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The "Censored 11" Cartoons Coming to DVD

Nathan Dodge

One Too Many
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Near Miami
From TVshowsondvd.com:

"The Censored Eleven": in case you're not familiar with the term, this is a group of 11 shorts in the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies lineups which have been withheld from circulation since the late '60s, due to racial depictions that are considered offensive by modern standards. Despite the nature of the material, home video collectors during the DVD era have been interested in owning these "taboo" cartoons on disc, mostly because of the artistry of the animation these shorts were produced with, and the quality of the directors behind them. Here's the list of titles in the "Censored Eleven", including the year and director name (all are Merry Melodies, except as noted):

1931's Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (Rudolf Ising)
1936's Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (Friz Freleng)
1937's Clean Pastures (Friz Freleng)
1937's Uncle Tom's Bungalow (Tex Avery)
1938's Jungle Jitters (Friz Freleng)
1938's The Isle of Pingo Pongo (Tex Avery)
1941's All This and Rabbit Stew (Tex Avery)
1943's Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (Bob Clampett)
1943's Tin Pan Alley Cats (Bob Clampett)
1944's Angel Puss (Chuck Jones; Looney Tunes)
1944's Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears (Friz Freleng)

Earlier this year, animation historian Jerry Beck posted at the Cartoon Brew blog (which he runs along with Amid Amidi) that restored prints of these cartoons would be screened in Hollywood at an April event which included a showcase called "Removed from Circulation: A Cartoon Collection". This led to speculation that the shorts would finally see life on DVD in the not-too-distant future. Could the time for collectors to obtain these at last be at hand during 2011?

Yesterday our friends at ToonZone.net reported from the 2010 New York Comic Con, an event which took place over the weekend (Friday through Sunday). In his write-up, Michael Lachman recounts how he "paid a visit to the Warner Archive booth", and was told by the man working there - a piece of information he double-checked to ensure he heard the gentleman correctly! - that The Censored Eleven would be made available on DVD, in "completely uncensored" form, in 2011 via the WBshop online store's manufacture-on-demand (MOD) program. The man commented to Lachman that this has been their most-requested title (no surprise there, really). No specific release date, or even a timeframe, was given: just "sometime in 2011".
 

Chas

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Melbourne, Australia
"Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs" is commonly referred to as the funniest cartoon of all time, characterizations of Black people notwithstanding.

It also has some pretty darn good music in it. I will definitely refer to that 'toon when I write a chart for "Five O'Clock Whistle".
 

scottyrocks

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Isle of Langerhan, NY
'The . . .
Five o'clock whistles on the blink,
The whistle won't blow and whadya think?
My poppa's still in the factory
'Cause he don't know what tiiiiiiiiime,
It happens ta be!'

Thats the one from a red-riding hood parody with Bugs Bunny called, 'Rabbit-Riding Hood(?)'
 

Doctor Strange

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Hudson Valley, NY
I think Chas is referring to So White's take on it in Coal Black:

The five o-clock whistle it just blew
I's fryin' eggs and pork chops too
Didn't join up just 'cause I's so good lookin'
But it answers the boys when they holler
"What's cookin, honey, what's cookin'?"!


You know, Coal Black is indeed one of Bob Clampett's ultimate masterworks, and it surely deserves to be better known (Tin Pan Alley Cats too!), but most of the others in this list are actually pretty mediocre cartoons, apart from their infamous racial stereotypes.

(I've owned a 16mm print of Coal Black for over thirty years, and have seen all the other cartoons on the list... in collectors' living rooms, revival theaters, and bootleg videotapes. Believe me: some of them deserve to be forgotten.)
 

LizzieMaine

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Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
"Bugs Bunny Nips The Nips" was still being shown in syndication well into the '80s -- and even had a release on laserdisc in the early '90s. That release drew a hail of criticism, which led to its withdrawal, and the addition of the cartoon to the ban list.
 

Blackjack

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Crystal Lake, Il
Nips the Nips is funny although considering the time frame it was made I don't find it that offensive. Now Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie beat probably is the worst , but again it has great music...
[video=youtube;UacUR7bPnMM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UacUR7bPnMM[/video]
 

Widebrim

I'll Lock Up
I'm pretty sure that Tokio Jokio is still banned from general circulation? Anybody know about its status? (As a side note, I've been away from here for three weeks. What a change in graphics...hopefully one which most people can appreciate.)
 
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LizzieMaine

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Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
I'm pretty sure that Tokio Jokio is still banned from general circulation? Anybody know about its status? (As a side note, I've been away from here for almost a month. What a change in graphics...hopefully one which most people can appreciate.)

I saw -- and taped -- Tokio Jokio on Nickelodeon in the early '90s, when it was run far too often. It wasn't especially funny even in 1942 -- a dull series of parody newsreel gags.

I think the extreme sensitivity to Warner's wartime cartoons is a very recent development -- most of them were still being freely shown until about fifteen years ago. Of course, Warner cartoons are rarely shown *anywhere* now, so I guess that's a moot point.
 

Wally_Hood

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Screwy, bally hooey Hollywood
I saw -- and taped -- Tokio Jokio on Nickelodeon in the early '90s, when it was run far too often. It wasn't especially funny even in 1942 -- a dull series of parody newsreel gags.

I think the extreme sensitivity to Warner's wartime cartoons is a very recent development -- most of them were still being freely shown until about fifteen years ago. Of course, Warner cartoons are rarely shown *anywhere* now, so I guess that's a moot point.

Sad, but true. At least we can avail ourselves of the offerings out there through the modern marvel of dvds.
 

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