Title - Wise Quackers
Director - Friz Freleng
Released - 1949
Reason for Placement --
As we all must remember, the Looney Tunes were products of their time, and as such, a number of jokes and gags would never fly in today's PC world. One such example is the toon, Wise Quackers. If you have never seen this toon before, don't worry, most people haven't.
Daffy crash-lands in front of Elmer, and asks him to spare his life in return for becoming his slave. What follows is classic Looney Tunes humor peppered with plenty of jokes that the NAACP has probably worked for years to ban. Daffy pulls out all the stops, calling Elmer "Sire," tests his food for poison, shaves him, and even protests when it looks like he might actually get whipped! Seriously, not joking here, we actually have a moment where a cartoon character begs his master not to whip him!
We all cringe at this humor, but let's face it, we're all secretly laughing on the inside, either from the actual joke or from the shock of seeing just exactly what you could get away with 60 years ago. My, how the times have changed...
So true. I'm black and I don't mind that this cartoon (or any theatrical cartoon made 60-70 years ago) has scenes with ethnic/racial caricatures. Why? Because I learned at 14 that these cartoons were made back when there was no such thing as "being PC". Maybe if more people understood that, there'd be no need for these cartoons to be banned or censored.
ReplyDeleteMy, how the times have changed.
ReplyDeleteYes, overlooking stuff like Daffy briefly dressing up as an old slave or the final gag, this is a pretty good cartoon. i especially like the part where Daffy has to taste everything for Elmer, leaving Elmer barely anything.
Also, the end gag was reused by Freleng for the controversial "Southern Fried Rabbit" (1953), albeit in the middle of the cartoon.