Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike (1944)

Very disappointing...

the audience applauded

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

. . . continues with PRIVATE SNAFU VS. MALARIA MIKE. Since MIKE's daughter refers to him as "Daddy" during this animated short's final scene, there can be no doubt about the willful ignorance of basic Birds & Bees, Facts of Life, Sex Education 101-type stuff being foisted off by Warner Bros.' team of City Slickers on Captive Boot Camp audiences including a mixture of their fellow Urbanites, along with a generous helping of Country Boys. Mankind, of course, has known since the days of the Ancient Greeks that only FEMALE mosquitoes bite, sucking up their obligatory four or five lifetime "blood feasts" to propagate their species. So what kind of Conspiratorial Scam are Hollywood's Looney Tuners trying to pull off with their wrong-headed MIKE? Given that about half of this cartoon is comprised of views of Pvt. Snafu's bare butt, having a male character so Hell-bent on drilling it strongly suggests the promotion of a Gay Agenda. Though any overt intimation of the sort would have been considered as a "Crime against Nature" during Snafu's 1940s heyday, MIKE's behavior is against Nature to begin with, so what's one violation more?

"Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike" is another of these Snafu cartoons and it runs for almost 5 minutes. The only somewhat interesting part was when we see the tree show the symptoms of malaria. The rest of this black-and-white film was very forgettable. The title isn't true either as for the entire film it was really the other way around and Snafu did not even know about Mike trying to bite him. He was pretty lucky with not being bitten on several occasions. So yeah, even with the inclusion of legends like Jones, Blanc and Bletcher, not everyone can be a winner and I thought this was a cartoon that neither delivered in terms of comedy nor knowledge. It is only interesting for historical reasons because we see here how the army tried to get the people/soldiers aware of certain dangers. I do not recommend watching.

Another in the series of black & white cartoon shorts made for the U.S Army during World War II about moronic Private Snafu, a soldier who never does what he's supposed to and suffers the consequences. This one is about educating soldiers on malaria and how best to protect themselves from it. An evil mosquito named Malaria Mike gets a sight of Snafu washing his bare butt in the swamp and decides he likes what he sees. In an amusing gag, he pulls out a chart that shows the different places on a soldier's body that are "choice cuts." The rest of the cartoon is the mosquito trying to attack Snafu, who manages to avoid being bitten...for a little while. This time around it's Snafu's failure to properly protect himself that leads to his inevitable demise. In that sense, it's different from many of the other shorts where he caused problems through action not inaction. It's also different in that the star of the short is really the mosquito. It's directed by Chuck Jones with Billy Bletcher providing the voice of Malaria Mike and Mel Blanc as Snafu. There are a lot of shots of Snafu's naked rear, which is sort of risqué for the time. The animation is good, despite the lack of color. It's a funny cartoon but not my favorite of the Snafu shorts I've seen.

This is one of the Private Snafu series of training films done by Warner Brothers during World War II under a contract with the US Army. There will be spoilers ahead:Malaria Mike is a mosquito (voiced by Billy Bletcher) and he's seen first critiquing his "Wanted" poster. He then spots Private Snafu, who is foolishly bathing in the nude at dusk. Mike makes a number of attempts to bite Snafu, with failure only a matter of dumb luck, as Snafu has naturally violated the protocols to avoid contracting malaria. There's a marvelous scene with a tree which has the misfortune to be bitten by Mike.Then Snafu is seen getting ready for bed and deciding not to use mosquito repellent, though he is initially saved by his mosquito netting around his sleeping area. Given that this is Snafu, the worst soldier in the army, it's pretty much a given that he'll do something profoundly stupid and in gross violation of regulations. He manages to leave his fundamentals outside the netting while ogling a pin up girl and Malaria Mike strikes while the iron is hot, so to speak. The closing sequence is hilarious, so I won't spoil that here.This short is available on various DVDs and also online. It's well worth tracking down. Recommended.