In the Aleutians – Isles of Enchantment

Deprecated

We have moved to portable infoboxes using the new Template:Shorts

Please do not use this template anymore. It is left here for reference purposes.

In the Aleutians – Isles of Enchantment

Directed By: Chuck Jones (uncredited) Produced By: Eddie Selzer (uncredited) Released: February 1945 (Army-Navy Screen Magazine Issue 45) Series: Private Snafu Story: Animation: Ken Harris Phil Monroe Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam Layouts: Backgrounds: Film Editor: Treg Brown Voiced By: Mel Blanc (uncredited) Music: Carl Stalling Starring: Private Snafu Preceded By: Three Brothers Succeeded By: It's Murder She Says Private Snafu 21 - In The Aleutians Isles Of Enchantment 1945

Private Snafu in The Aleutians—Isles of Enchantment (Oh Brother!) is a 1945 Private Snafu short directed by Chuck Jones.

Description

After a brief overview of the Aleutian Islands chain, a diminutive caricature of a Japanese serviceman hops from island to island until he reaches a doorway, as the narrator explains that during the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Japanese saw the Aleutians as a potential back door for invading the United States. Once he reaches the door, the "Jap" encounters a large American soldier who quickly puts him to retreat as the narrator describes the new status of the Aleutians as a front door to Tokyo.

The remainder of this cartoon discusses the harsh and widely varying environment—rain, snow, thunder, whirlwind gales—which the narrator attributes to Mother Nature: “the old bag blew her top!” The narrator also describes the conditions as "almost unbelievable," to which an observing elephant seal replies with Jimmy Durante style, "Nevertheless, that's the conditions that prevail."

Next, two servicemen emerge from thick mud, but a third man they are riding on is never seen. A "williwaw" strikes suddenly, stripping buildings and even hills off the landscape. Difficulty of airstrip maintenance due to excess moisture is the next topic; airmen (including Private Snafu, in his lone appearance in the short, donning a diving suit) dive into a pond to retrieve a B-17. The aircraft rises from water and takes flight, opening its bomb bay to discharge a fish. This animal drops into the gaping maw of the seal, who repeats his earlier dialogue.

Notes

• The film describes the hardships of a posting in the Aleutians, describing the severe climactic conditions in an ironic voiceover commentary. During the Aleutian Islands Campaign in World War II, thousands of U.S. servicemen were stationed in the islands.

External links

• In the Aleutians on the Internet Movie Database
• In The Aleutians on YouTube