Many of the Private Snafu cartoons are very enjoyable, being very well-made, entertaining and educational with good morals and interesting historical and instructional material. Even when inept, Snafu is still very much endearing and fun for a vast majority of his cartoons.
'Pay Day' is a good Snafu cartoon, but isn't one of the best. There is more of a preference for the Chuck Jones-directed Snafu cartoons, and the best Private Snafu cartoons like 'Spies', 'The Goldbrick', 'Booby Traps' and 'Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike' were wilder, funnier and more creative.
By all means, 'Pay Day' is certainly amusing and teaches a lot of important things about money while still entertaining and never coming over as patronising. Just that compared to other Private Snafu cartoons it's pretty tame and unoriginal, and anybody who has seen a Snafu cartoon before will not be surprised at how the story unfolds, not much variation from the norm here.
On the other hand, 'Pay Day' is very well-animated though with fluid character designs, detailed and not sparse backgrounds and lively colours/shadings. Carl Stalling always did write outstanding music for the many cartoons he scored for and that is true for 'In the Aleutians', the orchestration is very lush and the pacing is characteristically lively.
Snafu is endearing and amusing, even when so hopelessly inept and Technical Fairy First Class is a great teacher and contrast. The voice work is great, as one would expect from the immortal Mel Blanc.
All in all, good but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox
