Looney Tunes Censored 11 comes to Warner Archive in 2011! (1 Viewer)

[Regulus]

"PC Issues" just as bad as Music Rights or Ownership Issues. Go check out Post #59 in the 1966 Batman Thread to see who benefits from all of this. Right from the Horse's Mouth!

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by WillG /t/304867/looney-tunes-censored-11-comes-to-warner-archive-in-2011/60#post_3984721
Somehow I get the feeling that WB may want to avoid commemorating their 90's anniversary with controversial material.

I don't know, we live in an age were having 7 degrees separation from celebrity and a sleazy sex tape can net you a multi-million dollar TV deal. I'd think courting controversy would fit in exactly with Warners pushing forward their brands.

Kidding aside, I don't see this happening without doing it in such a set. Unless it's marketed this blatantly not only to adults but to collectors you run the risk of some dumb parent buying it for the kids and being offended.

Or the archives would work, but I don't like the archives.

 

[Sky Captain]

Somehow I get the feeling that WB may want to avoid commemorating their 90's anniversary with controversial material.

I agree.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Or the archives would work, but I don't like the archives.

Of course, the Archive are now doing the initial batches of titles that they expect to be big sellers on pressed media (rather than burnt), so it might not be a bad place to release these (if they don't see any other way). I can't imagine they want to allow these to escape to regular retail outlets.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I recently rewatched Song of the South and it's clear the blacks are not slaves. While their exact relationship to the plantation isn't explicit, it seems pretty clear from the context that they're sharecropping and no one except the landowner ever got rich off sharecropping. It's still a pseudo-feudal setup not all that far removed from slavery. Many of them would have been former slaves, though. I wasn't there so I can't say with certainty whether the way of life of former slaves who ended up sharecropping really changed all that much--probably less beating but I'm pretty sure it still wasn't exactly the Promised Land. As was said above, Hollywood is not exactly renowned for its historical accuracy and attention to detail.
I think what Disney is really scared of is the potential reaction from the right wing about the movie, not the left. Despite its overblown reputation, if you watch it closely the movie actually depicts all adult blacks as good, wise, hard-working and decent people. The adult whites on the other hand, range from imbeciles to total and complete bastards. If Bill O'Reilly and Dinesh D'Souza saw this they'd scream bloody murder that Disney was engaging in reverse discrimination. Disney does NOT want to be subjected to an endless stream of criticism on Fox News.
It still would be nice to get some kind of official release of this and the censored 11.

 

[WillG]

I think what Disney is really scared of is the potential reaction from the right wing about the movie, not the left. .

I would imagine you would hear plenty from the usual suspects when it comes to this kind of thing. I doubt that at face value, hardly anyone watching this movie would even give the political issues a second thought. But there are a few who have power in the media who are happy to use this kind of thing to further their cause/agenda no matter how ridiculous (or even knowingly falsified) said controversy is. And really, how often do you hear outrage in the media over negative depictions of White, Male, wealthy Fat Cats?
I think that Disney and WB just don't want that kind of trouble for titles which I have to think are of low interest overall to the general public.

 

[TravisR]

Despite its overblown reputation...

Unfortunately, its reptutation is all that matters. Many people won't actually watch the movie or something crazy like that, they'll read a headline saying "Disney releases racist movie" and be outraged. If someone watched Song Of The South and is offended, I have no problem with that. They're entitled to their opinion as much as I am. However, when people make a judgment based on a headline or news story without any more 'investigation' or thought, I have a problem.

 

[Essanay Paul]

Yeah, another lesson learned - do not believe Jerry Beck.

Jerry is a friend of mine and I must inject here that because he is not employed by Warner Brothers, he does not have the final say. Jerry can make suggestions, work on the interviews and bonus material, but he is not involved in the disc production and release. Jerry is with us, a fan, and he uses his connections with the various studios to influence the release of classic animation. But he does NOT work for any of the studios and can not make the final decisions, he can only influence them.
There are MANY animation DVD releases that Jerry works on which never see the light of day. Remember the 4 box sets of Theatrical Popeye Cartoons that would encompass the entire theatrical out-put of Paramount Popeye Cartoons, both B&W and Color? They were a reality until the DVD market dropped after set 1 got released. Then set 2 got split in half and sets 3 & 4 got cancelled.
As we all know, DVD release plans can change. When Jerry mentions something it is usually a definite planned release, but it could still get cancelled. So trust what Jerry says as true plans in the workings, but not a sure-fire release.
In January the Warner Archive will make some of their 2013 release announcements. I know of some of their plans, but I won't say a word until there is an official announcement. Why? Because those plans could change this month. It takes no time to create the DVD-r's so any cancellations could happen at the last minute.

 

[Essanay Paul]

Why isn't Bugs bunny Nips the Nips being included and this being called the censored 12?
Shouldn't it be?

The phrase "Censored 11" was not created by Warner Brothers, they didn't even own their cartoons at the time. They had been sold off to AAP, Associated Artists Productions, who got absorbed by United Artists. In the 1960's, with racial tension between blacks & whites, UA got complaints from TV stations and removed 11 titles with black characters (and heavily edited the negatives of "September In the Rain"). Fans quickly called these the "Censored 11" and sought bootleg film prints to fill their collections.
"Bugs Bunny Nips The Nips" was still being sent to television stations in the mid-1980s (I worked in TV then and we had a 16mm print sent to us). It wasn't until after Ted Turner released it on his Looney Tunes Laserdisc set #1 that someone at Turner Entertainment decided that it should be removed from television syndication.
By the way, Turner also shipped ALL of the Popeye cartoons to us in 16mm, including "You're A Sap Mr. Jap" and "Popeye Al-A-Mode". It was left up to the TV stations not to run these.

 

[Timothy E]

Is it possible that these have been delayed until the Warner Archive has started its Blu-ray release program? I have heard rumors that George Feltenstein wants to see the remaining Popeye shorts released in HD, so why not Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies as well? I hope this is the case, even if it may seem like a long shot.

I will buy all of the Looney Tunes and Popeye shorts that are released in HD, provided that I am not forced to double dip several times over on the same cartoons in different collections.

 

[Greg Chenoweth]

Still hoping Popeye Volume 4 will be coming out next year and these rare WB Looney Tunes cartoons as well.

I am hoping for the same thing.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

The impression I got from Jerry in his last interview is that WB has already heavily invested in the Censored 11 set and all but ready for release (cartoons have been restored, bonuses and disclaimers have been created, etc.). So, many thousands of dollars have been spent on getting these cartoons ready for release, and no studio will invest that kind of cabbage if they had no chance of making it back.
I'm sure well see the set, one way or another (retail or WAC).
Also from that chat, apparently WHV has (barely) commenced restoring color Popeye cartoons, and is looking for the release to coincide with the new CGI movie from Sony.

 

[ChrisALM]

Originally Posted by Timothy E /t/304867/looney-tunes-censored-11-comes-to-warner-archive-in-2011/60#post_4019089
Is it possible that these have been delayed until the Warner Archive has started its Blu-ray release program? I have heard rumors that George Feltenstein wants to see the remaining Popeye shorts released in HD, so why not Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies as well? I hope this is the case, even if it may seem like a long shot.

I will buy all of the Looney Tunes and Popeye shorts that are released in HD, provided that I am not forced to double dip several times over on the same cartoons in different collections.

The two Platinum Collection Looney Tunes BD sets are mostly double dips from the Golden Collections, something WB originally said they would not do. I don't mind WB releasing different collections like this, so long as they release something that collectors can purchase that will ultimately give collectors BDs of all the Looney Tunes. Right now, we don't know if the Platinum Collections will abruptly end like the Golden Collections did - with the majority of the Looney Tunes remaining unreleased. And then what?

The Popeye shorts that have been released were in chronological order and the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection Volume 1 was released in chronological order. Why not do the same for the Looney Tunes, in addition to, all the Platinum Collections and various other release configurations?

I have the Tom & Jerry Bluray set and I would purchase the rest of the Popeye shorts on Bluray as well. However, since I already have all of the Looney Tunes Golden Collections, I'm not going to purchase the Platinum Collections until it becomes clear that purchasing these sets will ultimately provide a complete set of all the Looney Tunes.

 

[Pooch]

Hi there, I'm new here, so apologies if it seems like I'm jumping in on your conversation. As a Black British guy, and an avid animation fan, AND a big fan of the issues surrounding censorship, I would love Warners to release the so-called "Censored 11" animations. Although I own some of these on a bootleg controversial cartoons collection series, I do believe that historically-speaking, we can't just airbrush history away, and pretend it never happened, no matter how nasty, disgusting or abhorrent the event. The "Censored 11" are only going to be aimed-at, and geared towards animation fans and collectors. They won't be aimed-at kids, families and people who love Warner Bros cartoons in general. As such, I would expect Warners to target their advertising and retail accordingly. In other words, you may find these animations available on Amazon.com but not from your local Best Buy (or HMV here in the UK) stores. I would also expect these cartoons to come in packaging, that clearly and deliberately states that these animations are NOT suitable for children, and will contain material that may offend many people, due to their historical depiction of non-whites. It will then be up to stores to make sure that purchasers are fully-aware of the content inside them. Yes, there will undoubtedly be some people who buy these animations, deliberately to go "Oh, look at Warners releasing this disgusting filth into our kids homes. How repellant!". And, undoubtedly, there will be some people who buy this release, who want to use it as a way to indoctrinate others that all Blacks, Jews, Native Americans (insert other subjugated minority of your choice here) should be treated. There will always be morons and imbeciles who take everything at face value, but as a forum of sensible, mature, rational and intelligent adults, surely it is in our interest to educate and inform people that not everything that was aimed at children circa 1940, is now suitable for children, circa 2013? History moves on, and as such, we need to show kids of today (and adults too) that we made mistakes in the past. Learning from those mistakes is a good thing. Teaching kids of today that poking fun at people in animations, based on outdated stereotypes and biases, is wrong. Sometimes, it's necessary to use the very things you want to forget about, as a tool to remember our past and learn from it. I believe that releasing these "Censored 11" is better than trying to eradicate them and pretend that they never got created and released. Pooch

 

[Sumnernor]

I highly agree What about Song of the South?

 

[Joe Lugoff]

The title and mood of "Song of the South" implies that it was a great time and place. In the context of the movie, it's the black people in it, not the white people, that make it seem that it might have been a great time and place. Black people today would be outraged at the very idea -- it's a whitewashing (no pun intended) of reality. I think the complaints would come from the left, not the right. However, it's no worse than "Gone with the Wind," so why "Song of the South" is singled out is somewhat mysterious. I do know that black people don't like it when white people try to portray the way they lived, whether it be "Show Boat," "Porgy and Bess" or Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories. Yet the other titles I mentioned live on and on! There's really no justification for the suppression of "Song of the South" other than fear.

 

[Rob_Ray]

The title and mood of "Song of the South" implies that it was a great time and place. In the context of the movie, it's the black people in it, not the white people, that make it seem that it might have been a great time and place. Black people today would be outraged at the very idea -- it's a whitewashing (no pun intended) of reality. I think the complaints would come from the left, not the right. However, it's no worse than "Gone with the Wind," so why "Song of the South" is singled out is somewhat mysterious. I do know that black people don't like it when white people try to portray the way they lived, whether it be "Show Boat," "Porgy and Bess" or Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories. Yet the other titles I mentioned live on and on! There's really no justification for the suppression of "Song of the South" other than fear.

I think the time has come when Song of the South should be given a pass as a relic of an earlier now-distant era. However, Disney, being the number one supplier of children's entertainment, is held to a higher standard when it comes to what is acceptable for children to watch. Not too many kids will be watching Show Boat or Porgy and Bess, sad to say, and GWTW's success is so phenomenal that Warners would never dare ban it.

 

[Essanay Paul]

"The Popeye shorts that have been released were in chronological order and the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection Volume 1 was released in chronological order. Why not do the same for the Looney Tunes, in addition to, all the Platinum Collections and various other release configurations?" Nobody would want to buy a collection of B&W "Buddy" cartoons, that is why no chronological collection of Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny MUST be in every collection. And this is the official statement received from WB. To properly compare this to Tom & Jerry, your statement should read: "All MGM Cartoons released in chronological order", which they weren't.

 

[ChrisALM]

Originally Posted by Essanay Paul
"The Popeye shorts that have been released were in chronological order and the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection Volume 1 was released in chronological order. Why not do the same for the Looney Tunes, in addition to, all the Platinum Collections and various other release configurations?"
Nobody would want to buy a collection of B&W "Buddy" cartoons, that is why no chronological collection of Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny MUST be in every collection. And this is the official statement received from WB.
To properly compare this to Tom & Jerry, your statement should read: "All MGM Cartoons released in chronological order", which they weren't.

I understand what you are saying and agree there are some potential problems that would need to be addressed in releasing a chronological Looney Tunes Collectors set. My point is when it came to Popeye and Tom and Jerry, WB released them in chronological order, and as a result we have the B&W Popeyes and a logical place to restart the releases. With Tom & Jerry, if the Volume 1 release pattern continues on future Bluray volumes, we will have a complete set of Tom & Jerry. I appreciate releases such as these, and I would think most collectors do, too.
But what do we have with the Looney Tunes Platinum Collections? For the most part, double dips of the Golden Collections. I would have preferred a chronological Golden Collections, but we didn't get that. I purchased them any way, hoping to support future releases and ultimately acquire a complete collection of the Looney Tunes. I am really not that interested in purchasing a Bluray Collection of the Golden Collections - unless it will ultimately result in a complete Looney Tunes Bluray Collection.

 

[Sumnernor]

I am a little rusty with the details, it seems that all the Tom and Jerry were released in the US on non-bluray disks EXCEPT 2 which were released unmodified in the German/English set. Those sets were extremely modified EXCEPT the 2 cartoons NOT on the US set!!? Like many, I would also like released ALL the unmodified cartoons of Tex Avery.