Truly Dreadful Film

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

. . . much more so than those animated propaganda shorts in the "Private SNAFU" series churned out by Convicted Expense Account Chiseler Leon Schlesinger, who probably lengthened the conflict by months if not years with his rip-offs from the U.S. Taxpayers' War Bonds Program and the Army's Munitions Budget. COAL BLACK AND DE SEBBEN DWARFS is carefully crafted to turn the Aryan Blueprint for Hitler's Genocide by the German Brothers Grimm on its head by incorporating the All-American Essence of Harlem AGAINST Adolph's White Supremacists. This brilliant counter-attack to combat the ranting and raving Fuhrer naturally rubbed Ted Turner and his then-spouse "Hanoi Jane" Fonda the wrong way, since they want America to lose ALL of its wars. Therefore, on the fatal night when these Tondas got soused on their veranda with six pitchers of mint juleps and red-lined a random grouping of the 1,000-plus Looney Tunes to become the infamous "Censored Eleven," they included this masterwork which more than offset the damage done by Looney Tunes Fifth Columnist Schlesinger by inspiring guys such as Brad Pitt's FURY tank commander to take down Hitler's so-called Third Reich.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this (in)famous Warner Brothers' spoof of Disney's Snow White, I can understand that the style of the animation looks racist today but had the character design been a bit different it would have probably have been acceptable with only one or two other changes.In this version of the tale the wicked queen is jealous of "So White" so calls Murder Inc. to "black out So White", they grab her but later let her go, we can guess why as they have lipstick on them. She then meets up with the seven dwarfs who are in the army. The Queen then sends a poisoned apple to So White, this puts her to sleep and Prince Chawmin' tries to wake her with a kiss (several times) after he gives up one of the Dwarfs kisses her and she wakes up, he is asked how he did it and he replies suggestively that that is a military secret.I suspect this cartoon was aimed at an adult audience as So White is drawn in a way that is more sexually provocative than a character one would expect in a children's cartoon. The most offensive joke is Murder Inc's advert saying they will rub out anybody for a dollar, midgets half price and Japanese people for free, and it used a derogatory term for the last.I must admit that I found it fairly funny, certainly not as offensive as I thought it might be.

Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943) **** (out of 4) This Warner short has become known as one of the "Censored 11" because it's been unavailable for decades due to its racial tone. It's a variation on the Snow White story with an all-black cast and naturally features stereotypes, which a small minority are going to object to so these people are the reasons this thing might not ever see the light of day again. That's a real shame because this is one of the best cartoons I've seen from Looney Tunes and it certainly ranks right up there with their best work. The animation here is top-notch and it features a brilliantly done Jazz soundtrack, which is one of the best I've heard from any cartoon. There are plenty of laughs in the film and it runs extremely quick without a dry moment to be spotted. As for the racial stuff, I understand why some might object but those people shouldn't be forcing their views on anyone and making the decision on what one should or shouldn't see. Being from the WW2 ear, there are some other racial things including one sequence where a group of murderers are called in to kill Coal Black and their auto reads that they will kill anyone for a dollar, midgets are half price and "Japs" will be killed for free. What really caught me off guard is the sexuality in the film, which was certainly a no-no for a non Pre-Code film. Coal Black is dressed in very short shorts and a white, cut off shirt, which is clearly displaying her large breast. How this got past the board is beyond me.

And you'll love every second. I could comment at length about the excellent and fast director provided by the directors and animators, or the sound pattern and music that never lets up and is determined to not let a second of silence infect the pictures, but really, the reason this makes such a great cartoon is probably because there's no way it will ever get a DVD release today. Imagine every stereotype the Greatest Generation ever engaged in, and now set it to the music that same generation bopped out to before getting on the boat to go over there. And here's the thing: we have to laugh at 'Coal Black...' We have to laugh at it because the energy of piece never lets up. It starts out fast with quick music and dialog and keeps a beat- the pictures move in concert with the various ebbs and flows of the music. It's poetry in animated motion. And it's funny. The stereotypes are so silly and unrealistic that what gets the suits nervous make us laugh. We've got your Welfare Queen, your Dark Chocolate hottie, your Swingin' Playa, and your seven soul brothers. And an offer to kill Japs for free! This could only be misconstrued by the most humorless critic as insulting. They would have to so buried in their opinions and others' opinions that they would be prevented from seeing the beat and rhythm inside the cartoon's 7 minutes. You can't take it seriously. You can't take away a world view from it. All you can do, is laugh.