This is a short done during World War II for the US Army under a contract with Warner Brothers studio. There will be spoilers ahead:This is the second Private Snafu short (Coming! Snafu is a introduction to the character which doesn't have a specific lesson other than to reveal Snafu as a bad soldier).Snafu is disgruntled at his lot in the army. He's shown on KP, being giving shots by the army doctors and laying in bed sick. While sick, he complains that he could do a better job running the command. At this, we meet Technical Fairy, First Class for the first time and he gives Snafu his opportunity. Be careful what you wish for.Snafu essentially eliminates all discipline by ending drills, requirements to wear uniforms, getting each soldier two girls and in general eliminating anything which even smacked of hard work or rules. The results of this are predictable. Snafu has no command, as his men are no longer soldiers.Then the Nazis attack and Snafu is alone, his men ignoring him and telling him where to go when he tries to get them to fight. Snafu gets it in the end, literally. The end is excellent.This short is available on various DVDs and online and it's well worth watching. Recommended.

"Gripes" is a very good Warner Bros. cartoon made specifically for all the various branches of the United States Army. Starring Pvt. Snafu (voiced by Mel Blanc) and featuring quite a bit of rhymed verse by Dr. Seuss, this short has our hero on KP duty, peeling a gigantic mound of potatoes. You think Snafu likes it? Nah! So he fantasizes about how much relaxation he & his fellow soldiers could have if HE were in charge of things.There are three sequences in "Gripes" that I especially like. First, Snafu's scantily-clad female tattoo gets an injection in the ass, after which Snafu gets an injection in his OWN ass! Second, an aerial bomb halts in midair where it produces a pair of mechanical arms digging Snafu out of the ground and placing a bull's-eye target on his ass. And third, a group of happy soldiers go cruising with a few chicks while they sing a "Hooray for Snafu" song, and another soldier in an outhouse - I sure am talking a lot about asses, ain't I? - remarks how glad he is about not having to clean any more latrines; then another soldier struts around with a catchy rhyme about his zoot suit.You can catch "Gripes" as one of the bonus cartoons on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 Disc 3.

The message here to soldiers is that griping about their predicament all the time is not a productive way to spend their years in service in World War II. "Pvt. Snafu" is seen early on complaining about having KP and wondering why he's not out there killing Germans and Japanese like other guys.When he's lying in his bunk later still griping about how he would runs things differently if he were in charge, a "Technical Fairy, First Class" materializes out of nowhere (a pretty funny looking guy, by the way!) and instantly makes him a bigwig with tons of stripes on his uniform.The other main message of this cartoon - that discipline is essential - is then shown thrown through Snafu's ultra-liberal techniques in which the men under him can relax, have fun and not worry about doing anything they don't like.....which is shown NOT to be the way to the run the Army.Notes: I think this was the second "Pvt. Snafu" animated short, the first being an introduction of him. It is four minutes long, not three as listed here.

This starts out with Snafu telling that he was hoping to start fighting the Germans and Japanese. But he ends up doing the cleaning and community Service at the Army Base.He hates the way the army is, and the way it's treating him.He wished to make the army different if he were in charge.Luckily his wish came true with the help of Technical Fairy First Class. Who gives Snafu more Ranks to make him the boss of the Army Base.It's the greatest thing that happened to Snafu. But being the boss isn't as great as it seems.This is one of the best Friz Freleng Snafu cartoons next to "Fighting Tools".Recommended to all the fans of Friz Freleng's toons.