Both Dr. Seuss and "The Looney Tunes" are household names now. We grew up on the fantastic rhymes of "The Cat in the Hat" and the debilitating humor of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
However, a little known fact is that Warner Brothers Animation and Dr. Seuss teamed up during World War II to make a series of Instructional videos for soldiers, titled "Private SNAFU."
Frank Capra, director of films such as "It's A Wonderful Life," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," and "Arsenic and Old Lace," was during WWII a propagandist who made the famous Why We Fight series for the US Army. In 1943, he was commissioned to make training videos for the servicemen. Many soldiers were illiterate and animation was heavily favored by the men, so he conceived the character Private Snafu, an incompetent GI who would be the subject of short (4 to 5 minute) black-and-white cartoons.
Capra hired a cartoonist from New York City, named Theodore Geisel, who later be famous under the pen-name, Dr. Seuss. Geisel became a Captain and went to the animation studios in Fort Fox.
Since Geisel was not a animator, both Warner Bros and Disney put in bids for the production of the "Private SNAFU" series. Warner Bros Studios eventually won out because Disney wanted to retain rights of the character after the war, while Warner Bros did not.
So, Geisel was teamed up with Chuck Jones, the famous director and producer now known for his role in "The Looney Tunes" shorts.
They created the sketches of SNAFU who is basically a rendering of Elmer Fudd, who would later become one of the most recognizable Looney Tunes characters.
They got Mel Blanc to provide the voice for Private Snafu. You might recognize Blanc as the voice of every "Looney Tunes" character ever. Watching the shorts, Private Snafu sounds remarkably similar to Bugs Bunny.
Bugs Bunny makes a cameo appearence in the short "Gas" (1944)
With the team all assembled, in the next eighteen months, there were 26 "Private SNAFU" shorts produced, informing enlistees about issues like proper gun care, gas masks, malaria, keeping secrets, booby traps, and more. Most, if not all, of the shorts show Private Snafu messing up all of these things and usually blowing up or dying at the end. The shorts were simple enough in their teachings. But, they were also hilarious. They have the trademark Dr. Seuss rhymes paired with a raunchy humor style that would only be allowed to be shown to soldiers. Some of the lines and animations would never have got past the Production Code that movies had to follow.
"Spies" (1943)
In the very first short, the narrator introduces Private Snafu, "Situation Normal, All... All Fouled Up," pausing before actually saying fouled. This joke would have resonated with servicemen who knew exactly what SNAFU really meant.
"Coming! Snafu" (1943)
If you thought the "Looney Tunes" were racy, you should think twice before watching these. The shorts include swearing, burlesque humor, and passing nudity.
"Booby Traps" (1944)
Now, The "Private SNAFU" shorts are public domain and can be found on YouTube. They are not only hilarious animations, but also very effective training videos that make you wonder why you are forced to sit through boring instructional videos at your new job. "Private SNAFU" is an incredible part of WWII history and launched the careers of Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones. Forget the Lorax and Tweety Biird, SNAFU should be a household name.
