For decades, Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies Cartoons have long been a staple of children’s entertainment. In the 1930s, cartoons were conceived for theatrical release and were animated to rival the television adaptations that followed. Classical music soundtrack It seemed like a lofty statement. But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be far less timeless and innocuous than everyone had assumed. In fact, 11 Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies The cartoon has been held back since the 1960s due to its content.
The LSuperSonicQ video above is “Censored 11All of these cartoons, such as “All This and Rabbit Stew,” have been suppressed due to qualities such as “exaggerated characterization, racist overtones, and outdated references.” These cartoons, produced between 1931 and 1944, are said to reflect perceptions that were widely held by audiences at the time but are no longer acceptable. For example, the black proto-Elmer Fudd, who appears in the 1941 cartoon “All This and Rabbit Stew,” is “a conglomeration of ethnic stereotypes, with oversized clothing, shambling movements, and muttered sentences.” Other works, such as “Jungle Jitters” and “The Isle of Pingo Pongo,” make islanders the target of attack, where they are depicted as hard-partying cannibals.
At first glance, 1943’s “Coal Black and the Dwarfs of de Sebben” may seem like a stereotypical carnival of grotesques. As director Bob Clampett later explained,which he describes as “a Hollywood, off-Broadway black musical.” Jumping for joy When we were doing a special in Los Angeles, someone asked me why there were no black characters in Warner cartoons, and I didn’t have a good answer for that question, so we sat down together and came up with a parody of Disney. snow white, The result was ‘Coal Black.'” These actors provided the voices (Mel Blanc is credited due to contractual obligations), and Clampett paid homage in his character designs to the real-life jazz musicians he met on Central Avenue.
Despite how noble the intentions of “Coal Black” were, how stunning the animation was, and how highly praised it has been by media historians, it remains relegated to the underworld of banned cartoons. Of course, this doesn’t mean it can’t be seen today.Censored 11” has long been available in bootleg form and was restored at the inaugural Turner Classic Film Festival in 2010. Some of these controversial short films are Looney Tunes Gold Collection Volume: 3 Introducing the DVD, Whoopi Goldberg wisely points out that “To remove these inexcusable images and jokes from this collection would be like saying they never existed in the first place.” That may be fine for adults, but kids, Warner Bros. cartoons’ most discerning audience, know when they’re being lied to.
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Based in Seoul, Colin MaOnershall Writing and broadcastingHe has written papers on cities, languages, and cultures, and his projects include the Substack newsletter. Books about cities And books A city without a state: Walking through 21st-century Los Angeles. Follow us on Twitter CollinhamOnershall or Facebook.
