Edgar Allan Pooh
" . . . but all I became was just waste," laments Brown Cow's Ghost at the end of World War Two's Army-Navy Screen Magazine Issue #29, also known as THE CHOW HOUND. The late Mr. Cow's lamentations come as he stares at the juicy remnants of his bodily self deposited into a camp garbage can by Private Snafu (who's just admitted that his eyes were bigger than his stomach when he somehow managed to squirrel away a platoon's worth of Fresh Holiday Fare on a large plate heaped with food two feet high, plus another couple pounds of chow concealed down his trousers, not to mention a five-gallon helmet full of the Good Grub). However, the specter of being stared down by the spirits of the animals one is consuming is more than enough to put anyone off his feed. Though the classic flick ALIVE documents a cannibalistic strain among Uruguayan soccer guys, such a Tradition is nowhere to be found in America's Military Code of Conduct. That goes for anthropomorphic meat dishes, as well. If Foghorn Leghorn asks, "Who wants a drumstick?" just say "NO!"
utgard14
Another fun entry in the Private Snafu series made for use by the US Army during World War II. This one's directed by Frank Tashlin and focuses on wasting food. It's a pretty interesting cartoon. First, it's narrated by a bull. He tells the story of how, on his honeymoon with his new bride, the news comes that the US has entered the war. So the brave bull decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and be turned into food for the soldiers. Already we're dealing with an amazing concept for a cartoon, but it gets better. So the bull becomes part of some kind of canned food and is sent to the battlefront, where Private Snafu promptly makes an ass of himself by eating only some of the food and letting the rest go to waste. So the bull's ghost goes ballistic, kicks the crap out of Snafu, and lets us know what he thinks of his wasted sacrifice. I like this series and shorts like this are a good example of why. It's just so bizarre and creative in a way you didn't see that much in mainstream cartoons of the time. Plus it has a good message and nice animation. It's not my favorite of the series but I like it a lot.
MartinHafer
The Private Snafu films were clearly made to be seen by soldiers and not by the general public. Their point was to illustrate important messages to the troops in a humorous manner. In this case, the film is about the importance of not wasting food--though the film didn't turn out to that funny and was actually pretty creepy.The film begins with a couple of cows falling in love. However, the war arrives and the male cow decides to sacrifice himself for the war effort. So, the cute cow is made into canned meat for the soldiers! However, Snafu is his usual idiotic self and he wastes the food--not appreciating that food is precious.As I said, this seemed creepy. The idea of the cow's ghost standing there and proudly waiting to see his flesh get eaten must have seemed clever in 1944, but now it seems more like a recruiting film for PETA! Not among the best in the series, that's for sure.
emasterslake
A bull was about to live a settle life with a cow, till war occurred and Snafu was drafted to fight in the war. The bull realizes that the Snafu needs food in order to prevent hunger while fighting in the war.So the Bull turns himself in to the slaughterhouse and his meat was canned and shipped to Snafu's Army Corp. But will Snafu eat the meat of the Bull he gave his own life away for a soldier? I won't give away on what the ending is like, but just know that this short has a simple lesson in not to waist food. Which gives Soldiers the idea to eat small and not too much.This one has some usual gags. As well as some humor expected in all Snafu cartoons. Another WW2 short to check out.
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