BOOBY TRAPS

Year Published: 1943

Format: 16mm

Description: "A Lecture on Camouflage" and "Booby Traps" are two of a series of "Private Snafu" short cartoons produced between 1943 and 1945. The Snafu character (the name is an unofficial military acronym for "Situation Normal, All F*cked Up") was created by famed director Frank Capra, who served during WWII as chairman of the U.S. Army Air Force First Motion Picture Unit. Most of the shorts were produced by Warner Brothers with Mel Blanc supplying the voice of Snafu. Some of the shorts were written by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and directed by animation superstars Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, and Frank Tashlin. The plots of most Snafu cartoons are straightforward, with the title character showing through his irresponsible behavior what NOT to do in the Army. "A Lecture on Camouflage" was directed by Chuck Jones in 1944. In the film Technical Fairy, First Class gives the troops "A Lecture On Camouflage" with the aid of Private Snafu. Here, Snafu makes a series of mistakes that give away his position, and at the same time he is unaware of enemy soldiers who are disguised as trees and tree stumps. Snafu is eventually killed by a bomb dropped by an unseen German observation balloon. Meanwhile, the Fairy gets to romp with two lovely mermaids. The plot of "Booby Traps", directed by Bob Clampett in 1944, revolves around tripwires, snares and booby traps -- which were a menace for front line soldiers in the war. Here, Private Snafu is shown on patrol in North Africa, where he manages to find a hookah of TNT, a shapely harem girl with bombs for thighs, and a booby-trapped piano which seals his fate.

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