Will banned cartoons ever be released?

[travis t]

I know Ted Turner has the censored 11 that he says he will never release, but how come Jungle Jitters was released on VHS sometime awhile back, and is now floating around on the internet? Is it possible that someday there will be a special release of these banned and censored cartoons by Warner or will we have to just hope for something that might not ever happen cause the big owners are too afraid that they will get sued. Maybe they could have Leonard Maltin come on there and tell us to respect these cartoons because of the time and place they were made, cause he sure did that on the Mickey Mouse Colored Collection Volume 2. But wait, Disney, compared to Warner, wasn't near as bad when it came to racist matrial. So of course Disney fans get what they want. So do you think this will ever happen for us Warner fans? That is up to the rest of you to decide:bugs1:

[David Gates]

If the Golden Collection series fulfills its promise, all Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies will be restored and released on DVD uncut.

[Kaleido]

Ted Turner is long gone from Time Warner. His only relationship with the company is as a major shareholder and he doesn't seem interested in exercising that power.

It looks like Warner Home Video is slowly testing the waters regarding Warner Bros.' more controversial theatrical cartoons. The number and level of controversial shorts has increased from the first Looney Tunes Golden Collection to the second. Assuming there aren't any major, hightly visible complaints, I don't see why it wouldn't continue.

[corey3rd]

the best way to put these cartoons out is to make a special DVD just for the 11 instead of selling them as part of a boxset. Let the buyer know that these are for adults and not merely something to pop in the DVD and use as a babysitter for small kids.

[Kaleido]

I dunno. A lot of retailers wouldn't be willing to carry something like that and the fact that it would be labeled as "banned" (or something to that effect) while using cartoon characters that are usually considered child-friendly could create quite a controversy.

The next Mickey Mouse set should give us some clue as to how the general public could react to the Censored Eleven.

[mbaker]

I think one possibility would be to sell it at certian specialty stores, or the major store chains could put it in the 'special interest' section rather than the 'family' section. Although the only major stores that have one are Suncoast, and FYE. I seriously doubt that Walmart, and Target have 'special interest' sections in their video departmant.

[Cartman]

I think one possibility would be to sell it at certian specialty stores, or the major store chains could put it in the 'special interest' section rather than the 'family' section. Although the only major stores that have one are Suncoast, and FYE. I seriously doubt that Walmart, and Target have 'special interest' sections in their video departmant.
Barnes and Noble and Best Buy may as well.

[Thad]

I seriously doubt that Walmart, and Target have 'special interest' sections in their video departmant.
But then how come every Wal-Mart in America had about six copies of each Wave 3 Treasures set and STILL does? That's really what leads me to believe they weren't really limited (But hey, I could care less whether they were limited or not, as long as I have my copies... :mickey::scrooge: ).


-Thad

[corey3rd]

I dunno. A lot of retailers wouldn't be willing to carry something like that and the fact that it would be labeled as "banned" (or something to that effect) while using cartoon characters that are usually considered child-friendly could create quite a controversy.

The next Mickey Mouse set should give us some clue as to how the general public could react to the Censored Eleven.
The key is that this is a collection that doesn't need to be carried by a lot of retailers. It doesn't need to go on the shelf at Wal-Mart where it'll get stocked next to a Baby Looney Tunes collection. It needs to be focused. If it ends up on Amazon and e-tailers, it'll be for the better - since you can position the idea that this not the "children's hour" this is a collection for cartoon collectors. The bonus features must give a context and a debate to the cartoons - it must give us the reason why these attitudes and choices were animated and why they are no long appropriate for unsupervised public viewing.

[Jaime_Weinman]

I don't have it here, but I read an interview a few months ago with George Feltenstein (head of classics for WB's DVD department, and the guy who talked WB into doing the Golden Collection), where he said that they were looking very closely at some of the Disney sets -- like the Wartime collection -- to see how they sold and whether they generated controversy. He said that good sales of the Disney stuff might help convince the WB top brass to let some of the "controversial" cartoons out of the vaults. (The second set's cartoons were probably already chosen by then, so if anything's come of it, we won't see it till set three or four.)

He added that cartoons are a victim of the idea that they're just for kids, since you can release old live-action movies with racial stereotypes (like Gone With the Wind) without generating controversy, but with cartoons, the company gets nervous because a lot of people will be buying the sets as kiddie entertainment, and then they'll get mad when their kids see some of these scenes.

Come to think of it, that's exactly what happened with the "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips" controversy: it was no trouble on the laserdisc set, because laserdiscs were purely for collectors. But when it was released on VHS, people bought the tapes for their kids, and hysteria ensued. DVD is in an odd position because it's halfway between collectors' medium and mass medium, and the Golden Collections are aimed both at animation buffs and kids n' moms.

[Jeff]

I don't have it here, but I read an interview a few months ago with George Feltenstein (head of classics for WB's DVD department, and the guy who talked WB into doing the Golden Collection), where he said that they were looking very closely at some of the Disney sets -- like the Wartime collection -- to see how they sold and whether they generated controversy. He said that good sales of the Disney stuff might help convince the WB top brass to let some of the "controversial" cartoons out of the vaults. (The second set's cartoons were probably already chosen by then, so if anything's come of it, we won't see it till set three or four.)Last I heard from Mr. Jerry Beck was that the content for the next 3-4 sets are already chosen...and Jerry has said "Trust us" several times in terms of the released content. I tend to read a lot into this.

So far I haven't been disappointed, but I do think that WB is testing the waters and any negative controversy could put the contents in question.

But when it was released on VHS, people bought the tapes for their kids, and hysteria ensued. DVD is in an odd position because it's halfway between collectors' medium and mass medium, and the Golden Collections are aimed both at animation buffs and kids n' moms.I would say that DVD is firmly in the "mass medium" category.

[Jeff]

I know Ted Turner has the censored 11 that he says he will never release...As others have stated, Ted Turner has nothing to do with this anymore really.

...how come Jungle Jitters was released on VHS sometime awhile back, and is now floating around on the internet? Jungle Jitters is now in the public domain so no company has control over its release anymore. You'll see this cartoon on many PD tapes. Not sure about the copyright status on the rest of the cartoons. The one that I really want to see restored is Coal Black (as I'm sure most of us do) :sowhite:

Anyway, there are many people on this board that have copies of these cartoons and might be willing to trade for them. Plus many bootleggers on eBay with copies of all of these cartoons for sale (which I do not condone).

Regards,
Jeff

[Nikrowd01]

The "banned" cartoons would be better off being released mixed in with the other cartoons. That wouldn't cause any more of a controversy than trying to release them separately, as long as a message of some kind is included. They would need to abandon the themes, as they would to release many other Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.

If the Golden Collection series fulfills its promise, all Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies will be restored and released on DVD uncut.

It would take about sixteen releases unless the number of cartoons per set gets a significant increase.

[mbaker]

The way i see it, the best way to avoid controversy is to have certian collections placed in the 'special interest' section, while others can be placed in the 'family section'. Take Disney's 'On The Front Lines' set. It could go in either a 'special interest' section, or a section that carrys 'wartime' videos. Another thing that i find interesting is that most stores have 'anime' sections, and they carry all sorts of titles for both age groups. That might cause a problem for some people who are trying to find a 'Pokemon', or a 'Yu-Gi-Oh' title, and stumble across a 'tentical demon raping school girls' type of anime. :eek: As long as the big retailers are infomed about certian collctions, and their content, things should turn out fine.

[cabe624]

The way i see it, the best way to avoid controversy is to have certian collections placed in the 'special interest' section, while others can be placed in the 'family section'.

Good idea, but given the title "Looney Tunes", I'm sure it will be placed in the 'family section' anyway. It might be best to have a introduction by a cartoon/film historian (like what Leonard Maltin did for the WDT) placed in front of the cartoon itself to warn parents and easily offended people. It's unfortunate that when major studios are bombarded by claims of 'racism' by P.C. groups, they wimp out and do not defend the cartoon or explain it's content and context (as with MGM and "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips") :rolleyes:

[Nelson]

If you really think about it(on this subject matter) that the next important dvd release is of course, "Mickey Mouse In Black And White Volume 2" and for very good reasons.Disney has gone to great lengths to release these censored cartoons on dvd and at one point, the other studios really didn't pay attention to what Disney was releasing home video, but after reading what Mr.Feltenstein said, then maybe, Warners is following what Disney does with it's more sensative material.I do think that slowly, censored cartoons are starting to get the attention that they should deserve, as long as the studios do it the right way.

[travis t]

That is very good to hear. I hope the owners of these cartoons think whats right out of their fat heads