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{{Short description|Group of animated short films}}

'''The Censored Eleven''' is a group of ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' cartoons that were withheld from [[syndication]] by [[United Artists]] in [[1968]]. UA owned the distribution rights to the [[Associated Artists Productions]] library at that time, and it determined that these eleven cartoons were too racist or offensive for contemporary audiences.

{{More citations needed|date = March 2021}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

[[File:Hittin' The Trail For Hallelujah Land.webm|thumb|''[[Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land]]'']]

[[File:Friz Freleng - Merrie Melodies - Jungle Jitters (1938).webm|thumb|thumbtime=299|''[[Jungle Jitters]]'']]

Many cartoons from previous decades are routinely [[censorship|censored]] on [[television]], [[video]], and [[DVD]] today. Usually, the only censorship deemed necessary is the cutting of the odd [[racism|racist]] joke or instance of graphic [[violence]]. For example, one classic cartoon gag is the transformation of characters to [[blackface]] after an explosion or an automobile backfiring. Such small amounts of objectionable material only require relatively minor cuts in the cartoon to make it palatable to censors. However, in the Censored Eleven, racist themes are so essential to the cartoons that the copyright holders believe that no amount of selective editing can ever make them acceptable for distribution.

The '''Censored Eleven''' is a group of ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' cartoons originally produced and released by [[Warner Bros.]] between 1931 and 1944. All of them have been withheld from [[broadcast syndication|syndication]] in the United States by [[United Artists]] (UA) since 1968. UA owned the distribution rights to the [[Associated Artists Productions]] library at that time, and decided to pull these 11 cartoons from broadcast because the use of [[ethnic stereotypes]] in the cartoons, specifically African and African-American stereotypes, was deemed too offensive for contemporary audiences.

When he obtained distribution rights to all pre-[[1948]] [[Warner Bros.]] cartoons in [[1986]], [[Ted Turner]] vowed that he would not distribute or air any cartoons from the Censored Eleven. Since [[Time Warner]] bought back the cartoons in [[1996]], this policy has shown signs of weakening, as Warner Bros. is rumored to be producing a series of DVD collections of classic Warners cartoons in the vein of [[Walt Disney Studios|Disney's]] ''[[Disney Treasures]]'' series.

The ban has been continued by UA and the successive owners of the pre-August 1948 ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies''. {{As of|since=y|1968}}, these shorts have not been officially broadcast on television and have only been exhibited theatrically by Warner Bros. once (in 2010, see [[#Public awareness in the 21st century|below]] for more details) since their withdrawal. They have turned up, however, on low-cost [[VHS]] and [[DVD]] collections.

Several more cartoons have been removed from circulation since this list was created, such as the [[Inki]] series of cartoons by [[Chuck Jones]]. A total of twelve [[Bugs Bunny]] films were not aired on [[Cartoon Network]] during its "June Bugs" marathon in [[2001]].

== Background ==

Despite the efforts of UA, Turner, and AOL Time Warner, however, many of the Censored Eleven are available on [[bootleg]] or [[public ___domain]] video.

The cartoon output of [[Warner Bros.]] during its most active period sometimes had censorship problems more complex in some respects than those of features. Unlike feature films, which were routinely censored in the script, the animated shorts were passed upon only when completed, which made the producers exceptionally cautious as to restrictions.<ref name="p17">''Look'' staff 17.</ref> In 1983, director [[Chuck Jones]] commented on the television censorship of the Warner Bros. cartoons: "I don't like to see the films cut at all. [...] They make some cuts that are so arbitrary and stupid, you can't believe it."<ref name="p31-32">Fanton 31–32.</ref> Independent stations that once ran the syndicated Warner Bros. cartoons never had the same type of censorship as first-run networks such as [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and [[CBS]] did for the cartoons. Some stations owned syndication rights to "a few they consider[ed] racially stereotypical", but never ran them.<ref name="p32">Fanton 32.</ref>

When [[Ted Turner]] obtained the rights to the pre-1950 Warner Bros. library from [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]/[[United Artists|UA]] Entertainment Co. in 1986, he vowed that he would not distribute or air any cartoons from the Censored Eleven. They were the only cartoons in this package not to be featured in the [[LaserDisc]] series ''[[The Golden Age of Looney Tunes]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Julien WILK |url=https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/03648/ML102400/Golden-Age-of-Looney-Tunes-The:-vol.1 |title=lddb.com |publisher=lddb.com |access-date=July 11, 2011}}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] currently owns the films through [[Turner Entertainment Co.]], except those in the public ___domain.

The cartoons in the Censored Eleven are:

== Censored Eleven list ==

:''[[Hittin' the Trail to Hallelujah Land]]'' ([[1931]])

{| class="wikitable"

:''[[Sunday Go to Meetin' Time]]'' ([[1936]])

|+Censored Eleven cartoons

:''[[Clean Pastures]]'' ([[1937]])

|-

:''[[Uncle Tom's Bungalow]]'' ([[1937]])

!scope="col"|Title

:''[[Jungle Jitters]]'' ([[1938]])

!scope="col"| Year

:''[[The Isle Of Pingo Pongo]]'' ([[1938]])

!scope="col"| Director

:''[[All This and Rabbit Stew]]'' ([[1941]])

!scope="col"|Series

:''[[Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs]]'' ([[1943]])

!scope="col"|Public ___domain

:''[[Tin Pan Alley Cats]]'' ([[1943]])

|-

:''[[Angel Puss]]'' ([[1944]])

|scope="row"| ''[[Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land]]''

:''[[Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears]]'' ([[1944]])

| 1931 || [[Rudolf Ising]] || rowspan="9"|Merrie Melodies || {{Yes}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Sunday Go to Meetin' Time]]''

| 1936<br>1944 (reissue)|| rowspan="2"|[[Friz Freleng]] || {{No}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Clean Pastures]]''

| rowspan="2"|1937 || {{No}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Uncle Tom's Bungalow]]''

| [[Tex Avery]] || {{No}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Jungle Jitters]]''

| 1938 || Friz Freleng || {{Yes}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[The Isle of Pingo Pongo]]''

| 1938<br>1944 (reissue) || rowspan="2"|Tex Avery || {{No}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[All This and Rabbit Stew]]''

| 1941 || {{Yes}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs]]''

| rowspan="2"|1943 || rowspan=2|[[Bob Clampett]] || {{No}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Tin Pan Alley Cats]]''

| {{No}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Angel Puss]]''

| 1944 || [[Chuck Jones]] || Looney Tunes || {{No}}

|-

|scope="row"| ''[[Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears]]''

| 1944<br>1951 (reissue) || Friz Freleng || Merrie Melodies || {{No}}

|}

[[Friz Freleng]] directed the largest number of cartoons on the list with four, followed by [[Tex Avery]] with three, and [[Bob Clampett]] with only two. [[Rudolf Ising]], like [[Chuck Jones|Jones]], only has one cartoon on the list. ''Angel Puss'' is the only cartoon directed by Jones on the list, as well as the only ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon on the list. ''Hittin' the Trail to Hallelujah Land'' is the only black-and-white short on the list, and the only cartoon to star [[Piggy (Merrie Melodies)|Piggy]]. ''Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears'' is the only cartoon on this list not to be produced by [[Leon Schlesinger]]. It is also the first to be produced by an uncredited [[Edward Selzer|Eddie Selzer]]. ''[[All This and Rabbit Stew]]'' is the only [[Bugs Bunny]] cartoon on the list. ''[[The Isle of Pingo Pongo]]'' is also the only [[Elmer Fudd]] cartoon on the list. The other eight are one-shot cartoons.

Two cartoons directed by [[Tex Avery]] during his stint at [[MGM]] are often included in cartoon compiliations that list the Censored Eleven: ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabana]]'' ([[1944]]) and ''[[Little Pygmy]].''

== Public awareness in the 21st century ==

As the 20th century came to a close, the Censored Eleven cartoons became better known.<ref name="New York Times">{{cite web|last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/business/media/28cartoon.html |title=Cartoons of a Racist Past Lurk on Youtube |work=The New York Times|date=April 28, 2008|access-date=July 11, 2011}}</ref>

In February 2010, as part of a press release for the first annual [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM]] Classic Film Festival, it was announced that the Censored Eleven were to receive a special screening sourced from restored [[35 mm movie film|35mm]] film prints. This special presentation was put together by George Feltenstein, vice president of Warner Bros.' classic film catalog. Film historian [[Donald Bogle]], who has six books published to his credit on the subject of African American stereotypes in film, agreed to host the event for the festival. On April 24, 2010, a total of eight of the Censored Eleven were screened at the [[Grauman's Egyptian Theater|Egyptian Theater]] in Hollywood; the three that were not shown at the event were ''Jungle Jitters'', ''All This and Rabbit Stew'' and ''Angel Puss''.<ref name="TCM Classic Film Festival">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/festival/#/films/cartoons |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107061159/http://www.tcm.com/festival/#/films/cartoons |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 7, 2009 |title=Out of Circulation Cartoons (1931–1944) at the TCM Classic Film Festival |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=July 11, 2011}}</ref>

== Canceled official release ==

At the [[New York Comic Con]] in October 2010, Warner Bros. confirmed that it would be releasing the Censored Eleven completely uncut on DVD through the [[Warner Archive Collection]] sometime in 2011.<ref name="Comic Con Censored Eleven Announcement">{{cite web |url=https://animesuperhero.com/news/articles/35331/nycc2010-warner-archive-to-release-the-censored-eleven/ |title=NYCC2010: Warner Archive to Release the "Censored Eleven" |publisher=Toonzone.net |date=October 13, 2010 |access-date=July 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613195504/http://www.toonzone.net/news/articles/35331/nycc2010-warner-archive-to-release-the-censored-eleven/ |archive-date=June 13, 2011 }}</ref> On December 1, 2010, animation expert [[Jerry Beck]] announced on the Shokus Internet Radio call-in talk program ''Stu's Show'' that there were plans for a general traditional retail release and not via the Warner Archive Collection. It would be a high-class release featuring all of the Censored Eleven and other rare cartoons remastered and digitally restored, with some bonus materials. In 2016, Jerry Beck stated that the transfers had been done, but the DVD release had been delayed indefinitely due to poor sales of ''[[Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2]]'' and ''[[Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/wb-censored-eleven-dvd.5311761/|title=WB Censored Eleven DVD|website=Anime Superhero Forum|date=4 May 2013}}</ref>

== See also ==

* ''[[Song of the South]]''

* ''[[Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat]]''

* [[Little Black Sambo (film)|''Little Black Sambo'']]

* ''[[Little Lulu|Lulu's Birthday Party]]''

* ''[[His Mouse Friday]]''

* [[Standards & Practices]]

* [[Dumbo#Controversy|''Dumbo'']]

== Notes ==

{{Reflist|2}}

== References ==

* ''Look'' staff (January 17, 1939). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20111103235914/http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/look-article/ Hollywood Censors Its Animated Cartoons]", ''[[Look (American magazine)|Look]]''. Retrieved May 27, 2011.

* Fanton, Ben (December 24, 1983). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20111103234403/http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/tvguide-article/ Bugs Bunny: A Peaceful Rabbit?]", ''[[TV Guide]]''. Retrieved May 27, 2011.

== External links ==

{{commons category|Censored Eleven}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101202202204/http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/censored11/ The Censored Eleven at Golden Age Cartoons]

* [https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1995/did-bugs-bunny-appear-in-a-racist-cartoon-during-world-war-ii/ Did Bugs Bunny appear in a racist cartoon during World War II? – The Straight Dope]

{{Censored Eleven|state=expanded}}

{{Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies}}

{{Racism topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Censored Eleven}}

[[Category:Censored Eleven| ]]

[[Category:Looney Tunes]]

[[Category:Merrie Melodies]]

[[Category:Animated film controversies]]

[[Category:Film censorship in the United States]]

[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

[[Category:Self-censorship]]

[[Category:Race-related controversies in animation]]

[[Category:Race-related controversies in film]]