''A Lecture on Camouflage'' is a 1944 American animated film directed by Chuck Jones. A

Private Snafu Private Snafu is the title character of a series of black-and-white American instructional adult animated shorts, ironic and humorous in tone, that were produced between 1943 and 1945 during World War II. The films were designed to instruct servi ...

cartoon short made for the troops during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Plot summary

Technical Fairy, First Class gives the troops "A Lecture On Camouflage" with the aid of

. He points that modern

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

, if used intelligently, is both an art and a science.Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 193-194 The camera shifts from the Fairy to what seems to be a small boat on wheels, traveling down a road. A gunsight shaped like a swastika targets the boat. A direct hit reveals the boat to be actually a jeep, driven by Snafu. The soldier takes cover in the nearby woods, but the Fairy reminds him to cover his tracks. After doing so, it is time for Snafu to relax. He smokes under the shade of a tree. He is not alarmed when the tree asks for a light, speaking in a German accent. The Fairy has to remind him that the enemy can use camouflage too. Snafu sneaks away, but he is being followed by enemy soldiers posing as a tree, a tree stump, and a boulder. He runs to escape and ends up at the top of an enemy cannon. He is sent flying and then seeks shelter in the shade of another tree. The effect of the shifting sun tricks him into chasing the shadow around the tree. Next, a confused Snafu seeks shelter under another shadow. It turns out to be the shadow of a German observation balloon which drops a bomb on Snafu. This concludes his story. The camera shifts back to the Fairy, who points that to fool the enemy, one must blend in with the natural surroundings. He demonstrates by joining two topless

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes ass ...

Cast

* Mel Blanc as Technical Fairy - First Class / German Soldier / German General

Soundtrack

* " Powerhouse" (Music by

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

) * "I'm Ridin' For a Fall" (by

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

)

Analysis

The gag with the enemy soldier disguised as a tree can be traced back to ''

Shoulder Arms ''Shoulder Arms'' is Charlie Chaplin's second film for First National Pictures. Released in 1918, it is a silent comedy film set in France during World War I, the first of three films he made on the subject of war. It co-starred Edna Purviance ...

'' (1918). It was also used in '' Commando Duck'' (1944).

Sources

References

External links

* * 1944 films 1944 animated films American animated documentary films Short films directed by Chuck Jones American black-and-white films Private Snafu Articles containing video clips Films scored by Carl Stalling Films produced by Leon Schlesinger 1944 documentary films 1944 comedy films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films 1940s English-language films American short documentary films Camouflage {{1940s-short-animation-film-stub