Absolutely Brilliant!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The Private Snafu cartoons generally are a lot of fun, and Spies is no exception. In fact, I do consider Spies one of the best Snafu cartoons despite that it does feel a little too short, being only about 3 minutes long, and there will be people who'll take offence at the caricatures of the Germans and Japanese(considering though that Spies was made during the war where the Germans and the Japanese were the enemy it was somewhat inevitable that they would be targeted). The animation is very beautifully done, with the drawing far from scrappy, the backgrounds show lots of detail and for black and white the colours are fluid and have atmosphere and warmth. The music is characterful and dynamically orchestrated in a way that is unmistakable of Carl Stalling, it accompanies the action brilliantly, matches the expressions and gestures equally as well and the use of pre-existing tunes are fun to spot. As well as one of the best of the Private Snafu cartoons Spies is also one of the funniest and cleverest. The horse's ass joke and the wonderfully devilish ending fare the best of the gags(which like all the cartoons revolves around how not to do things and their consequences but never does it feel predictable) but the joy is the cracking script that style and structure-wise has Dr.Seuss' style written all over it. A lot of the Private Snafu cartoons are risqué and quite ahead of their time and Spies is among the most daring. Snafu is an endearing and hilarious character, and the rest of the characters are just as colourful, yes including in a way the caricatures. Mel Blanc's- as usual in multiple roles- voice work typically is faultless. Overall, while it is easy for people to be offended by it Spies is a clever and extremely cartoon that is among the best of the series. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I have no idea if this is typical of the Snafu series, many directed by Jones and written by Dr. Seuss, but I certainly want to see more even if this does not show either master at his very best. Here our private in question blabs his orders to anybody and everybody after vowing to keep it all secret, and of course all the voluptuous babes, bartenders, and even a little guy inside the telephone box end up being broadly caricatured Japanese, German and Italian spies. It all ends quite literally with a big bang and a trip to Hell. Propaganda at it's finest, if awfully frenetic and short.The copy I watched was from "Treasures of American Cinema", volume I, a four-disc set of mostly early shorts and features, all beautifully restored and remastered, with excellent notes and music - an essential set for anyone who wants to better know the history of the American film.

Chuck Jones's 'Spies' is one of the best Private Snafu cartoons made for the military. Used to instruct soldiers against certain behaviour by using Snafu to epitomise it, the Snafu cartoons were known for their bawdier nature inserted to keep the soldiers' attention. So 'Spies' features some prominent breast-based recording equipment, then-risqué use of the word "Hell" and a great horse's ass joke. Directed with great flair by Jones, 'Spies' main trump card is a cracking, witty script entirely in rhyme written by none other than the great Dr. Suess. Suess and Jones were a match made in heaven, as the classic 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' would later attest, and this early collaboration between the two is a worthy forerunner. Though it only lasts about three minutes in total, 'Spies' packs in plenty of laughs and sneaks its message in amongst them so that the audience doesn't feel it has been crammed down their throats at the end.

"Spies" is one of a handful of clandestine Warner Bros. cartoons that were made for all the American servicemen who were involved in World War II. This film features Private Snafu, a rather stupid soldier who does everything wrong, and of all the Private Snafu cartoons I have seen thus far, I strongly feel that "Spies" is by far the funniest. Snafu has a military secret that he is determined not to reveal to anyone, but as expected, he fouls up and inadvertently tips off a lot of German and Japanese eavesdroppers.My favorite moments from "Spies" include the following (but please do yourself a favor and watch this cartoon first before reading any further). Two of the spies are German moose heads whose antlers form a swastika. Field Marshal Goering (hilariously voiced by Mel Blanc) opens a secret panel and reports to Hitler, "Heil! The troop ship bound for Africa pulls out at half past four!" And at the end, Snafu gets torpedoed and winds up in a cooking pot in Hades; after angrily inquiring the audience as to who could have blown his secret, Snafu receives his answer from Hitler (appearing as Satan) and four other Nazi devils! "Spies" is a cartoon that was understandably quite offensive toward the Germans and the Japanese. Perhaps the most vulgar scene in this cartoon is that of a female Nazi spy who woos the drunken Snafu into chatting with her and ultimately blowing his secret; a swastika appears on both of the woman's breasts, which serve as a type of radar! But what makes this cartoon especially funny is the fact that the dialogue, created by Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), is almost entirely in rhyme. (Some might find it odd that Dr. Seuss, much more well-known for his children's books, would take part in such offensive material.) To conclude, the moral lesson in "Spies" is quite obvious: DO NOT under any circumstances discuss military matters in public!