''Spies'' is part of the '' Private Snafu'' series of animated shorts produced by Warner Bros. during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Released in 1943, the cartoon was directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, pro ...

and features the vocal talents of

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...

. It was included as part of the

International Spy Museum The International Spy Museum is an independent non-profit museum which documents the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage. It holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display. The museum open ...

exhibits, specifically the exhibit showcasing World War II-era spying.

Plot

Private Snafu has learned a secret, but the

enemy An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...

is listening and he'd better zipper his lip, and keep his brain secure with a padlock and chain. However, Snafu little by little lets his secret slip (by telling the audience, calling his mom, telling a magazine salesman, and drunkenly relaying it to a bar girl who works as a

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

spy, due to drinking an entire bottle instead of the glass he was given): His ship is about to set sail for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

at 4:30. The information is picked up by spies and quickly relayed to Fuehrer

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

, who orders the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

to attack the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

fleet, which they do, shooting Snafu with torpedoes when he falls in the water after yelling for the ship to go "full speed ahead" to escape. He then ends up in

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

boiling in a cauldron, demanding to know who leaked the secret out. Adolf Hitler as well as Hitler's staff then appear as demons and reveal that he gave away the secret he was entrusted to keep, and then show him a mirror that reveals a horse's butt. A scene in which Private Snafu becomes drunk is musically accompanied by an excerpt from

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

's composition, " Powerhouse".

References

* Friedwald, Will and Jerry Beck. ''The Warner Brothers Cartoons''. Scarecrow Press Inc., Metuchen, N.J., 1981. .

External links

* * * 1943 films 1943 animated films 1943 short films 1940s spy films Short films directed by Chuck Jones Articles containing video clips Private Snafu Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler American World War II propaganda shorts Films scored by Carl Stalling Films produced by Leon Schlesinger World War II spy films American black-and-white films 1943 comedy films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films {{1940s-short-animation-film-stub