Which Is Witch
Lobby card
Directed byI. Freleng[1]
Story byTedd Pierce[1]
Produced byEdward Selzer (uncredited)[2]
StarringMel Blanc[1]
Music byCarl W. Stalling[1]
Animation byArthur Davis
Gerry Chiniquy
Ken Champin
Virgil Ross
A.C. Gamer
(effects animation)[1]
Layouts byHawley Pratt[1]
Backgrounds byPaul Julian[1]
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation[1]
Release date
December 3, 1949 (US)[2]
Running time
7 minutes[1]
LanguageEnglish

Which Is Witch is a Looney Tunes cartoon released by Warner Bros. in 1949, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Tedd Pierce.[3] The cartoon was released on December 3, 1949, and features Bugs Bunny.[4]

Plot

Bugs Bunny finds himself in Dark Africa, where a short witch doctor named Dr. I.C. Spots tries to use him in a potion. Realizing he's about to be cooked, Bugs escapes, with Dr. Spots in hot pursuit. Despite a failed attempt to disguise himself, Bugs manages to elude the witch doctor by swimming to a ferry boat. Dr. Spots follows but meets his demise when a crocodile devours him.

Despite their conflict, Bugs retrieves Dr. Spots from the crocodile's belly, now clad in crocodile skin attire. Making a sarcastic comment about the new fashion, Bugs emerges victorious from the encounter, even sporting a crocodile skin handbag.

Analysis

Which Is Witch contains racially insensitive depictions of Africans, perpetuating harmful stereotypes. These include portraying a cannibal character with exaggerated features, such as a large lip plug depicted as a phonograph record. It is noteworthy that Warner Bros. discontinued the use of such racial caricatures by the late 1940s. Consequently, this marks the final instance within the Bugs Bunny cartoon series to showcase these offensive portrayals of Black individuals. Due to its racially charged content, the film is seldom aired on television in contemporary times.[5]

Reception

The Film Daily reviewed the film on January 1, 1950: "When Dr. Ugh, Witch Doctor extraordinary for a tribe of little people, decides it's time to leave. The jungle medico learns he can't split the hare, and B.B. emerges victorious once more. Wonderful cartoon."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i John Reid (2005), Movies Magnificent: 150 Must-See Cinema Classics, Lulu.com, ISBN 9781411650671
  2. ^ a b Karl F. Cohen (2004), Forbidden Animation, McFarland, ISBN 9780786420322
  3. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 205. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  4. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. ^ Cohen, Karl F. (2004), "Racism and Resistance:Stereotypes in Animation", Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America, McFarland & Company, p. 54, ISBN 978-0786420322
  6. ^ Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0810832503.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Which Is Witch.
Preceded byFrigid Hare List of Bugs Bunny cartoons 1949 Succeeded byRabbit Hood
Friz Freleng
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