Moronika
General Boards => Youtube and Google Videos => Topic started by: shemps#1 on August 06, 2006, 10:44:09 PM
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These are a couple of rare puppet cartoons made by George Pal and featuring Jasper. These are very racist, so don't count on seeing these on TV anytime soon. First one is Jasper and the Haunted House, followed by Jasper and the Watermelons (which was actually the first Jasper cartoon).
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[youtube=425,350]MYzRKXBibzU&NR[/youtube]
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Fascinating stuff; I'd heard of George Pal's Puppetoons before, but I'd never seen any, and now I know why! You have to keep in mind, though, when watching these in the present, that movie audiences in the 1930's and 40's didn't think that "darky" humor was offensive, or even anything out of the ordinary. Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, and a lot of other great cartoon directors indulged in it.
Yes, even kindly, grandfatherly old Chuck Jones... ever seen one of his "Inki" cartoons? Not likely. I don't think that anything like this ever came out of Max and Dave Fleischer's studio, though (I welcome correction if I'm wrong about that). Possibly, being Jewish, they were more sensitive to the issue of stereotyping. These George Pal films are anything but sensitive, though, they're more like triple-distilled stereotyping! You've got your big-lipped picaninny kid, watermelons, tumble-down shack, Mammy, the whole nine yards— the word "subtle" definitely doesn't apply here!
:o
I can only give them four out of five stars because the video quality is so bad that they're just barely watchable, but the historical value makes up for that.
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From what I can tell there were about 15 or so Jasper cartoons made. On the fan site I found the guy had only seen two of them, Jasper and the Watermelons and Jasper in a Jam. He recieved heavy criticism for the Jasper series even back then, and later on made a Puppetoon about John Henry which is regarded as his "apology" to the Black Community.
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I should add that Pal was a pioneer in stop motion animation and made less offensive puppetoons such as this one.
[youtube=425,350]2eTLL4QdoAU[/youtube]
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I should add that Pal was a pioneer in stop motion animation and made less offensive puppetoons such as this one.
Jeez Louise, I wonder what these guys were smoking... probably not pot, more like peyote!
Brilliant— absolutely bent, but brilliant.
8)
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U M & M seems to "present" a few of these old cartoons (I've seen "Swing You Sinners" before). From what I read they bought the rights for TV in the '50's and put their credits at the beginning and ending.
Thanks for posting these! It'll keep me busy for a few evenings.
James
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U M & M seems to "present" a few of these old cartoons (I've seen "Swing You Sinners" before). From what I read they bought the rights for TV in the '50's and put their credits at the beginning and ending.
Thanks for posting these! It'll keep me busy for a few evenings.
James
I think you're right, James, U M & M was strictly a distribution outfit, they didn't produce any films of their own. BeAStooge or garystooge can probably confirm this.
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