I came across this in my search to see screen representations of Lewis Carroll's Alice books. It's a short Merrie Melody cartoon--basic filler before the feature, for an evening's entertainment of yesteryear. In it, after an old man finishes reading by the fireplace and walks away, presumably to bed, characters from his books emerge from the pages and begin dancing and running around. Appropriately enough, the instigator of this dream-land nonsense is Alice, who turns on the radio to the titular song. In the end, she's attacked by Mr. Hyde, but rescued by Tarzan, Robin Hood and others.
To today's sensibility, the caricatures in this of African Americans is problematic, which, of course, was common back then. Worse still, I think, is Uncle Tom lifted from the pages of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel. Once upon a time, this was a powerful anti-slavery text, but, here, Uncle Tom sings about the South in his soul. He's turned into a singing stereotype. True, all of the literary characters are debased to some extent in this short cartoon, but the Uncle Tom is offensive--more a representation of a minstrel show than the novel where he originated. Alice, on the other hand, makes some sense as a curious girl transported to a dreamworld where she encounters strange creatures. Likewise, Hyde makes sense as a monster chasing after her, as do the literary heroes who rescue her. One, characters from the books; two, caricatures in the cartoon; and, three, stereotypes reflecting racial discrimination--indeed, three's a crowd.
To today's sensibility, the caricatures in this of African Americans is problematic, which, of course, was common back then. Worse still, I think, is Uncle Tom lifted from the pages of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel. Once upon a time, this was a powerful anti-slavery text, but, here, Uncle Tom sings about the South in his soul. He's turned into a singing stereotype. True, all of the literary characters are debased to some extent in this short cartoon, but the Uncle Tom is offensive--more a representation of a minstrel show than the novel where he originated. Alice, on the other hand, makes some sense as a curious girl transported to a dreamworld where she encounters strange creatures. Likewise, Hyde makes sense as a monster chasing after her, as do the literary heroes who rescue her. One, characters from the books; two, caricatures in the cartoon; and, three, stereotypes reflecting racial discrimination--indeed, three's a crowd.