Putting toons on the patch

[Daniel270]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060822/en_tv_eo/19822

Ok... now, I have a bone to pick with this... The Flintstones, Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry are all toons I grew up watching. Now, they're talking about editing the cartoons to eliminate any presence of tobacco use (I'm sure they'll take out dipping references as well). Has our society gone so stupidly P.C. that classic shows will be censored to reflect our modern day views instead of keeping it historically accurate to the times when the toon was drawn?

( I wasn't sure if this should go here or in Politics.. so move it if necessary)

[AtomSmasher]

 

[ChadTower]

It makes Mighty Hiawatha cry in his little canoe.

[97thruhiker]

Yes, our society has gone stupidly PC.  Watch em while you can before they realize there are knives, guns, bombs, etc. in these toons also.

This reminds me of that Simpsons episode where they were protesting Itchy and Scratchy.  I love Itchy and Scratchy.

[TOK]

Cartoons have already been heavily edited in the US.

Most shootings have been removed (how many times did Elmer or Daffy get shot and have the resulting black face?), or the uneditable cartoons just not shown at all.
Suicides have also been removed... In the Turtle and Hare parody, where Bugs dresses like turtle in metal shell to beat the turtle (who dons a rabbit suit), the rabbit mob intervened to prevent the turtle from finishing, then shoots themselves when they find out Bugs was their guy "Now he tells us!" Boom. They now cut it right after Bugs says "You fools, I told you I was the Rabbit!"

There are already DVD's available proclaming to have the unedited versions of Looney Tunes, so its been a while.

[ChadTower]

Even those don't have many of the originals... like the Little Hiawatha Bugs/Elmer episode... or any of the WWII centric episodes.  Or any of the ones with black characters.  Seriously, people would go insane now if they showed the little black kid with giant lips and a watermelon.  Or swastikas.

[TOK]

Not sure if it made it to DVD, but I have a VHS with all the Warner Bros. WWII films.
They're promoting war bonds, and have what would be considered very offensive Japanese stereotypes... The Japanese soldier is short and has big thick glasses and huge gapped buck teeth. Think it has Daffy Duck acting like a goofy Hitler too, but its been years since I've watched it.

[ChadTower]

They did a LOT of WWII films... tons and tons of shorts about working in the factories, rationing, recycling critical resources (e.g. metals) for the war effort.  Most of them were never shown on TV as they were movie preview reels (as pretty much all of them were, but these weren't pure entertainment).

[shmokes]

Between the prudes on the right and the prigs on the left we're moving toward a country with no soul or imagination. 
Where nothing is allowed to reach our delicate eyes and ears unless it's first been sanitized and had anything that might be exciting or interesting scrubbed out of it.

[TOK]

Between the prudes on the right and the prigs on the left we're moving toward a country with no soul or imagination. 
Where nothing is allowed to reach our delicate eyes and ears unless it's first been sanitized and had anything that might be exciting or interesting scrubbed out of it.

As long as we can still shoot guns, ride dirt bikes, smoke cigars, drink booze, use gender and racial epithets and buy porn, I'm OK with editing cartoons. Especially Scooby Doo, that cartoon blows.

[AtomSmasher]

Heres something I always thought was funny.  A while back there was an error at a greeting card printing press and it made an extremely offensive looking Spongebob greeting card by accident.  The sad thing is, no one noticed until after the cards went to the stores, so the public actually got ahold of them and thought that the creators of Spongebob were racist, even though it was just a printing error.  Heres a picture of the card in question.

[97thruhiker]

[/quote]

As long as we can still shoot guns, ride dirt bikes, smoke cigars, drink booze, use gender and racial epithets and buy porn, I'm OK with editing cartoons. Especially Scooby Doo, that cartoon blows.
[/quote]

Zoinks!  I have to agree with you on Scooby Doo.  Never understood the cult-like facination with that one. 

[Dartful Dodger]

It's easy to blame "big business", the right or the left, but how many original cartoon DVDs were sold? .. and paid full price for, not picked it out of a bargain bin.

My sister buys her kids DVDs by the case.  She also wont let her kids watch Tom & Jerry because it's to violent.  She's probably in line at Best Buy right now with the "tobacco free" Scooby and Flintstones DVDs.

I bet these DVDs are over 2 hours long and they're marketing it as tobacco free because they edited the 2 seconds where a woman with a tray is yelling "cigars ... cigarettes..."  Now she's yelling "carrots ... apples...".

I didn't even hear about this until now, I bet a lot of people haven't, I also bet this thread criticizing "the man" will convince at least one person on this board to go out and buy these "safe" DVDs for their kid(s). 

Keep up the good work sticking it to the man.

[shmokes]

People like your sister make me sick.  She's going to get what's coming when those kids become teenagers. 

[ChadTower]

My kids aren't allowed to watch Tom and Jerry unless I am there with them.

Because I don't want to miss Tom and Jerry.

[shmokes]

You're going to get what's coming when they start dropping anvils on you and luring you into dog houses with ferocious dogs.

[ChadTower]

Tom and Jerry didn't use anvils.  They used normal stuff like frying pans, rakes, and windows.

[shmokes]

And swords.  They fenced quite a bit.  I can't wait until you get stabbed in the ass with a sword.

[ChadTower]

I can't wait until you get stabbed in the ass with a sword.

That's because you're totally gay.

[Daniel270]

Don't forget mousetraps, guillotines, explosives, marching ants, loose lumber and those naked girl cats who only wore ribbons in their hair.... lol

[ChadTower]

I wonder if painting Spike's kid black is offensive now.

[thebrownshow]

First of all, there is nothing funnier than the Tom & Jerrry "shhlop" sound that happens whenever Tom gets his tail cut off.  Priceless.

But on topic, this kind of editing has been going on for YEARS.

I suppose it was in the early-mid 80s, one of the networks would air primetime Warner Bros. specials where a bunch of cartoons would be compiled together, and they'd animate new segue piecies to tie it all up.  Things like Bugs telling his little nephew about their family's history, and they'd show clips of Bugs vs. Yosemite Sam throughout history.  In one particular clip, it's the old west.  Sam throws a can up in the air, and shoots it 5-6 times, making a bunch of holes.  In the original cartoon, Bugs tries to do the same thing, but as he follows the can back to the ground with his gun, he misses and shoots Sam in the face.  In the compilation version, they spliced in a NEW scene where Bugs fills the holes in the can with corks?!  Not only is this not as funny as seeing someone get shot in the face, but the new footage didn't quite match.

More recently, in airings of Tom & Jerry on cartoon network, the voice of the maid (who happened to be black) has been redubbed.  She used to have this great southern voice that must have been seen as offensive, but now it's lifeless and dull, and DOESN'T FIT WITH THE REST OF THE AUDIO.  Completely ruins the cartoons.

Anyway, this kind of thing certainly isn't new to the classic cartoon world, and it really makes me sick.

[ChadTower]

More recently, in airings of Tom & Jerry on cartoon network, the voice of the maid (who happened to be black) has been redubbed.  She used to have this great southern voice that must have been seen as offensive, but now it's lifeless and dull, and DOESN'T FIT WITH THE REST OF THE AUDIO.  Completely ruins the cartoons.

We noticed that watching Tom and Jerry... she's not a big fat black woman anymore.  Now she sounds like Al Gore.

[Vigo]

Oh, I remember that episode...thats like the first one! Tom was actually called Jasper in that episode.

"Jasper! If you break one more thing in this house, I'm gonna throw you outta here. O - U - W - T!"

I think it is more disrespectful that they took out a famous black Actresss out of the cartoon. Back then, it was rare to be black and in show business, and it was looked at, by many, as a civil rights statement to be in such a position.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Randolph

[ChadTower]

There were quite a few episodes with the black maid.  Not just one.

[NIVO]

yea the editing of tom and jerry was pure crap. It was still fine less than 10 years ago, and suddenyl we have to "do the right thing" now, its a frickin toon. The stuff thats out right now is pure lame garbage. Its been considered classics for as long as I can remember, and they feel the need to destroy them 

Also if you ever see the Bugs Bunny one where he goes underwater with the dog, the dog commits suicide. Well, not anymore he doesnt. That one has been edited for over 2 years atleast and its pretty stupid how they cut it up. It just ends abruptly and without warning. Im waitin for someone to find something wrong with Fat Albert now. That reminds me of another toon related topic, I must go and pick up my DVD of Hong Kong Phoeey. I still cant beleive it says "All 31 episodes". I swear there were more than that 

[ChadTower]

Fat Albert won't get touched... it was produced by Bill Cosby, who is considered a black icon.  Untouchable.  It will just go under the diversity label.

[NightGod]

Fat Albert won't get touched... it was produced by Bill Cosby, who is considered a black icon.  Untouchable.  It will just go under the diversity label.

Though he lost a bit of love in the black community with his whole "the black community is falling way behind on education and it's our own fault" speech a couple of years ago.

[97thruhiker]

Fat Albert won't get touched... it was produced by Bill Cosby, who is considered a black icon.  Untouchable.  It will just go under the diversity label.

Though he lost a bit of love in the black community with his whole "the black community is falling way behind on education and it's our own fault" speech a couple of years ago.

Bill hasn't slowed down yet.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=bill+cosby

[ChadTower]

He only lost love in the head in the sand black community.  The ones who listen to the leaders like Sharpton that don't give a crap about the community itself.  Most of the black folks I know agreed with Bill Cosby to at least some extent.

[Vigo]

yep, just because what Cosby said wasn't easy, doesn't make him wrong...he's one of the few people I see out there who is saying that people should take responsibility for their actions rather than blame society. Cosby been one of my heroes since i was a kid...

I'm gonna go watch "Ghost Dad".

[thebrownshow]

He's just about the only good reason to go to good ol' Temple University... he speaks at graduation every year.  The best part of my sister's graduation ceremony was the woman sitting behind us who kept yelling "GO PITTURE PAGE! YEAH BILL! YOU TELL 'EM PITTURE PAGE!"  ... of course, if that woman was in a Tom & Jerry cartoon, they would have dubbed over her, yet I thought she was awesome.

[ChadTower]

It stuns me that when someone stands up and says "take care of your children... learn to read... stop shooting people" that anyone even has the balls to say those aren't things people should do.

[AtomSmasher]

I'm gonna go watch "Ghost Dad".

Leonard Part 6 was his best movie.  How many movies does a guy ride an ostrich out of an exploding building   

[ChadTower]

Wait, I just finally got to read an article on this... this whole thing was prompted by one complaint by one viewer?

[Daniel270]

Then maybe, if enough people counter-complain, they'll either leave the toons alone.. OR... restore them to their original condition

[Dartful Dodger]

this whole thing was prompted by one complaint by one viewer?

The rules do not allow smoking to be glamorized in children's programming.

It doesn't matter how many people witness the wrong being committed.

If you want children's programming to be able to promote smoking, you'll need to change the rules that banned it in the first place.



Marlboro would be more than happy to fund the next Pixar project.

[NightGod]

Most of the smoking I saw in cartoons growing up was of the "exploding cigar" variety.

Is that REALLY a major glamorization of smoking??

[Vigo]

In my entire lifetime of watching childrens programming, I have never seen cigarette smoking truely glamorized. (yes, I still have been caught watching childrens programming) When I become a parent, I will even be ok with letting my kids watch a show where the good guy smokes. Why? because I will take enough responsibility to let my kids know what smoking is and does, and will not let my kids get near the stuff while they are under my houshold.

I've watched a lot of things growing up that had smoking. Clint Eastwood was a childhood hero of mine...He never made me smoke, even though he would always have his stogies that he would light up.

[Howard_Casto]

I hope I don't offend our ethnically diverse readers out here but I can tell you the absolute and complete cause of all this b.s.  To put it bluntly, everybody in the US can say whatever the hell they want, as long as they aren't white. 

See if a team of black writers make a movie today that involves blackface, it's considered to be social commentary or something hi-art.  On the other hand if a white team of writers were to write the exact same script, it would be considered offensive and never get to air.  Because of this horrible double-standard, networks and media companys are frightened to say anything even remotely offensive towards anyone (except rednecks, nobody seems to be offended bashing the poor old redneck) unless the cast is prodominately ethnic or the writing staff is. 

To give you an example, several of the looney toons cartoons that involve goofy "hill billies" are still aired today on televison, which is a horribly racist (yet hilarious) portrayal of people from my reigon.  Or at least judging from what our ethnically diverse friends consider to be racist it is, personally I just find it to be funny.  On the other hand, any stereotypical protrayals of black or asian people in the shorts have been removed.  In all three cases they are over-dramatized stereo types of the races they represent but only the white guy is allowed in.  I can only conclude that it's ok to make fun of white people but nobody else.

Now see I'm all against racisim so if anything in any of these cartoons were truely racist then I would be the first to say to ditch em, but they really aren't.  Cartoons exaggerate, so of course when they show an asain guy he's gonna have thick glasses (and probably a camera), when they show a black guy, he's gonna have big lips and talk like a guy from the south, when you show a guy from the mountains he's gonna have a long beard and a few teeth missing.  See that's the FUNNY part.  It's not offensive unless you have a stick up your butt.  I mean have you guys seen Elmer Fudd?  Do you think all white hunters actually look that goofy?  (ok don't answer that )

We aren't talking about racist cartoons of the 20's and 30's where all black people chucked spears and all asians tip-toed around in those pointed hats, these are just characterizations of certain types of people. 

I've never been more offended in my life when they replaced the voice of the black maid in tom and jerry.  I know women who look and talk EXACTLY like her.  So if I were to characterize these women in some sort of short or film I would be considered racist?  That's just a steaming load.


I don't even want to comment on the violence censoring.  Somebody outta explain that violence is the basis of all warner bros. animated humor.  I mean literally, the shorts revolve around characters hurting each other... hilarious.