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From Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs I found "iffy" imagery.
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Top 10 Controversial Cartoon Episodes
- Thread starter DrForester
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DeaconKnowledge
Member
DrForester said:
Neither were "aimed at children".
Jet Grind Radio!
Banned
And yet, it had the only family at the time who actually went to church every Sunday and had a character that was a "good" practicing Christian.DeaconKnowledge said:
Of course, there was also the whole letter to the Bushes thing.
TheVampire
Banned
What about that episode of Spongebob Squarepants?
"Rock-A-Bye Bivalve" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season three, which is highly controversial due to allegedly portraying Spongebob and Patrick as a gay couple.
This episode is the most controversial of the series. Spongebob and Patrick's relationship in this episode is comparable to that of a gay couple. Sexual jokes include:
-When SpongeBob and Patrick are playing with the scallop in a musical montage, they are seen bicycling with the scallop past two fish, a male and a female. The male fish appears to be very confused and is shown with a thought bubble over his head, containing the equation "Sponge + Starfish = Scallop?"
-When it's time for bed, the camera angles suggest that SpongeBob and Patrick are getting into the same bed and are talking about the baby scallop, but then the camera pulls away to reveal that the two are, in fact, sleeping on different layers of the same bed and not on the same mattress.
-At the end of the episode, when the scallop flies away and SpongeBob and Patrick are reminiscing about the fun times they had with the scallop, Patrick suggests "Let's have another", and SpongeBob seems to be in shock. Then the screen cuts to black and the episode ends. In a few arings, that quote was censored out.
"Rock-A-Bye Bivalve" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season three, which is highly controversial due to allegedly portraying Spongebob and Patrick as a gay couple.
This episode is the most controversial of the series. Spongebob and Patrick's relationship in this episode is comparable to that of a gay couple. Sexual jokes include:
-When SpongeBob and Patrick are playing with the scallop in a musical montage, they are seen bicycling with the scallop past two fish, a male and a female. The male fish appears to be very confused and is shown with a thought bubble over his head, containing the equation "Sponge + Starfish = Scallop?"
-When it's time for bed, the camera angles suggest that SpongeBob and Patrick are getting into the same bed and are talking about the baby scallop, but then the camera pulls away to reveal that the two are, in fact, sleeping on different layers of the same bed and not on the same mattress.
-At the end of the episode, when the scallop flies away and SpongeBob and Patrick are reminiscing about the fun times they had with the scallop, Patrick suggests "Let's have another", and SpongeBob seems to be in shock. Then the screen cuts to black and the episode ends. In a few arings, that quote was censored out.
SonicMegaDrive said:
Actually, that's incorrect. Ever head of Al Jolson? This particular cartoon was both a play on him and the very common Uncle Tom's Cabin melodramas of the day. Not that it makes it less offenseive, but Micky was NOT originally designed as a minstrel show performer.
Now Bosko on the other hand...
realraptor
Member
No mention of The Simpsons going to Canada a few times?
timetokill
Banned
Stitch said:
it would just give them what they want most
better to just leave them off the list
GitarooMan
Member
Ha, never heard of the censored 11, interesting. I saw Song of the South when I was very young, don't really remember much of it (outside of riding Splash Mountain 100 times and seeing some of the characters)
timetokill
Banned
I had Song of the South on VHS as a kid somehow, so I ended up watching it a lot. Still can recall the song immediately :lol
Seriously though, some really good, fun animation.
Seriously though, some really good, fun animation.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
Gaborn said:
The Simpsons first aired in 1989. Not sure what your comparison to the Boondocks is getting at.
Dali said:
I'm aware of where it started. My point is that at the time the idea that the Simpsons was a cartoon meant it was inherently "aimed at children" by the general public (which is what my quotes were for).
We shrug it off now due to the deluge of prime time and adult animationthat pushes the boundaries (Like the aforementioned Boondocks), but at the time the Simpsons was considered very crass and lewd for an animated primetime show, particularly since the last such show was anything but.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Enoch said:
Even if it wasn't intentional, you can't deny that the influence of minstrel shows of that day had a huge effect on the personality and appearance of the early Mickey Mouse, as well as many other popular cartoon characters of the black & white era.
realraptor said:
If I remember well they did atone for this one in the show. In the Canada episode they laugh at the billingualism saying francophone are stupid when they read Homer's right in both languages in jail. They also made fun of the health system/easy access to drugs/medicines.
To atone, later in another episode, they sing Canada's anthem at a baseball game and Marge is waiving both Quebec and Canada's flag.
EDIT : Also in the french dub (quebec version) they reversed the joke. Saying anglophones were stupid.
DeaconKnowledge said:
That the idea that a "cartoon" has to be a "kids show" hasn't ever been particularly accurate. Cartoons have historical sometimes been aimed at kids (Dennis the Menace as an example, most Superman and other super hero comics), been aimed more at adults (Dick Tracy as a good example), and some have been aimed at both (Little Orphan Annie had a lot for kids, but also was laced with strong critques of FDR's "New Deal" which... clearly was not an "adult" thing). In terms of animation it's probably more true that the focus was largely on kids... but most of the time cartoons have elements which are primarily aimed more at adults than kids.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Enoch said:
I've always thought that Mickey Mouse, in the beginning, was pretty much just Oswald the Rabbit, only drawn slightly differently. Of course, under Walt's guidance, his personality evolved and became more fleshed-out to become the Mickey Mouse we all know today.
As for the short, "mickey's mellerdrammer", yeah, that's just a simple satire of "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
DeaconKnowledge
Member
Gaborn said:
Again I point to my parentheses. The controversy with the Simpsons at the time was that by the very virtue of it being animated that it was "directed at children". I'm not arguing this myself, i'm saying that the show was seen as controversial because this was the common opinion when the Simpsons first aired.
SonicMegaDrive said:
Fun fact: Mickey Mouse was originally named Mortimer Mouse.
DeaconKnowledge - At one point SESAME STREET was considered "too controversial" for children as well as "subversive" when it first aired. Just because there was a little flap (oooh bart said "crap" our poor little childrens ears!) doesn't mean that any of that is lasting, timeless controversy. The comics listed in the top 10 here are going to be controversial pretty much forever since the day they aired till now and well into the future. The simpsons? Not so much, it'll never have that lasting controversial impact.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Gaborn said:
Yeah, that was Walt's first choice. But I believe it was his wife who convinced him that 'Mickey' was a better name.
Somehow, 'Mortimer' just doesn't seem to have the same appeal.
worldrunover
Member
BertramCooper said:
Wow. Def the most racist cartoon I've seen on this page so far.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
Gaborn said:
The Simpsons is the grandfather of a lot of the shows you see IN that list. The controversies it launched may not have been as overt, but they are just as if not more relevant, particularly because it pushed the boundaries to allow these shows to do these things in the first place.
DeaconKnowledge said:
In a sense, but really, the simpsons is the grandchild of shows like the Flintstones or the Jetsons, shows that primarily aimed their humor and situations at adults, but that kids could appreciate it. In fact, it was SO aimed at adults their major sponsor was Winston Cigarettes. It became more of a kids show later on and gradually incorporated more "kid friendly" storylines, but still, it was fundamentally an adult show. The Simpsons perceived "edginess" was little more than passé toilet humor and "bad words" passing as pushing "boundaries."
It's ridiculous that these media companies hold back so many classic films and shorts, as if somehow people are somehow too fragile to see the content.
It's not like I'm going to see a racist Bugs Bunny cartoon and think Warner Bros hates black people.
Of course, it doesn't help my cause that the even the supposedly open-minded NYT was in favor of censoring Aladdin.
It's not like I'm going to see a racist Bugs Bunny cartoon and think Warner Bros hates black people.
Of course, it doesn't help my cause that the even the supposedly open-minded NYT was in favor of censoring Aladdin.
Rewrite
Not as deep as he thinks
Wow, that was an interesting read. I also managed to see all the videos posted in this thread and I also find it very intriguing due to all the controversy of it. They're a part of our history and it's interesting to see how during those times (like the Bugs Bunny cartoon), how these cartoons were handled.
Since someone mentioned Tom & Jerry, I will always remember this episode where it's like in the medieval times or something and Tom is given the task to protect something or keep quiet for the king (forgot which). If he fails to do so, they would chop his head off. As it turns out, at the end of the episode, Tom gets busted and the scene moves on with Jerry and the gray mouse walking in the streets and you see this guillotine with it's blade coming down and it basically implies Tom getting beheaded. Then the gray mouse that's accompanying Jerry says, "Poor pussycat" and shrug it off and continue happily marching in the streets like nothing happened.
Since someone mentioned Tom & Jerry, I will always remember this episode where it's like in the medieval times or something and Tom is given the task to protect something or keep quiet for the king (forgot which). If he fails to do so, they would chop his head off. As it turns out, at the end of the episode, Tom gets busted and the scene moves on with Jerry and the gray mouse walking in the streets and you see this guillotine with it's blade coming down and it basically implies Tom getting beheaded. Then the gray mouse that's accompanying Jerry says, "Poor pussycat" and shrug it off and continue happily marching in the streets like nothing happened.
Beavis and Butthead deserves a spot on the list. They had at least two episodes that only aired once, including the one that showed them huffing off a gas stove. That episode led to a house being blown up, allegedly.
Also, Beavis eventually had to stop saying 'Fire.' It sounds absurd now but it was pretty big news back in the day. The way Mike Judge danced around it was hilarious.
Also, Beavis eventually had to stop saying 'Fire.' It sounds absurd now but it was pretty big news back in the day. The way Mike Judge danced around it was hilarious.
turnbuckle
Member
DeaconKnowledge said:
I agree...I think a lot of people are forgetting the vibe around the time the Simpsons first came out. In fact, isn't there an easter egg on the Season 1 DVD of a news report at the time of Simpsons related clothing/merchandise being banned from schools? I know first hand that the afterschool program I went to around that time banned Simpsons (but especially Bart) clothing. I remember thinking "wow, sucks for you guys" cuz my best friend and I(and some other kids) went to private school and had to wear uniforms, so by default we were immune to it.
And yes, "The Simpsons" was aimed at kids, no matter how adult-accessible it also was...I don't recall any Married with Children or Roseanne NES or Gameboy or Arcade games at the time...or kid-sized Halloween costumes, or PEZ dispensers, or Candybar tie-ins, or children's bed sheets, comic books, lunchboxes, pencil sharpeners, erasers, bookbags, etc. Yes, it was a big deal at the time for a lil 10 year old cartoon boy to say "Damn" "Hell no" and call his father by his first name.
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
Holy crap I laughed my ass off throughout Coal Black.
Dreams-Visions
Member
LOL.squicken said:
see, this is what becomes of you when you grow up with no perspective on the last 50-70 years of American history or the black experience therein. it wasn't that long ago that these things effectively encouraged and helped to sustain a culture of inequality and inequity towards people of color. it wasn't that long ago that these things had so much effect that people of color sought out hair-straightening chemicals and skin bleaching cream in an effort to be more culturally acceptable. it wasn't that long ago that these kinds of cartoons were used to justify your stereotypes and provide context to hate.
in fact, most of those things are still happening/available today. then again, most of my white brothers and sisters don't understand the cultural privileged that they inherited and almost never think about it. such is the convenience. the drawback is a lack of perspective and ability to empathize.
oh well.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
7Th said:
I was always mad when they aired Road Runner episodes instead of Speedy episodes.
Speedy was the shit.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Dreams-Visions said:
So if we eliminate and forget cartoons like this..... there was never any inequality in the country?
Trying to eliminate and forget things like this seems to me to be a big disservice to history. While there is little to nothing positive about the content in these cartoons, they do provide a record of the culture of the day, and show how bigotry and such were so mainstream that they could be shown like this.
Jet Grind Radio! said:
Pretty much! I'm super white, but everyone on my Mom's side of the family was super Hispanic so Speedy Gonzales was a common sight on the TV. My Grandpa would even throw out his signature lines whenever he wanted us to hurry up with something :lol Sure, Speedy was a stereotype, but he was also the only remotely-Mexican cartoon character.
There was a lot of outrage in the house when; I think it was Regis & Kathy-Lee, they had some "expert" talking about how Looney Toons were violent and telling people how offended we should all be about Speedy.
Goddamn crackers, indeed
a Master Ninja
Member
Reversing the intent of a joke is an incredibly lame thing to do.Vamphuntr said:
Byakuya769
Member
PepsimanVsJoe said:
You're one of "those" guys on xbox live, aren't ya?
timetokill
Banned
Vamphuntr said:
Super-lame. Wow.
evil solrac v3.0
Member
fuck that, i don't consider any of these racist. they are what you want them to be.
I'm surprised Donald Duck as a Nazi didn't make the list.
Never knew about The Censored Eleven, fascinating stuff.
Never knew about The Censored Eleven, fascinating stuff.
Alx
Member
I remember seeing Song of the South as a kid... the sad thing is that the controversial parts are not even the best parts, or important at all. All the "real-life" sequences were a bit childish, while the animated sequences (plus Remus singing his song) were cute and funny.
They could perfectly edit the movie as a sequence of short stories and everybody would be happy.
They could perfectly edit the movie as a sequence of short stories and everybody would be happy.
Song of the South has been bootlegged so thoroughly over the years, thanks to the Japanese laserdisc release, that Disney should just release it in a Treasures format. Get some notable black actor/actress to shoot a sensitivity piece to put in front of it, and add some vaguely scholarly extras material, and bam, money in the bank. I do vaguely remember seeing it in the theaters the last time it got released, back in the early 70s.
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