Target: Snafu (1944)
Private Snafu skips his anti-malaria drills, tossing aside his netting and repellent, until a wily, wisecracking mosquito tracks him down and delivers exactly the disease the short is warning soldiers to avoid.
Target: Snafu is a 1944 Private Snafu short, one of the WWII instructional cartoons Warner Bros. directors made for the US Army, several scripted in part by Dr. Seuss. Frank Tashlin directed this entry, aiming its gags squarely at Pacific-theater malaria prevention as a single persistent mosquito picks off the private who wouldn’t take his medicine.
Background
Target: Snafu is a 1944 Private Snafu short directed by Frank Tashlin for Warner Bros., which produced the series for the United States Army. The series used the sloppy soldier Snafu to show troops the consequences of careless habits, and Mel Blanc provided his voice. In this short, Snafu skips his anti-malaria drills, tossing aside his netting and repellent, until a mosquito tracks him down and delivers the disease the short is warning against. The short runs about five minutes and was made as training material and morale entertainment.
What to watch for
Pay attention to the way the mosquito becomes the main comic figure, as it outmanoeuvres Snafu at every step of the lesson. The animation is economical, with quick gags and simple backgrounds that keep attention on the lesson. The warning is about malaria, and the film makes its point through repetition: each time Snafu drops his protection, the consequence follows. Mel Blanc’s voice gives Snafu his familiar mix of bluster and self-pity. The short’s directness is typical of the series, which treated health and discipline as subjects for quick, clear instruction.
