Merrie Melodies short, directed by Tex Avery, notable today for being one of the Censored Eleven. For those who don't know, the Censored Eleven are cartoons that were withheld from syndication because they were considered to be too offensive due to their use of racial stereotypes and imagery. This one is a parody of Uncle Tom's Cabin, which is a bad idea to begin with. The story has two little girls, Eva (white) and Topsy (black), who purchase an old slave named Uncle Tom in order to stop his being whipped by evil Simon Simon Legree (a pun on French actress Simone Simon, I assume). When they fall behind on payments, Legree comes looking to reclaim Tom. As with all of the Censored Eleven cartoons, this one does have some things that are going to make modern viewers uncomfortable or even angry. But I have to admit I like this better than most of the other censored cartoons I've seen so far. The animation is very nice, despite the exaggerated features on black characters like the lips. The humor shines through in this one, even if it's not always in good taste. Avery's gags mostly work and I found myself laughing several times. However, there are some moments, mostly those related to slavery or Legree using a whip that just pull you out of the cartoon and have you shaking your head in disapproval. I don't think any of the humor here is mean-spirited but it does come across as ignorant and offensive at times. Still, I'm going to rate it higher than the ones I've seen so far because I do think there is a good cartoon underneath the cringeworthy parts. Avery would revisit Uncle Tom's Cabin again at MGM when he did Uncle Tom's Cabaña. That cartoon is also considered offensive by today's standards but is not part of the Censored Eleven, which are all Warner Bros. cartoons.
Review of Uncle Tom's Bungalow
Uncle Tom's Bungalow
(1937)
"My body might belong to you, but my soul belongs to Warner Bros."
15 January 2016