Gripes (1943) User Reviews

A Message About Complaints & Discipline

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 12 November 2007]

The message here to soldiers is that griping about their predicament all the time is not a productive way to spend their years in service in World War II. "Pvt. Snafu" is seen early on complaining about having KP and wondering why he's not out there killing Germans and Japanese like other guys.

When he's lying in his bunk later still griping about how he would runs things differently if he were in charge, a "Technical Fairy, First Class" materializes out of nowhere (a pretty funny looking guy, by the way!) and instantly makes him a bigwig with tons of stripes on his uniform.

The other main message of this cartoon - that discipline is essential - is then shown thrown through Snafu's ultra-liberal techniques in which the men under him can relax, have fun and not worry about doing anything they don't like.....which is shown NOT to be the way to the run the Army.

Notes: I think this was the second "Pvt. Snafu" animated short, the first being an introduction of him. It is four minutes long, not three as listed here.

Snafu tries to show the Army how it's done

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 17 September 2015]

Another fun entry in the Private Snafu series of shorts made for the U.S. Army during WWII. The purpose of these shorts was to instruct soldiers on the dos & don'ts of various subjects by using comedy. Because they were not made for public viewing, they did not have to pass the Production Code, which means they could often use humor and images that were more risqué than what was allowed in theaters at the time. This particular short tackles complaining. Snafu gripes about having to do things like peel potatoes when he signed up to fight, so he's shown what it would be like if things were the way he wanted. Suffice it to say, an army run the way Snafu would like is not any army we would want protecting us! It's an amusing short with nice black & white animation and plenty of funny moments. It's directed by Friz Freleng with, according to IMDb, a script co-written by Dr. Seuss. I can kind of see that as the rhyming dialogue throughout the short is very Seussian.

Social Crusader Warner Bros. was lobbying for Gay Rights . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 2 November 2016]

. . . on the U.S. Taxpayer Dime during the height of World War Two, as evidenced by this mood adjustment cartoon commissioned by the U.S. Army, PRIVATE SNAFU: GRIPES. Snafu, supposedly a representative average Joe, is revealed as being Gay by Warner's Looney Tuners through multiple means. In this GRIPES episode, the Black-Bra-and-Pantied "Girlie" tattoo on Snafu's upper left arm faces away from the viewer, flaunting "her" butt as the Business End. "She" lets out an orgiastic yelp when a "doctor's needle" pokes "her" in this alluring butt. Then Snafu himself is "doctor butt-poked." Besides butt-poking, Snafu's "GRIPES" focus on solitary potato-peeling, featuring a repetitive hand motion that looks a lot like Onan's Sin. THEN, when Onan--oops, I mean, when SNAFU--is surrounded by three harem gals (2:38 to 2:44), the left one being totally bottomless to ease his access, he flees the scene to face a highly improbable attack by German (long-range!) bombers on his U.S. training base. Add to all of this evidence the fact that Snafu is always pictured by Warner with what they label as his (imaginary) "fairy" friend, and you have a Strong Case that Warner's taxpayer-funded "Every Soldier" is Gay. That American "Military Intelligence" and the U.S. War Censor Board swallowed Snafu's bone of contention shows how "thinking outside the box" enabled America to whip the Axis Powers.

Peeling potatoes ain't so bad, soldier!

[slymusic · 23 October 2009]

"Gripes" is a very good Warner Bros. cartoon made specifically for all the various branches of the United States Army. Starring Pvt. Snafu (voiced by Mel Blanc) and featuring quite a bit of rhymed verse by Dr. Seuss, this short has our hero on KP duty, peeling a gigantic mound of potatoes. You think Snafu likes it? Nah! So he fantasizes about how much relaxation he & his fellow soldiers could have if HE were in charge of things.

There are three sequences in "Gripes" that I especially like. First, Snafu's scantily-clad female tattoo gets an injection in the ass, after which Snafu gets an injection in his OWN ass! Second, an aerial bomb halts in midair where it produces a pair of mechanical arms digging Snafu out of the ground and placing a bull's-eye target on his ass. And third, a group of happy soldiers go cruising with a few chicks while they sing a "Hooray for Snafu" song, and another soldier in an outhouse - I sure am talking a lot about asses, ain't I? - remarks how glad he is about not having to clean any more latrines; then another soldier struts around with a catchy rhyme about his zoot suit.

You can catch "Gripes" as one of the bonus cartoons on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 Disc 3.

Not really worth the watch

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 20 September 2015]

I have to say in terms of the animation and also the story that these Snafu films are among the worst Warner Bros. had to offer in the 1940s. Of course, it also does not help that they are in black-and-white. So it's a good thing that most of them do not run for the usual 7 minutes, but only for 4-5 like this one here as well. Basically everything we see here is a dream by the main character as we find out at the end. There is as always a rough male fairy-like conscience speaking to him on many occasions and it is very war-related as they all are. I think this is also the only aspect that makes this one here or most of the others worth a watch: the way military- or war-related contents were depicted in cartoons during the days of World War II. Apart from that, a very forgettable little movie despite the inclusion of the legendary Freleng and Blanc. Not recommended.

The second Private Snafu cartoon

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 7 January 2015]

This is a short done during World War II for the US Army under a contract with Warner Brothers studio. There will be spoilers ahead:

This is the second Private Snafu short (Coming! Snafu is a introduction to the character which doesn't have a specific lesson other than to reveal Snafu as a bad soldier).

Snafu is disgruntled at his lot in the army. He's shown on KP, being giving shots by the army doctors and laying in bed sick. While sick, he complains that he could do a better job running the command. At this, we meet Technical Fairy, First Class for the first time and he gives Snafu his opportunity. Be careful what you wish for.

Snafu essentially eliminates all discipline by ending drills, requirements to wear uniforms, getting each soldier two girls and in general eliminating anything which even smacked of hard work or rules. The results of this are predictable. Snafu has no command, as his men are no longer soldiers.

Then the Nazis attack and Snafu is alone, his men ignoring him and telling him where to go when he tries to get them to fight. Snafu gets it in the end, literally. The end is excellent.

This short is available on various DVDs and online and it's well worth watching. Recommended.

Solid early Private Snafu cartoon

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 11 October 2014]

Not among the best of the Private Snafu cartoons like Spies and Booby Traps are but Gripes, the second cartoon in the series, while very predictable and slightly slow-starting is a solid early effort. The backgrounds are very crisply drawn, the black and white holds up well and the character animation is expressive enough, overall Gripes is very nicely animated. Gripes also has a highly characterful and energetic music score in unmistakable Carl Stalling fashion, the use of pre-existing tunes was well-done, and while predictable and with one of the most bizarre concepts of any Private Snafu cartoon the story is not once dull and does a good job sustaining the very short length of the cartoon(only 4 minutes), the message is not much different from other Private Snafu cartoons but makes its point effectively and in a way that's not heavy-handed. Gripes scores highly in the humour and writing department too, there are wittier and more daring Private Snafu cartoons but the often rhyming dialogue is very smart and even hearing it you'll have no trouble figuring out that it's Dr Seuss behind it. And the cartoon is full of gags that are very odd but in an endearing way and not only are a lot of them ahead of their time- though the series has had even more daring material than this- but they're funny too(if admittedly more so from an adult perspective), the best of which relating to bottoms. Snafu while very inept, which is basically what the Private Snafu cartoons are about, is still a very likable protagonist and the Technical Fairy is hilariously witty, both of which wonderfully voiced by Mel Blanc. Overall, not one of the best of the series but still solid stuff and makes for 4 entertaining minutes. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Snafu with his hardships with the army.

[emasterslake · 8/10 · 14 October 2005]

This starts out with Snafu telling that he was hoping to start fighting the Germans and Japanese. But he ends up doing the cleaning and community Service at the Army Base.

He hates the way the army is, and the way it's treating him.

He wished to make the army different if he were in charge.

Luckily his wish came true with the help of Technical Fairy First Class. Who gives Snafu more Ranks to make him the boss of the Army Base.

It's the greatest thing that happened to Snafu. But being the boss isn't as great as it seems.

This is one of the best Friz Freleng Snafu cartoons next to "Fighting Tools".

Recommended to all the fans of Friz Freleng's toons.

A great Army training film--and very enjoyable over 60 years later.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 14 May 2009]

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, Snafu spends too much time griping about life in the military--in particular all the discipline. So, in an odd twist, his fairy godfather (of sorts) shows him what life would be like if Snafu was in charge. Next, you see the soldiers running amok and all discipline is out the window...with very predictable results.

This film manages to convey the message to troops in a very funny yet effective way. However, it is still great viewing today--even if you aren't a soldier.

Entertaining Entry in the Series

[Michael_Elliott · 7 September 2015]

Gripes (1943)

*** (out of 4)

The second film in the series has Private Snafu complaining about having to sweep, cut potatoes and other chores. He's then granted a wish on how he believes the soldiers should be treated each day. This here was the second film in the War Department's series, which was basically meant to educate soldiers during WWII. The title pretty much tells you everything you need to know as Snafu is griping about chores and then we see why everyone has to have a strict routine. The animation is certainly good and Mel Blanc does a fine job with the vocals. I personally thought this second episode was a lot better than the first and there's some adult content here that certainly wasn't normal for the time but since the film didn't have to go thru the Hayes Office it was allowed in.