Available for comment

When I was a kid watching Warner Brothers' cartoons obsessively there were several -- eleven, as it turns out -- that were deemed too politically incorrect for viewing. But thanks to illicit bootleg VHS tapes and other doings I managed to see Bob Clampett's "Coal Black and the Sebben Dwarves" which was, to say the least, kinda wild and crazy, wonderfully musical and oftentimes hilarious. And incredibly stereotypical.

Now, thanks to YouTube, "Coal Black" is available for viewing. I took the chance to view the cartoon again and once again, my take was mixed. The accompanying comment says it all:

Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (working title: So White and de Sebben Dwarfs) is a Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, and released to theatres on January 16, 1943 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation.

The film is notable for being an all-black parody of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow-White, known to its audience from the popular 1937 Walt Disney animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The stylistic portrayals of the characters, however, is an example of classic racist darky iconography (see blackface), which was widely accepted in white American society at the time. As such, it is one of the most controversial cartoons in the classic Warner Bros. library, has been rarely seen on television, and has never been officially released on home video. However, it is often named as one of the best cartoons ever made, and is considered one of Clampett's masterpieces.

My brother (who'll be writing about this in more detail for his day job) hopes that WB will "have the guts to release it on DVD" for a number of reasons:

The important thing about "Coal Black" is that it's one of the best and most imaginative cartoons ever made, with a crazy gimmick or wild experiment in almost every shot, and all kinds of visual ideas that no one had ever tried before (though Clampett's trick of changing the colour of the background to signal a change in mood was probably inspired by Chuck Jones's "The Case of the Missing Hare" from the previous year). Ideas like the words "Blackout So White!" appearing in print above the Queen as she speaks those words (and then bites off the phone she's speaking into); keeping the dwarfs offscreen in one shot and animating their shadows instead; starting a dance sequence with Disney-style rotoscoping and suddenly shifting to a cartoonily-animated jazz dance; having the dwarfs pop up one by one to the rhythm of "Blues in the Night": there's something spectacular or hilarious every second. And Rod Scribner's animation of Prince Chawmin' unsuccessfully trying to revive So White may be the best piece of animation Scribner -- or maybe anyone -- ever did.

And Sterling Fisher, an African-American blogger, naturally has a mixed take but concludes as follows:

I don't think that "Coal Black And De Sebben Dwarfs" should be seen by children. Apart from the racial stereotypes, some of the jokes aren't exactly kids' material anyway. However, I think this cartoon should be seen, especially in a historical context. While I wasn't offended enough by it to be repulsed outright, it will definitely offend some. However, I don't think that this cartoon (or any other negative, offensive portrayals) should be boxed up and locked away. They should be confronted and discussed. If we can better understand our past, we will be better able to deal with our future.

So what's your take? Does it hold up? Is this a good example of Bob Clampett's crazy genius? I'm glad to have the opportunity to see it again (at least till the WB figures out it's freely available and tries to shut it down, but let's face it, YouTube is the new Napster, but better) but like I said, my take is definitely mixed.

Comments

[JDRhoades]

Wow. Manic and unquestionably inventive. But I couldn't shake the feeling of mild nausea.

[Robert Gregory Browne]

Sorry, despite the amazing animation, I couldn't make it through the first five minutes. I can't imagine this ever being considered anything but offensive.

Even the title offends me.

[Phillip]

Outstanding cartoon. One of the best. But not the for sensitives who can't handle this kind of diversity. Oh well, they can watch "Kid Power". Or is that now considered offensive?

[beautifulatrocities]

Fascinating! Artistically, it's amazing, & art can't be judged by a political yardstick.

It should be seen, partly as history, partly as art, & partly because a huge percentage of the US population was born after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, & has no direct experience of such things.

[Levi V.]

I don't think this is racist at all. This cartoon was drawn in a different era where these types of cartoons were accepted. This was made FOR black people(especially ones in the army) as well. They even got black actors/singers to do their voices except for Mel Blanc who voiced the dwarves. They were happy to see this in theaters when it came out.And in my mind, the only ones that can complain, are the ones that lived in that era because they actually had to deal with racism more than what their kids, or their grandkids have to go through. And if it doesn't bother them, it shouldn't bother you.