TheLittleSongbird
Not all the "Censored 11" cartoons are bad cartoons. With a good lot of them, you can see why they're not for the easily offended. Some of the cartoons still manage to be entertaining, and a couple especially 'Goldilocks and the Three Jivin' Bears' are pretty tame and entertain enormously.'Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land' is not among the most offensive of the "Censored 11" cartoons. The material is questionable and it's not funny, often cringe-worthy, but there are other cartoons that have far more racial content and to worse effect, especially 'Angel Puss' (also to me the worst of the "Censored 11" cartoons), 'Jungle Jitters' and 'All This and Rabbit Stew', also really disliked the exaggerated character designs in 'Tin Pan Alley Cats'.That aside, it's still one of the dullest. The best thing about it is the animation, which is great, very atmospheric and inventive. The music is also energetic, beautifully orchestrated and effectively spooky in parts. A couple of parts are cute.Conversely, it is too derivative of 'Steamboat Willie' and 'The Skeleton Dance' (two wonderful and iconic cartoons that regardless of age will forever stand the test of time), except with little of the charm and entertainment of the former or little (or as effective) of the imaginative spookiness and wonderful weirdness of the latter. There are small glimpses, but too sporadic.Especially when there is such a wafer-thin story and very dull pacing. What also adds to the dullness is that it is just not funny, didn't detect a single thing worth laughing at and too much of the material was stupid and cringe-worthy, especially everything with the embarrassment that is the Uncle Tom character, who is a poorly drawn (the one thing in the animation that is lacking) and lazily written stereotype.All in all, there are more offensive "Censored 11" cartoons but this is one of the dullest and got nothing out of it outside of the animation and the music. 3/10 Bethany Cox
bugssponge
Overall, I think this cartoon wasn't for me. I understand why it is banned, but that's not going to change my rating. The cartoon just isn't funny. It's just dancing with skeletons, which was okay, but then A save of Uncle Tom is going to be pointless if it is in the protagonists' favor. If there was more to it like multiple attempts to save, then it would more entertaining, but this one doesn't cut it for me.The first few Looney Tunes were not amusing. Occasionally, there will be a laugh or two, but that's it.
MartinHafer
This is one of the infamous "Censored 11" cartoons from Looney Toons. Back in the 1960s, the company then owning the rights to the films (United Artists) decided to pull 11 of the cartoons from circulation because of racist elements. Some were incredibly racist and insensitive (even for the 1930s or 40s), though oddly some reviewers have championed the worst of these--saying they aren't offensive. Well, with a few of the cartoons (such as JUNGLE JITTERS), they might be up for debate but some are truly evil cartoons and I just can't see why anyone would defend them (such COAL BLACK AND DE SEBBEN Dwarfs--you have to see it to believe how awful and offensive it is).My complaint about this one isn't just because it may be perceived as racist by most viewers. Sure, some of the characters are clearly seem to be "happy Negroes" living in the antebellum South--especially one named "Uncle Tom" (now THAT'S subtle!). But my main complaint is that the film is clearly a rip-off of at least two famous Disney cartoons. The pig-like character sure looks and acts like Mickey Mouse from STEAMBOAT WILLIE and the skeletons dancing about are practically lifted from the award-winning SKELETON DANCE. And, this was NOT "fair use" of ideas or characters--it's theft. Despite one reviewer incorrectly claiming that Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising were responsible for Mickey Mouse (it was by all historical accounts Ub Iwerks who created and animated most of the early Mickey cartoons and the rights were owned by Walt Disney).The only positive thing I can say about this toon is that the animation, while derivative, is rather high quality compared to other products of the same era.My advice is that this and all the Censored 11 cartoons should not be shown on broadcast television unless they are shown with some sort of prologue that could explain the context and reasons they offend. Having them continue to be available on the internet (when you can find them) isn't a bad thing, however, as I am loathe to ban any sort of speech and it is an unfortunate but important part of our history. And if we eliminate EVERYTHING that might offend from our history, then we are left with,...well,...nothing!
tavm
Just saw this, one of Warner Bros. infamous "Censored 11" that will probably never be on regular television again and will probably be only available on public domain tapes or DVDs from bargain basement companies or the internet, on Thad's Animation Blog. It begins with a sequence inspired by Steamboat Willie with whistles and dancing, continues with another one with an "Uncle Tom" character at a graveyard with skeletons dancing possibly inspired by Skeleton Dance, and ends back at that same steamboat with the "Tom" character getting his butt nicked by a giant saw! Yikes! That last scene, along with a couple of characters laughing at it, disturbed me more than any "stereotyping" in here that might be offensive to some viewers today. Other than that, this was a pretty entertaining musical cartoon made by Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising long after leaving Walt Disney before he created his famous mouse.