The Worst Film Ever

Highly Overrated But Still Good

As Good As It Gets

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

. . . conveying the message that "Loose lips sink ships." However, frame-by-frame scrutiny of this World War Two Era "Private Snafu" Warner Bros. animated short reveals that CENSORED is ACTUALLY promoting a "Loose lips jinx Nips" message. Bare Nips appear on many of the Pin-ups plastering the walls of Snafu's South Seas Quonset Hut. They later are featured prominently when Snafu's loose-lipped gal back home, Sally Lou, greets her mailman totally topless. Bare Boobies are even used as a camouflage screen by the Japanese troops acting upon Sally's Brazen Braless Baring of American Invasion plans for "Bingo Bango Island." This atoll is drawn as an apparently welcoming but actually Nit- or Nip-infested portal for the entry of clueless U.S. Seamen. Snafu then crows about catching someone with "their pants down," but it's awfully hard to tell just whose panties are in a bunch. CENSORED is pretty much five minutes of non-stop sexual innuendo. Warner Bros.' subliminal marching orders urge U.S. servicemen to instigate a Baby Boom by servicing American Ladies ASAP. This strategy of eventually overwhelming the Japanese through a sheer U.S. numerical advantage was, of course, short-circuited by the atom bombs. However, by then the flood of babies already were in the pipeline (no more able to be returned to the Tube than excess toothpaste).

"Censored" is a 1944 black-and-white cartoon that runs for almost 5 minutes and features idiot soldier Snafu again, who taught American soldiers how not to behave. This one here is about what you should write to your girlfriend, family etc. when you are stationed somewhere and what you should not write. Of course Snafu writes exactly what he should not write. He has a pretty hot girlfriend though. Director is Frank Tashlin this time and Mel Blanc is on board as usual, this time with Bea Benederet. I personally thought his was one of the weaker Snafus. not recommended. Watch some of the other perhaps instead, or just another Mel Blanc/Fran Tashlin cartoon that is not war-themed.

Not one of the masterpieces of animation, neither did it need to be and nor did it try to. Censored is still very good as a cartoon and has degrees of interest too. The first half is funnier than the second with slightly better timing, and the it's-only-a-dream ending may leave one feel cheated(unless it's necessary this viewer has never been a fan of this type of ending anyway so there may be a little bias). The animation is excellent though, everything is beautifully drawn and the colour shadings are crisp and expressive, while the music is catchy and characterful as well as appropriately orchestrated. The humour and gags are a lot of fun, for the time also quite daring, you have to love Snafu's facial expressions and the part with the electric eye. Censored has a good and important lesson of being careful what you write that makes its point without being preachy, and is interesting for the scantily clad and somewhat erotic character of Sally Lou as well. Snafu is very endearing even when being the worst ever soldier. Mel Blanc as always does stellar vocals, the Japanese communications are indeed stereotypical but Blanc does also make them rather amusing to hear. Overall, very good quality stuff and of good interest value. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"Censored" is a funny Private Snafu cartoon made at Warner Brothers during World War II. Snafu repeatedly tries to write a complete letter to his girl Sally Lou, but because soldiers need to be careful of what they write during wartime, all of Snafu's letters get severely censored.Highlights: When an electric eye catches Snafu's butt, all hell breaks loose. One shredded letter turns into paper dolls, and I love Snafu's angry facial expression. Although it's wrong, I laugh at the stereotypical Japanese communications (thanks to voice actor Mel Blanc) via telephone and radio regarding Snafu's whereabouts, after which Japanese submarines surround Bingo Bango Island within a matter of seconds.One surprise we can find in "Censored" is a TOPLESS Sally Lou! Clearly this cartoon was not meant for a general audience, but the GIs could accept a little bawdy display now and then.