Without rival, the zaniest U.S. government films are the Private Snafu cartoons. Released between 1943 and 1945 to World War II personnel, the Snafu" series was a regular part of the Army-Navy Screen Magazine, an anthology of entertainment and information. The word "snafu" had entered the language at the start of the war as an obscene acronym that spread rapidly among enlistees: "s(ituation) n(ormal), a(ll) f(ouled)--a euphemism--u(p)," as Webster's politely puts it. Private Snafu regularly "f***ed up" in outlandish ways that connected with soldiers and taught military lessons. Spies, from August 1943, imagines what can happen when a blabbermouth unknowingly spills military secrets. It's the animated equivalent of a Loose Lips Sink Ships poster.
