Uncle Tom's Cabaña (1947)

Uncle Tom tells the blood curdling story of how the evil Simon Legree tried to foreclose on Tom's simple log cabin.

Director:

Tex Avery

Writer:

Heck Allen

Stars:

Ruby Dandridge, Paul Frees, Imogene Lynn

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Ruby Dandridge	...	Boy (voice) (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Uncle Tom (voice) (uncredited)
Imogene Lynn	...	Little Eva (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

Uncle Tom tells the blood curdling story of how the evil Simon Legree tried to foreclose on Tom's simple log cabin.

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Plot Keywords:

uncle tom | new york city | manhattan new york city | empire state building manhattan new york city | boy | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 July 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

La cabaña del tío Tom

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loew's, MGM Cartoon Studio, Quimby-Hanna/Barbera

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This short, along with Half-Pint Pygmy, were banned from television airings in the United States due to ethnic stereotyping of African-Americans. Despite the controversy, this short and Half-Pint Pygmy were released on The Compleat Tex Avery laserdisc in the 1990s. But they were banned once more on the Warner DVD box in 2003. Since Warner Bros proclaim that the two cartoon doesn't even exist .

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Quotes

[first lines]
Uncle Tom: Well, now, chillun, tonight old Uncle Tom gwanna tell you de real true story about Uncle Tom's cabin. Now, uh, this is they first one of them Hollywood cartoon companies ever got the straight dope on this Uncle Tom stuff.

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Connections

Referenced in Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes (2010)

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Soundtracks

Flower Song
(uncredited)
Music by Gustav Lange
Music by Gustav Lange

User Reviews

The Conflict

The story in this concerns someone who owns everything but a small bit and the fellow, the "small guy" who owns that bit. There are three adults, all extreme caricatures. Like some cartoons, but few from this era, the thing is self-referential in illustrating the struggle. So it is mildly interesting on that score.

It is "banned" because of its pretty offensive racist stereotypes.

So if you watch this today, you could be in several different minds at once. You could see it the way it was intended, an amusement with jokes about cartooning. You could see the abstraction involved. The bad guy is a smarmy white stereotype with distinct prejudices. (I will not mention them.). The "girl" is a performing object. The "little guy" is a fat, boastful black.

You could see it as yet another drop in the ocean of oppression of an entire people. But then the unintended brilliance of the story comes into play: abstraction, exaggerated storytelling, money, class.

Whether something is worth watching has to do with the state you watch it in.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.