No Buddy Atoll (1945)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

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

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

. . . of the 28 surviving "Private Snafu" World War Two American tax payer-funded U.S. Army propaganda animated shorts series, 25 of which (including ATOLL) were produced by Warner Bros.' crack team of Looney Tuners. From the opening title, NO BUDDY ATOLL cements the fact into American minds that the Japanese People will always be "no buddies" of ours. NO BUDDY's vision, of course, has proved to be 100% prophetic, as the diluted weak generations of Americans following our WWII-winning Greatest Generation have rebelled against Common Sense, allowing the insidious Southwest Asian Islanders to Destroy such Core American Institutions as the U.S. Automobile Industry, American Labor Unions, the U.S. Middle Class, and Major League Baseball (may poor George Sisler Rest in Peace). These Defeats, in turn, have led to the destruction of the U.S. Political Party that Saved Humanity & Civilization by Masterminding our WWII Triumph, as EVERY American President since then has been either a Rich People Party Stooge or a Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dumb RPP clone Southern Cracker masquerading as a Blue Collar Union Pal, with the exception of WWII War Hero John Kennedy (gunned down by Ted Cruz' Daddy). You'll cheer when Pvt. Snafu nukes Japan (represented by a marooned Rising Sun General) and its Culture to close NO BUDDY ATOLL.

Another entry in the Private Snafu series made for use by the US Army during World War II. This one's directed by Chuck Jones and is a bit different from most of the others. This one isn't really an instructional short so much as straightforward entertainment with Snafu and a Japanese soldier stranded on a Pacific island together. The two try to kill each other and one eventually succeeds. That's pretty much it. It immediately brought to my mind Hell in the Pacific, a movie from 1968 starring Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune that had a similar plot. Fine voice work from Mel Blanc and great use of music in this one make it better than average for the series.

No Buddy Atoll to me is not quite among the best Private Snafu cartoons like Spies and Booby Traps are, not quite as funny as them and not as daring as a lot of the other cartoons in the series. The cartoon also for my tastes takes a little too long to set up. It is still very interesting however mainly to see a surprisingly mature Snafu and a Looney Tunes-like(the Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam comparison is apt) rapport between him and the Japanese general. It's also still very entertaining, the gags and dialogue still amuse and the chemistry between Snafu and the general is what holds the cartoon together and it's wonderfully witty. Snafu is very funny and endearing if different to how he's usually portrayed, and while the Japanese general is rather stereotypical(not offensively though) it was interesting and amusing to see a character for a change more inept than Snafu. The animation is crisp and smooth, the music rouses the spirits and adds a lot of character to the cartoon- it is Carl Stalling after all- and the story while not the most exceptional of stories moves at a sprightly pace. Mel Blanc does a stellar job with the voices of both Snafu and the general. In conclusion, not one of the best Private Snafu cartoons but still good fun. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The Private Snafu films were clearly made to be seen by soldiers and not by the general public. The dirty jokes, sexual innuendos and language is relatively tame today but never would have been allowed in the regular theaters due to the Production Code. But, such off-color remarks went over very well with the enlisted men and helped to illustrate important information in a humorous and memorable fashion.This Snafu film is quite different from the rest in style and characterization. Here, Snafu is NOT an idiot and it consists of a more mature Snafu landing on a lonely island in the Pacific. At the same time, a very stereotypical Japanese officer arrives and they fight it out almost like Bugs and Yosimite Sam having a scrap. Very enjoyable but more like a mass-consumption cartoon and with a little less of an edge than usual--though the end is rather dark in spirit. Still, it's quite enjoyable and worth finding.