Africa Squeaks
Africa Squeaks is a 1940 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. This cartoon was released on January 27, 1940, and stars Porky Pig.[1]
Plot
The Controversy
However, the film still is problematic for being racist in caricaturing Africans.
Censorship
The redrawn colorized version seen on Nickelodeon severely edited this cartoon to remove all the sequences of the African American natives, and the ending replaced the shot of Africa as a blackfaced caricature bidding farewell to the viewer with a repeat of the opening pan from Dark Africa to Darkest Africa.[2]
Review
Once I watched this I was surprised to learn this short was not one of the infamous “Censored Eleven” because WOW is it inappropriate! Porky goes on safari to “Darkest Africa’ (a joke recycled from Porky in Wackyland) where all his “native” servants are drawn basically like monkeys. Even if you can get past that, the documentary-style look at the various animals of the jungle is pretty lame. By the way, apparently according to Clampett there are kangaroos in Africa? Would probably grade this even lower but at least there’s a cool jazz number in it- although even then, the crooner who takes the mic is a gorilla. As we pull back from the continent at the very end, the actual landmass of Africa itself transforms into a giant blackface caricature to bid us farewell. Yiiiiikes.
External Link
Watch Africa Squeaks colored version at Dailymotion
Africa Squeaks at IMDb
References
- ↑ Africa Squeaks. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ↑ Looney Tunes Fandom. Retrieved December 21, 2020.