Coming! Snafu! (1943)
The cartoon that introduces 'the world's worst soldier' — Private Snafu bumbles through basic training, setting up the recurring gag of a well-meaning GI whose every shortcut becomes his own undoing.
Directed by Chuck Jones, Coming!! Snafu is the series opener, establishing the title character and format — Dr. Seuss and the Warner Bros. animation unit’s blueprint for teaching real soldiers safety lessons by making an example of a hapless cartoon private.
Background
Coming! Snafu! is the first Private Snafu short, released in 1943 and directed by Chuck Jones for the U.S. Army. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation under contract with the Army Signal Corps, with writing that included Dr. Seuss and a voice performance by Mel Blanc. It was made to teach soldiers through humor, and the series ran from 1943 to 1946. The short establishes Snafu as the title character and sets the format that later entries follow.
What to watch for
The short introduces the central gag: a well-meaning soldier whose shortcuts turn against him. Watch the early scenes of basic training, where Snafu cuts corners and misreads instructions, setting up the consequences that follow. The format is quick and comic, with a narrator delivering the lesson alongside the animation. Jones’s animation style is visible in the character’s movements and expressions, which give Snafu a recognizable comic personality. The short runs only a few minutes, reflecting its purpose as a training film and the series’ habit of making an example of one hapless soldier.
