The Flintstones Turn 50

Today is the Flintstones 50th birthday. CBS news ran a segment tonight and I feel the need to share the piece with you. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Horse Hare

Horse Hare marked the final time Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam were paired in a Western-themed cartoon  Beause of Native American stereotypes this cartoon was pulled from Cartoon Networks 2001 "June Bugs"  

The short itself is probably one of the last great Bugs Bunny cartoons made.                                                  

The plot has Bugs Bunny put in charge of defending an Old West fort from Yosemite Sam and a group of Indians. Bugs does what he usually does to Sam. Once again, Yosemite Sams  loose-cannon personality  leads to his downfall.  This short was released on February 2, 1960 and Bugs and Sams Golden Age was winding down by this point. Within four years Warner Brothers would close their cartoon studio retiring Bugs and Sam into cartoon history.  

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.

Hare Ribbin'

                                                                                                                                                                               

At first glance Hare Ribbin' appears to be your typical Bugs Bunny cartoon. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 24, 1944.

This cartoon has a very interesting history. First off, Hare Ribbin' holds the distinction of having two different endings, both of which are too violent by today's standards to be shown on children/family-friendly television in America.

In the original ending after thinking he has killed Bugs, the dog wishes that he were dead. Bugs asks, "Do you mean it?" and hands the canine a gun. The dog then proceeds to shoot himself in the head. As the cartoon is ending the dog gets up and says this shouldn't even happen to a dog. This ending was once played in theaters to a general audience, but now commonly cut from television versions. It has only appeared on tv unedited three times on an episode of Cartoon Network's The Bob Clampett Show and two appearances on Cartoon Network's New Year's Day Looney Tunes marathons in 2009 and 2010.

The "directors cut" ending has the dog wishing he was dead. Bugs asks, "Do you mean it?" Bugs obliges by pulling out a gun and shooting the dog through the mouth. This scene did not make it passed the censors and thus was never seen by audiences when the short was originally released in 1944. It has also never been shown on tv. In the early 1990s, historian Jerry Beck discovered that film collector Phil Johnson owned a 35mm Technicolor nitrate print of the alternate version. This print was subsequently released on volume five of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes laserdisc set in February 1997 and on volume five of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series in October 2007.

The dog in this short has a Russian accent. The accent is a play on The "Mad Russian" character originated by comedian Bert Gordon that was popular on radio at the time (the voice here is provided by Sammy Wolfe).
The dog sniffing Bugs' armpit, and saying "B.O." was inspired by radio commercials for Lifebuoy soap. This is sometimes called the "Underwater Short." Early in the short Bugs is chased into a lake by the dog and the rest of the cartoon takes place at the bottom of the lake. This may be to set up a long gag in which Bugs diguises himself as a sexy mermaid. In any case, the action remains underwater for the rest of the film.

Porky's Baseball Broadcast

Porkys Baseball Broadcast was released on July 6th, 1940. When this short first aired on Cartoon Network, it was unedited. However beginning around 2001, one gag was removed from the short.

Just after Porky says, "The tickets are selling like hotcakes," and one sees the accompanying gag, there is another gag wherein he says, "The scalpers are havin' a big day." Coincident to this was a scene of Native Americans howling and chasing game-goers around with tomahawks. In the edited version all we see is Porky saying "The tickets are selling like hotcakes".

Watching this cartoon reminded me of an episode of Seinfeld. You know the one, where Jerry buys the cigar store Indian for Elaine and tries to give it to her in front of her Native American friend, all the while cracking Indian jokes about the gift. The episode still airs on TV and is without a doubt one of my all time favorites.
Why this episode of Seinfeld is OK to air on TV and the scalper gag from this cartoon isn't, I'm not entirely sure but that's a discussion for another time.

As is the case with many a Warner Brothers cartoon shorts, there are hidden and inside jokes. So when you watch this cartoon make sure to read the headlines on the newspaper and in the very next scene, take notice of the word "Sucks" on the billboard in the distance. There's also a scene which the movie "Animal House" did a take off of. It should be really easy to spot. Enjoy!!!

Our House In the Middle of the Street

This is the house we we're supposed to renovating while staying in Grand Prairie. Little did we know we would also be staying there. The house had no hot water, no refrigerator, and nails on the floor. After one week we decided it was time to head south to College Station.

The Ride Down