| China Jones | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Story by | Tedd Pierce |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Edited by | Treg Brown |
| Music by | Milt Franklyn |
| Animation by | Tom Ray George Grandpré Ted Bonnicksen Warren Batchelder |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | William Butler |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
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| Language | English |
China Jones is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson.[1] The short was released on February 14, 1959, and stars Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.[2] This cartoon later became rarely shown in the United States due to ethnic caricatures of Chinese and other East Asian people. The cartoon is a spoof of the 1950s TV series China Smith, starring Dan Duryea.
Daffy Duck assumes the persona of China Jones, an Irish private investigator plying his trade in the Far Eastern locale of Hong Kong. Encountering a cryptic distress call concealed within a fortune cookie at the Lo Down restaurant, Jones embarks on an investigative mission spurred by the promise of a substantial reward. Seeking guidance amidst the labyrinthine streets of China, Jones crosses paths with Charlie Chung, whom he mistakenly regards as a fellow detective, oblivious to Chung's actual vocation as a laundryman.
Unbeknownst to Jones, the distress call proves to be a cunning ploy orchestrated by his incarcerated acquaintance, Limey Louie, who seeks retribution for perceived grievances. Louie, having engineered an elaborate ruse to ensnare Jones, subjects him to a series of perilous misadventures, exploiting his vulnerability and exacerbating his predicament. Confronted with false leads and treacherous traps devised by Louie, Jones teeters on the brink of danger, narrowly escaping calamity through sheer luck and guile.
As Jones confronts Louie in a climactic showdown, he is forced to confront the harsh reality of his situation, realizing the extent of Louie's vendetta. Despite Jones' attempts to evade capture and seek assistance from Chung, he finds himself ensnared in a web of deceit and indebtedness. Ultimately, Jones' fate takes an unexpected turn as he becomes embroiled in Chung's laundry enterprise, underscored by his ironic declaration of imprisonment within a Chinese laundry.
During the 1990s, cable television network Nickelodeon omitted the final scene wherein Daffy Duck finds himself trapped in a laundromat and delivers a faux Chinese rant. This decision was prompted by concerns regarding the portrayal of offensive ethnic stereotypes. Consequently, the cartoon was not broadcast in the United States or United Kingdom, although it did receive a limited release on Looney Tunes Classic Collection (1995) VHS in the latter country.
China Jones remained unavailable on DVD or Blu-ray Disc until WarnerMedia Ride restored a streaming print in 2021. The restoration was later released on the Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Volume 3 Blu-Ray disc in 2024.
