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.
7 Reviews
America's campaign to spread Disinformation on the U.S. taxpayers' dime . . .
oscaralbert29 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
. . . 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?
Not too funny or informative
Horst_In_Translation14 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"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.
One of the best Snafu Toons by Chuck Jones!
emasterslake29 August 2005
What's cool about this one is, it's done by Chuck Jones himself.
Even has the same style as other Chuck Jones Animated shorts from the 40s.
Introduces Malaria Mike a mosquito who gives out Malaria once he stings someone.
Throughout the short he tries to sting snafu with his needle.
Has a few gags to it as well.
a good lesson in knowing why it's important to protect yourself from Mosquitoes.
Another good Snafu Cartoon.
Those who are offended by the sight of a guy's but might not like this one.
Cause Snafu's but is shown a lot in this one.
Even has the same style as other Chuck Jones Animated shorts from the 40s.
Introduces Malaria Mike a mosquito who gives out Malaria once he stings someone.
Throughout the short he tries to sting snafu with his needle.
Has a few gags to it as well.
a good lesson in knowing why it's important to protect yourself from Mosquitoes.
Another good Snafu Cartoon.
Those who are offended by the sight of a guy's but might not like this one.
Cause Snafu's but is shown a lot in this one.
Learing about malaria the hard way with Private Snafu
TheLittleSongbird28 August 2014
Another thoroughly entertaining cartoon in the very interesting Private Snafu series, and one of the better ones too. Maybe it could have been a touch longer(the Private Snafu are very short and some of them feel it) but there is very little actually to complain about Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike. The animation is smooth and clean with the black and white still having a lot of warmth and the characters are well drawn. Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike is vibrantly scored and does a great enhancing each action, expression and gesture, and has some very funny writing, most of it coming from Malaria Mike though Snafu's last lines are just as priceless. The visual gags are even better, yes with as usual showing the consequences of Snafu's ineptness even over simple things, they are well-timed and raise a good laugh, again mostly revolving around Snafu's ineptness. Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike is one of the more accessible Private Snafu cartoons and not as daring for its time than others in the series(which was in a way is part of the series' charm) but there is nothing to be offended by here. The cartoon is also very educational and makes its point without preaching, whether you've heard of malaria or not. Snafu is very endearing and Malaria Mike the mosquito is a riot, you cannot go wrong with the terrific vocal talents of Mel Blanc and Billy Bletcher, two of the best and prolific voice actors of their day. To conclude, thoroughly entertaining with something to learn too and deserving of a higher rating. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Exceptional
planktonrules14 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The Private Snafu films were clearly made to be seen by soldiers and not by the general public. The dirty jokes, sexual innuendos and language is relatively tame today but never would have been allowed in the regular theaters due to the Production Code. But, such off-color remarks went over very well with the enlisted men and helped to illustrate important information in a humorous and memorable fashion.
In this film, you see a lot of Private Snafu! As the film begins, he's swimming naked in the jungle--making him a prime candidate to get bitten by the main character, a malaria-carrying mosquito. However, throughout the cartoon, Snafu keeps getting lucky and it looks like he might just make it. But, considering it's Snafu, you can pretty much guess what will happen next.
This cartoon is quite educational but funny. While not among the very best (such as SPIES and BOOBY TRAPS), it is one of the better films in the series.
In this film, you see a lot of Private Snafu! As the film begins, he's swimming naked in the jungle--making him a prime candidate to get bitten by the main character, a malaria-carrying mosquito. However, throughout the cartoon, Snafu keeps getting lucky and it looks like he might just make it. But, considering it's Snafu, you can pretty much guess what will happen next.
This cartoon is quite educational but funny. While not among the very best (such as SPIES and BOOBY TRAPS), it is one of the better films in the series.
Malaria was the subject of three of the 26 Snafu training films, this being the first of the three
llltdesq19 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
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.
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.
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