Sniffles was one of Chuck Jones' early characters. This was during his early years when he was attempting to emulate Disney. Sniffles appears in a handful of Jones' shorts from 1939- 41. One of Sniffles regular companions was a mute bookworm. This is his first appearance.Most of Jones' early shorts had sluggish or dramatic pacing, which Jones' colleagues at the time and even contemporary fans have criticized him for. This is the case for the first half of the short until all the characters break into song and dance, which saves the film from being forgettable.This also falls in the genre of book come to life cartoons, which was a staple of WB cartoons throughout the 1930's. The book (or product label) come to life shorts always featured a popular song. This one being a musical number "Mutiny In The Nursery" from the WB feature "Going Places (1938)". The musical sequence is very catchy and makes it one of the best Sniffles entries.

. . . maroon bow ties, and reading glasses? In SNIFFLES AND THE BOOKWORM, the latter title character scoots his way through a tunnel a couple dozen tomes wide, which he's evidently committed to memory by consuming them. Later, this Creepy Crawly Character is able to elicit the denizens of many volumes to form a jazz ensemble, until Frankenstein's Monster threatens to break up the party. Though Sniffles the Mouse manages to trip up Frank (at least temporarily), perhaps Warner Bros. is using this animated short to warn viewers that we're not out of the woods yet. Just as bookworms endanger entire libraries, Warner warns, film decay--based on the flammable nitrate medium of Sniffle's Day--was (and continues) to endanger the World's Film Heritage. As Steven Spielberg documented, Hugo's mentor had the master copies of his pioneering film shorts turned into World War One ammunition. Maybe the Book People from FAHRENHEIT 451 could preserve the static printed page, but who will come to the rescue of the three million films made before the Digital Age, Warner asks. The World is STILL yearning to see the complete 40-hour director's cut of GREED!

This is one of the most enjoyable and endearing little cartoons ever turned out by Chuck Jones, simple and unpretentious bits of humor that come about all because a "bookworm" invades a bookstore where Sniffles the Mouse is on guard watching out for the classic books.Various characters from the books join in the fun, and mayhem erupts when someone awakens the Frankenstein monster. The merry chases are fun to watch and Sniffles manages to resolve the situation at the predictable end by disposing of the monster.The last scene involves a happy reunion between Sniffles and the little green bookworm. The animators do a great job of giving the mouse and the worm warm personalities. Kids should find it delightful.

Chuck Jones's first star Sniffles was usually known as just plain cute. However, "Sniffles and the Bookworm" is different. This cartoon incorporates the "inanimate objects come to life" genre that twice portrayed books acting out their titles ("Have You Got Any Castles?" and "Book Revue"): Sniffles, a studious worm, and a group of classic novels have a hootenanny and inadvertently wake up Frankenstein's monster.So, for once, we do get to see a different side of this mouse. Of course, I probably speak for most Looney Tunes fans when I say that Chuck Jones got really good once he started directing Bugs, Daffy, and the rest of the really famous characters.All in all, worth seeing.