Robert C. Bruce

A Day at the Zoo is a 1939 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery for Leon Schlesinger Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. The short features a series of rapid-fire gags set at a zoo, with Egghead as a hapless visitor who provokes the animals. Avery's trademark pacing and absurdist humor are on full display, building to a typically explosive punchline. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Comedy

A Lecture on Camouflage is a 1944 Private Snafu cartoon directed by Chuck Jones for Leon Schlesinger Productions, written by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel). Using Snafu as an example, Technical Fairy First Class teaches the methods of effective camouflage in a typically irreverent Snafu short, building to a famously shocking ending. As a U.S. government work produced for the Army Signal Corps, the film is in the public domain.

Animation · War · Educational

Private Snafu blunders through a booby-trapped North African landscape, ignoring every warning about hidden explosives until the traps teach him their lessons the hard way. A Bob Clampett-directed Army training short. The film entered the public domain as a U.S. government work.

Animation · Comedy · War

A fox reads that fox fur is the latest fashion rage and, mistaking popularity for affection, eagerly turns himself in to a furrier, with predictably comic results. A Chuck Jones-directed Merrie Melodies short. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy

It's Murder She Says is a 1945 Private Snafu cartoon directed by Chuck Jones for Leon Schlesinger Productions, produced for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. In this installment, Snafu becomes the victim of a murder mystery aboard a military base, with the cartoon using the whodunit format to deliver its instructional message about military security and vigilance. As a U.S. government work, the film is in the public domain.

Animation · War · Comedy

Meet John Doughboy is a 1941 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions, featuring Porky Pig. Porky tours a military training camp and observes the preparations of the "Doughboys" — American soldiers — as they train for service. The short was part of a wave of patriotic cartoons produced before the United States entered World War II. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Comedy

Saps in Chaps is a 1942 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng for Leon Schlesinger Productions. A Western-themed gag cartoon featuring sagebrush sight gags and wild west wackiness, with horses, cowboys, and desert humor. The short was the last black-and-white Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Freleng. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Comedy · Western

Seaman Tarfu in the Navy is a 1945 Private Snafu cartoon directed by George Gordon for Harman-Ising Productions, produced for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. This is the only Snafu cartoon not produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons — it was instead produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising's independent studio. The short follows Snafu's misadvent ures in the Navy, with the usual bumbling behavior that gives the character his name (Situation Normal: All Fouled Up). As a U.S. government work, the film is in the public domain.

Animation · War · Comedy