Booby Traps (1944) User Reviews

yet again, the human male lets his sex drive get the better of him

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 27 June 2007]

OK, so "Booby Traps" is chock full of non-PC material, quite offensive in the 21st century. As long as we understand that, it's one of the funniest things imaginable, made as a warning to American soldiers about rigged objects. Dim-witted soldier Pvt. Snafu - complete with his Bugs Bunny-like voice - is trudging through the north African desert, when he comes across a building full of scantily clad babes (I don't think that they would really allow that in a Muslim country). As expected, Snafu not only gets as horny as possible, but the whole building is rigged. By which I mean that when they say "booby" traps, they really mean it! So, it's a true guilty pleasure. Seeing some of those women, I might have easily fallen into the trap! Pretty fun.

BOOBY TRAPS come in all forms . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 29 November 2016]

. . . boobs being chief among them, this U.S. taxpayer-funded Pvt. Snafu mind-control animated short indoctrinated millions of men drafted into the American military during the height of World War Two in 1944. Even milk-laden camel teats present deadly danger for America's privates, BOOBY TRAPS documents. But it's inside a desert bordello that Snafu meets his doom, as some if not all of the Professional Ladies (or strumpets) there sport bombs where their boobs should be. BLONDE BOMBSHELL was an actual title for one of buxom Jean Harlow's 1930s flicks, so U.S. citizens already knew enough to beware of Bra Stuffers prior to Hitler's shenanigans. However, a close viewing of ALL Pvt. Snafu episodes reveals a common theme: Hetero Sex in general is a very threatening thing. Perhaps this is because the Looney Tuners behind Snafu recognized that the Advent of the Population Bomb would eclipse the Atomic Bomb and the subsequent Hydrogen- or H-Bomb as a roadblock to Humanity's continued Progress.

An Interesting Warning Film

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 22 March 2018]

Apparently the Private Snafu was a regular when it came to films warning soldiers of danger. The goofy Private can't quite get the message that when he lets his emotions and hormones take over, his next act may be his last. He is tempted by hidden land mines, exploding pianos, nubile women, on and on. Of course, he is an absolute idiot because he is warned frequently and can't wait to get himself done in. Some of my Vietnam War friends told of unique types of traps positioned by the enemy, most of which worked on the kindness and compassion of some of the American soldiers. I may check another of these Snafu things out at a later time.

"Some booby traps are more alluring and ingenious than others."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 2 September 2015]

Another Private Snafu short made for use by the U.S. Army during World War II. As always, Snafu is refusing to follow proper procedures and thinks he's smarter than he actually is. This time he's in the North African desert, where he's warned about booby traps but does what he wants anyway. He comes across a series of traps that are obviously unrealistic but the point was to instruct the soldiers on how to be more careful by using humor rather than making them sit through a dry educational film. Mel Blanc provides the voice for Snafu and has some funny lines that were racy for the time. The runtime is brief (four minutes) but it packs a lot in there. The animation is nice and the gags are funny. The best part is the harem. Really puts the 'boob' in booby trap.

Thoroughly offensive animated genius

[Kieran_Kenney · 10/10 · 12 August 2003]

Very politically incorrect by today's standards, this animated romp concerning the perils with which our boys contend OVER THERE (in the Arabian deserts of good ol' WWII) is a total riot. The harem of 1940's beauties (possibly the sexiest cartoon characters ever put to the screen), an over-sized mouse-trap, a rigged up-right piano, a potentially explosive hooka, a triangle-playing mechanical Hitler and, best of all, a talking camel with a bomb attached to it, are some of the highlights of this brilliant short work. Only two Private Snafu shorts I've seen to date (8-12-2003), the other being Spies, which is just as offensively uproarious and side-splitting. In light of not too long ago world events, it's Middle Eastern setting is all too eerie.

Snafu in danger again

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 14 March 2016]

"Booby Traps" is another 4-minute cartoon from the days of World War II and it features Snafu again, the world's most incompetent soldier. Like all the other, it is black-and-white once again. In this one, Snafu keeps running into one booby trap after the other while always telling us that he can spot them instantly when he sees them. Not a really funny watch with the exception of one scene: the connection between women's boobs and booby traps. I really cannot believe Clampett went there. pretty hilarious moment. Snafu is voiced again by the legendary Mel Blanc, but even for him, not everyone can be a winner. This was not a particularly good or entertaining watch. I suggest you watch some other better Mel Blanc cartoon. There's enough out there.

Another wonderful Pvt. Snafu cartoon not meant for general consumption!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 29 October 2006]

During WWII, Hollywood made a wide variety of training films meant to be shown only to the troops. Because of this, the jokes were often sexual and the language was distinctly "non-Hollywood" for the era. Some of the films are a bit dull, but the ones I enjoy seeing the most are the clever Pvt. Snafu films. They have a distinctly Warner Brothers flare--the artwork and voice characterizations are pure Looney Toons. The only obvious differences (apart from the adult content) is that they were made in black and white.

This time, the idiot, Pvt. Snafu is learning about the danger of booby traps. And, as usual, he gets himself killed as an object lesson to the soldiers! My favorite gags involved Snafu trying to milk a camel and when he went in to a tent filled with what appeared to be gorgeous women (all he wanted to do was smoke and play the piano). A cute film that is almost as funny as the earlier Snafu film about spies.

Proof that Private Snafu's long suit is not intelligence!

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 11 December 2003]

Another episode in the saga of Private Snafu-the dimmest bulb in the Army. This Rhodes scholar is more dangerous to his own unit than he is to the enemy! Entertaining series of training films done during World War II. Here Snafu comes agonizingly close repeatedly to well-deserved destruction, only to be saved by the good fortune the universe seems to extend all too often to idiots. Hilarious ending which is quite apropos. The sad thing is there probably were Private Snafus in real life. I know people who make Snafu seem like Einstein! Well worth watching. Most recommended.

"I ain't no boob and I won't be trapped"

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 5 September 2014]

Of the mostly thoroughly enjoyable Private Snafu cartoons two have stood out as being particularly great, one was Spies and the other was this. Booby Traps, like a lot of Private Snafu cartoons, could have benefited from a longer length, but really there was next to nothing wrong here even if there are a few parts that are not for the easily offended(ie. the mechanical Hitler). Booby Traps is beautifully and inventively animated, and has a music score bursting with energy and colour(it never trivialises the action, instead it enhances it, then again what do you expect from Carl Stalling?). The dialogue is a chock-full of razor-sharp wit, especially the sparring between Snafu and the narrator, and there are some great gags if very adult and quite daring for back then(not a criticism, just to let viewers know what to expect). Especially funny were the camel with the attached bomb and the scantily clad ladies, the ending's hilarious too. The narration is brilliantly sardonic and Snafu, for a character so inept, is truly endearing, the joke that he does simple things so wrong never wearing thin. The voice acting from Mel Blanc doesn't disappoint and Robert C. Bruce is a witty narrator. Overall, a great cartoon and one of the best Private Snafu cartoons. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Booby Traps for Snafu

[Michael_Elliott · 4 September 2015]

Booby Traps (1944)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This entry into the series has Pvt. Snafu out in the field where he's being warned that there are many enemy booby traps but he believes he's too smart to fall for any of them. We then see several examples including a woman with some big boobs that are actually bombs and another piece with a horse. BOOBY TRAPS is another decent entry in the series, which was used to train U.S. military members and do so with some humor. Snafu is voiced by Mel Blanc and you can easily hear some Bugs Bunny in the character. For the most part his was entertaining but at just around four minutes there's certainly nothing too deep here. The adult themed humor was certainly a plus.