Censored (1944)

When Snafu gets his wish to have his personal mail uncensored by the military, he inadvertently reveals military secrets that lead to disaster.

Stars:

Bea Benaderet, Sara Berner, Mel Blanc

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Bea Benaderet	...	Sally Lou (voice) (uncredited)
Sara Berner	...	Sally Lou's Mother (voice) (uncredited)
Mel Blanc	...	Pvt. Snafu / Technical Fairy - First Class / Japanese Soldier (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

Private Snafu wants to tell his sweetheart, Sally Lou, that he thinks his unit will be sent to the South Pacific. But every effort he makes to get his letter through uncensored is thwarted by a resourceful (and unseen) censor with an array of contraptions and booby traps. Not even Snafu's carrier pigeon can avoid the censor -- not when he has a hawk for an assistant. Technical Fairy, First Class, comes to the rescue and agrees to deliver the letter -- but he has good reason to say that he'll hate himself in the morning.

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Plot Keywords:

private snafu | propaganda | censorship | ephemeral film | it was all a dream | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1944 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

3 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows The Infantry Blues (1943)

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Soundtracks

"Oh, What a Beautiful Morning"
(uncredited)
Music by Richard Rodgers

User Reviews

One of a series of very short cartoons made as training films for the Army by Warner Brothers during WWII.

This is one of 28 short (three to four minutes each, typically) cartoons showing how NOT to be a good soldier and the potential consequences of doing or saying the wrong things. Targeted solely at servicemen, the language was far more graphic and animation more adult in nature on a few occasions. Censored is about the need to censor correspondence home so that the enemy doesn't pick up vital information from the seemingly innocuous, casual remark (i.e., troop movements, location, unit number, et cetera). Private Snafu is the world's worst soldier and the name is an acronym-Situation Normal, All Fouled Up being the kinder, gentler meaning given in polite parlance. Excellent series, well worth seeing. Highly recommended.