Risqué Toons

[Bugsmer]

On Ebay a month or two ago, someone was selling a silent animated pornographic film and posted a few pictures of it. This got me thinking. Who could have made the cartoon? The pictures were very cartoon-like, and it looked professional. As a matter of fact, the best people to make a cartoon are the professionals. Therefore, could the studios around in the 20's and before that (it could have been made later, naturally) have made a little money making short pornographic animated films. Who could they have sold them to? My guess is private rich people. Since a cartoon takes so much time and money to make, only someone with a ton of money would dare to have somebody make him a private film, and since he'd want it done right, he would most likely choose a professional. What did the Fleishers, the people at Van Buren's, those at Disney, Lantz, and even Warners do in their spare time? They weren't highly paid, so mightn't they have done a litte work on the side? A Rockerfeller has probably owned one, and Woolworth. Film has never really been cheap, and neither were early scyscrapers. Anyone who can spend millions on a scyscraper wouldn't balk at a personally-tailored adult film.

I've never heard anything on the subject, save Fleisher's Secret. Has anyone further knowledge on the subject?

...

A little off-topic: does anyone know the foul words Bugs is mouthing at the end of "Rhapsody Rabbit?"

[cbrubaker]

Holy crap...I thought the topless scenes in Pvt. Snafu toons were the most risque in classic animation history, but.........

BTW, what's this about Fleisher's Secret?

[J. B. Warner]

Originally Posted by Bugsmer

A little off-topic: does anyone know the foul words Bugs is mouthing at the end of "Rhapsody Rabbit?"

He's probably just grumbling. It's standard procedure in cartoons to have curse words be represented by grumbling - note when Baby Face Finster accidentally stabs himself in the rear in "Baby Buggy Bunny".

[The G Man]

Bugsmer, the film you're referring to is called "Buried Treasure." I've seen it, and it did not amuse me one bit. I believe it's on this tape called "Sextoons."

[Tom Stathes]

I bet the film being sold was Buried Treasure from 1928 starring Everready Harton, am I right? Turns up often enough on 8mm and 16mm. Being a collector of film, though, I haven't seen any more animated films of the type show up.
-Tom

[J Lee]

Originally Posted by Bugsmer
A little off-topic: does anyone know the foul words Bugs is mouthing at the end of "Rhapsody Rabbit?"

Originally Posted by J. B. Warner

He's probably just grumbling. It's standard procedure in cartoons to have curse words be represented by grumbling - note when Baby Face Finster accidentally stabs himself in the rear in "Baby Buggy Bunny".

...though Freleng wasn't above going a little further, as you can tell by watching the scene where the Indian gets shot in the back of the head in "The Hardship of Miles Standish". If you haven't seen it, the line is similar to Porky's line in the WB blooper reel, but mouthed silently and with the invocation of the deity to boot. Carl Stalling even provides approprate wah-wah horn music so there's no way you can't figure out what he's trying to say.

Of course, if J.L. allegedly didn't want Bugs to end a cartoon falling off a cliff in 1941, odds are he wouldn't have wanted him to end "Rhapsody Rabbit" by shocking the families in the audience with a potty mouth, so Friz just settled for some generic mumbles.

[Kaleido]

I've read many old cartoon studios created extremely short (a few seconds long) cartoons featuring characters having sex. They were never released to the public (obviously) and were only seen within the studio and by close friends of employees.

From what I understand, the alleged Fleischer porno was an exception: it was long and involved.

[Geezil]

Originally Posted by J Lee

[...]Of course, if J.L. allegedly didn't want Bugs to end a cartoon falling off a cliff in 1941, odds are he wouldn't have wanted him to end "Rhapsody Rabbit" by shocking the families in the audience with a potty mouth, so Friz just settled for some generic mumbles.

IIRC, the "Heckling Hare" objection was from Leon Schlesinger, not J.L.

[David Gerstein]

Originally Posted by J Lee

you can tell by watching the scene where the Indian gets shot in the back of the head in "The Hardship of Miles Standish". [...] the line is similar to Porky's line in the WB blooper reel, but mouthed silently and with the invocation of the deity to boot. Carl Stalling even provides approprate wah-wah horn music so there's no way you can't figure out what he's trying to say.

This wasn't a first! Over at MGM in the Bosko short RUN, SHEEP, RUN (1935), Bruno mouths the same words silently to us after being taunted by the mischievous black sheep, with the same wah-wah horn music behind him.
It's more surprising coming from Harman in 1935 than from Friz in 1940, isn't it?

[Leviathan]

Originally Posted by Geezil

IIRC, the "Heckling Hare" objection was from Leon Schlesinger, not J.L.

J.L. told Leon to Tell Tex Avery to cut the Ending, or as the story goes.