One of the things I dislike most is censorship.
This cartoon is a good example of censorship at its worst:
So, I must be a racist then, right?
No, but I do favor letting realities be seen. In 1943, the year of this cartoon's release, America was far more racist than today, and this cartoon gives a good look, however inadvertently, to the white racist psyche.
But it also has nice digs at the then current time, such as the rich queen hording rubber tires and sugar in days of rationing for the Second World War; not to mention Murder, Inc.- with its rubbing out of Japs for free, and mention of 'Rosebud,' from the then contemporary Citizen Kane.
Then there's Prince Chawmin'. He's an early version of what would be considered cool in today's hip hop BS culture: i.e.- he's the original pimp daddy.
There's also a great parody of the bland Disney company's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, as well as a great jazz score.
In short, just as bigoted people are not necessarily evil, just ignorant and pitiable, so one can watch this cartoon, enjoy it, even if there are cringe-worthy moments. Does that alone make the cartoon a great one? No.
It's clearly not, but it is enjoyable, and quite a bit better than the agitprop films the Japanese and Germans were releasing at the same time.
Plus, pre-Jessica Rabbit, was there a more curvaceous babe in cartoons than So White?
