In this parody of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little Eva and Topsy try to rescue old Uncle Tom from the clutches of the evil slave-dealer Simon Simon [sic] Legree.In this parody of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little Eva and Topsy try to rescue old Uncle Tom from the clutches of the evil slave-dealer Simon Simon [sic] Legree.In this parody of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little Eva and Topsy try to rescue old Uncle Tom from the clutches of the evil slave-dealer Simon Simon [sic] Legree.
Billy Bletcher
- Simon Simon Legree
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Basin Street Boys
- Vocalists
- (uncredited)
Bernice Hansen
- Little Eva
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Tedd Pierce
- Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
The Plantation Chior
- Vocalists
- (uncredited)
Lillian Randolph
- Topsy
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- …
- Director
- Writers
- Harriet Beecher Stowe(uncredited)
- Ben Hardaway(uncredited)
- Ben Harrison(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of the "Censored 11" banned from T.V. syndication by United Artists in 1968 (then the owners of the Looney Tunes film library) for alleged racism. Ted Turner continued the ban when he was hired and stated that these films will not be re-issued and will not be put on Home Video. These cartoons will probably never air on television again, and only non-Warner Bros. licensed public domain video tapes will probably ever have these cartoons on them.
- Quotes
Tom: My body may belong to you, but my soul belongs to Warner Brothers.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Nostalgia Chick: Shorts: Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs (2012)
Featured review
"My body might belong to you, but my soul belongs to Warner Bros."
Merrie Melodies short, directed by Tex Avery, notable today for being one of the Censored Eleven. For those who don't know, the Censored Eleven are cartoons that were withheld from syndication because they were considered to be too offensive due to their use of racial stereotypes and imagery. This one is a parody of Uncle Tom's Cabin, which is a bad idea to begin with. The story has two little girls, Eva (white) and Topsy (black), who purchase an old slave named Uncle Tom in order to stop his being whipped by evil Simon Simon Legree (a pun on French actress Simone Simon, I assume). When they fall behind on payments, Legree comes looking to reclaim Tom. As with all of the Censored Eleven cartoons, this one does have some things that are going to make modern viewers uncomfortable or even angry. But I have to admit I like this better than most of the other censored cartoons I've seen so far. The animation is very nice, despite the exaggerated features on black characters like the lips. The humor shines through in this one, even if it's not always in good taste. Avery's gags mostly work and I found myself laughing several times. However, there are some moments, mostly those related to slavery or Legree using a whip that just pull you out of the cartoon and have you shaking your head in disapproval. I don't think any of the humor here is mean-spirited but it does come across as ignorant and offensive at times. Still, I'm going to rate it higher than the ones I've seen so far because I do think there is a good cartoon underneath the cringeworthy parts. Avery would revisit Uncle Tom's Cabin again at MGM when he did Uncle Tom's Cabaña. That cartoon is also considered offensive by today's standards but is not part of the Censored Eleven, which are all Warner Bros. cartoons.
helpful•10
- utgard14
- Jan 15, 2016
Details
- Runtime8 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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