Uncle Tom's Bungalow

Uncle Tom's Bungalow was released to theatres on July 12, 1937 by Warner Bros. The short cartoon is a parody of the 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin and the “plantation melodrama” genre of the 1930s. It contains many stereotypical portrayals of black characters. The cartoon plays off of the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel in that it portrays Uncle Tom as an old man, and wooden shacks and cotton fields pervade the scenery. Director Tex Avery adds his own sense of humor and “trickster” animation, giving the classic theme a modern, humorous twist.

After a narrator introduces the players, Simon Simon Legree (pronounced Seemoan Seemoan), a greedy used slave trader, sells Uncle Tom to Eve (a young white girl) and Topsey (a young black girl) on layaway. In winter, Legree finds that the girls have missed their last three payments and sets out to get his money or take Uncle Tom back. The girls hide Uncle Tom upon learning of Legree's arrival and Eliza, a black woman, whisks them away and a chase ensues. In the end Legree and his dogs corner Eliza, Topsey and Eve, when Uncle Tom arrives in a car and clearly much richer than before. Uncle Tom pays Legree the money he's owed and he leaves. The narrator suspects that Uncle Tom cashed in his social security, but it is soon revealed that he earned his newfound fortune by playing craps.

In 1968 the cartoon became a part of the infamous Censored Eleven, a group of cartoons banned from syndication by the United Artists due to the controversy surrounding their racially stereotypical content. Brief segments did, however appear in Turner Entertainment's 1989 home video release, Cartoons For Big Kids, hosted by Leonard Maltin.

The Censored 11 are eleven Warner Bros. cartoons that are considered offensive or politically incorrect by today's standards because of their depictions of African-American racial stereotypes. This list was created in 1968 by United Artists (then owners of the A.A.P. library) and is of cartoons withheld from distribution by the current distributor. After obtaining the rights to the pre-1948 Warner Bros. cartoons in 1986, Ted Turner refused to allow any of these films to be transmitted on television or released on videocassette or laserdisc. This policy was maintained by Time Warner after purchasing Turner Broadcasting in 1996 and continues to be upheld to this day.