy Screen Magazine, these cartoons showed Snafu's adventures in the Army. They usually ended with various {{A|nAesop}}esops concerning proper military behavior, via the confoundingly insipid acts of the brash but ignorant Snafu.

* AnAesop: Usually pertaining to the need for military discipline and protocols as well as the home war effort.
** "Gripes": What the Army puts you through may be rough, but without proper authority and training, soldiers' morale can go to pot. In a sense, this can also be applied to the workforce, as without proper guidance, things can go to hell.
** "Snafuperman": It is necessary to study your maps and field manuals before you go out into the offensive, just like how it’s important for using it to explore unknown areas.
** "Three Brothers": Your job in places like Army may seem boring, or even embarrassing, but every little thing counts to ensure success.
** "Fighting Tools": No matter how advanced your equipment is, it's useless without proper maintenance and treatment.
** "The Goldbrick": Slacking on training will leave one physically and mentally unprepared for combat.
** As a whole, the shorts constantly remind viewers that, while the military's training and regulations may be burdensome, war is a life or death situation and these things are necessary to achieve victory and survive.

* LetsMeetTheMeat: "The Chow Hound." Not only does the steer ''want'' people to eat him, but after seeing all the brave men volunteering to serve, he leaves his blushing bride on the wedding night in order to volunteer as food for allied soldiers. Since the episode is [[AnAesop a warning to soldiers not to waste food]], the end of the episode features the ghost of the steer eagerly watching as Snafu eats a plate of him, and actually becoming dismayed and angry when Snafu leaves half his meal unfinished.

The ''Private Snafu'' shorts were largely sealed away after the end of the war, never to be seen again...until Creator/CartoonNetwork aired some as part of two ''Series/ToonHeads'' specials: one about Warner Bros.' lost and rare works and another about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII cartoons. A few shorts appeared as extras in the ''Looney Tunes: Golden Collection'' [=DVDs=] (and there's even a documentary on how the shorts were made and what impact they had on the history of animation). Because the films were created by the US federal government, they have been in the PublicDomain since day one, and some of them are available for viewing on [[http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Amore_animation%20AND%20subject%3A%22SNAFU%22 the Internet Archive]].

** Being made specifically for the enlisted men, these were more risque than the regular Looney Tunes series. In particular, "Censored", which features Sally Lou in just 1940s-era panties, garters, and stockings. There's no actual nudity, but pretty close.

** "The Infantry Blues" has Snafu griping about how difficult being in the infantry is and wishes he was in the Tank Corps, Navy, or Air Force where they have it easier. Technical Fairy First Class shows up to show Snafu that the other branches are just as difficult and everyone needs to work hard to achieve victory.

* InstantIllness: In both "Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike" and "It's Murder She Says", anyone bitten by a mosquito immediately develops all of he symptoms of malaria (and in the case of one unfortunate tree, immediately expires).

* {{Leitmotif}}: Snafu's "Theme" consists of a classic five note snippet called "You're A Horse's Ass", which fits the bumbling soldiers inept personality.

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Though the Nazi forces tend to be given the same silly front as standard ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' examples (right down to Mel Blanc's goofiest German accent), they are treated as much more lethal and resilient, and sometimes even [[TheBadGuyWins successfully bump off Snafu in the end]]. Justified as these shorts were for the purpose of military viewing and showing soldiers to take their jobs seriously.

* TookALevelInBadass: Snafu becomes...'''shockingly''' competent in the last two shorts, which drop the instructional aspect in favor of basic cartoon shenanigans. ''Hot Spot'' has him showing near-inhuman determination in helping transport supplies in the blazing Iran desert up to Russia (with his only major 'screwup' happening because CartoonPhysics decided out of the blue ''not'' to work for him), and ''Operation Snafu'' has him play Bugs Bunny and steal top-secret war plans from the Japanese. Guess the Army won't let you be a screwup forever...

* XylophoneGag: [[TropeMakers Originated]] in the cartoon ''Booby Traps''.

* WeaponsUnderstudies: At least one cartoon was pulled from theaters before exhibition owing to serious similarities to the Manhattan Project, which at the time was a top-secret undertaking.

* BehindAStick: In "A Few Quick Facts about Fear", Snafu and his warhorse manage to behind a tree trunk that is far narrower than the horse is wide.

* BadSamaritan: Goldie the Goldbrick, who is really a Japanese spy hoping to convince enough soldiers to slack off and enable Japan to win the war.

* PolkaDotDisease: In "The Goldbrick", Goldie paints Snafu's face with [[PolkaDotPaint 'measles paint']] to cover him in spots so he can [[PlayingSick feign illness]] and get out of drill.
* PolkaDotPaint: In "The Goldbrick", Goldie applies a coat of spotted 'measles paint' to Snafu's face to allow him to fake being sick.

* BadSamaritan: Goldy the Goldbrick, who is really a Japanese spy hoping to convince enough soldiers to slack off and enable Japan to win the war.

* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Snafu went there at the end of "Spies". Incidentally, the devil wore a lapel pin with a swastika on it. Also, we get a glimpse of Hell again in "Hot Spot".

** "Goldbricking": Slacking on training will leave one physically and mentally unprepared for combat.

!Cameos in the ''Few Quick Facts'' series by other studios

!Planned spin-off series
* Seaman Tarfu in the Navy (Harmon & Ising): Released in 1945. Only short made. Cameo by Snafu.

%%* WartimeCartoon

%% * IncrediblyConspicuousDrag: Snafu in "Operation Snafu". (... what about him?) In defense of the poor short-sighted Japanese gentleman it must be said that Snafu passed the [[EekAMouse Eek, a (Mechanical) Mouse!!]] test. [[spoiler: Also, the Japanese officer ''knew'' it was Snafu, and soon after getting close to him, reaches down his dress in search of the intelligence he had stolen. [[HilarityEnsues Snafu slaps him, of course.]]]]

* IWasQuiteALooker: In "It's Murder She Says", Anopheles Annie says this to other female mosquitos in the bar, and in flashback she does look very attractive--for an anthropomorphic mosquito--before the US Army's malaria eradication programme turned her into the broken down wreck she is now.

* TheCameo: WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cameos in the shorts "Gas" and "Three Brothers". WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck cameos in "Fighting Tools". Plus, Private Snafu himself makes an appearance in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' short "Boot Camping".

!Cameos in the '''Few Quick Facts''' series by other studios

!Cameos in '''Few Quick Facts''' series by other studios

* Secrets of the Caribbean (Chuck Jones): Completed in 1945, masters were sent to the army, but was never released as the war wound down. No extant copies have been found, and it is believed to be a [[MissingEpisode|lost film]]

* Secrets of the Caribbean (Chuck Jones): Completed in 1945, masters were sent to the army, but was never released as the war wound down. No extant copies have been found, and it is believed to be a LostFilm

* Seaman Tarfu in the Navy (Harmon & Ising): Released in 1945. Cameo by Snafu. Only short made.

* Coming Snafu (Creator/ChuckJones): 1943-06-XX
* Gripes (Creator/FrizFreleng): 1943-07-XX
* Spies (Chuck Jones): 1943-08-XX
* The Goldbrick (Frank Tashlin): 1943-09-XX
* The Infantry Blues (Chuck Jones): 1943-09-XX
* Fighting Tools (Creator/BobClampett): 1943-10-XX
* The Home Front (Frank Tashlin): 1943-11-XX
* Rumors (Friz Freleng): 1943-12-XX
* Booby Traps (Creator/BobClampett): 1944-01-XX
* Snafuperman (Friz Freleng): 1944-03-XX
* Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike (Chuck Jones): 1944-03-XX
* A Lecture on Camouflage (Chuck Jones): 1944-04-XX
* Gas (Chuck Jones): 1944-05-XX
* The Chow Hound (Frank Tashlin): 1944-06-XX
* Censored (Frank Tashlin): 1944-07-XX
* Outpost (Chuck Jones): 1944-08-XX
* Pay Day (Friz Freleng): 1944-09-XX
* Three Brothers (Friz Freleng): 1944-09-XX
* Target Snafu (Friz Freleng): 1944-10-XX
* In the Aleutians - Isles of Enchantment (Chuck Jones): 1945-02-XX
* It's Murder She Says (Chuck Jones): 1945-02-XX
* Hot Spot (Friz Freleng): 1945-07-XX
* Operation Snafu (Friz Freleng): 1945-10-XX

* Going Home (Chuck Jones): Planned for 1945
* No Buddy Atoll (Chuck Jones): Released in 1945
* Seaman Tarfu in the Navy (Chuck Jones): Released in 1945
* Secrets of the Caribbean (Chuck Jones): Completed in 1945
* Mop Up (How To Get A Fat Jap Out Of A Cave) (Chuck Jones): Planned for 1946

!Creator/{{Disney}} Snafu shorts:

![[Creator/ColumbiaCartoons UPA]] Snafu shorts:

!Creator/{{MGM}} Snafu shorts:

A complete chronological DVD release of the whole set of Private Snafu cartoons, newly remastered from the best extant film elements, was released by Thunderbean in December 2010. A high-definition BluRay version was released in 2015.

A complete chronological DVD release of the whole set of Private SNAFU cartoons newly remastered from the best extant film elements, was released by Thunderbean in December 2010.

* VomitDiscretion: In "It's Murder She Says", Anopheles Annie runs off and sticks her head over a rock to throw up after being splashed with a drop of G.I. Repellent.

* IWasQuiteTheLooker: In "It's Murder She Says", Anopheles Annie says this to other female mosquitos in the bar, and in flashback she does look very attractive--for an anthropomorphic mosquito--before the US Army's malaria eradication programme turned her into the broken down wreck she is now.

** In "Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike", Mike misses Snafu and bites a tree, which then develops the symptoms of malaria and keels over.

* BoobyTrap:
** Has an entire cartoon on the subject, including one [[GagBoobs very]] [[ActionBomb literal]] example.

** "Snafuperman" is a pretty obvious one to Franchise/{{Superman}}.