Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs
You can’t be more offensive than this. Even the title is offensive. It amazes me how Warner Bros. could produce such cartoons. I find it really interesting because you can actually see the change in the American society with your own eyes. We all remember growing up watching Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry with the famous “blackface” after having an explosive blown up in their faces but now our kids won’t see them. Because they are censored and cut right out of most of the cartoons.
This cartoon was banned because of its extremely offensive content towards African American culture. It is a piece of history you probably won’t see on TV. I hope you enjoy it.
Contact me for a download request.
More info on the cartoon can be found here.
Even more info can be found in Wikipedia here.
Coal Black
Old Queen
Prince Chawmin’
Sebben Dwarfs
Poison Apple
October 18th, 2005 at 3:26 am
I totally agree with you. When we are younger, we always used to watch these cartoons and never knew what they meant. But as an adult…we realized that we were exposed to full-fledged RACISM.
October 18th, 2005 at 3:53 am
I’m gonna download that before I comment on it, lol. Your dad commented on my blog! I feel as if I am being watched now (ok not really).
October 18th, 2005 at 4:02 am
Cool stuff, I wonder if its a Tex Avery one or not.
October 18th, 2005 at 4:45 am
As offensive as they are, I don’t think they should get rid of them. They’re a good indication of the culture at the time.
October 18th, 2005 at 6:00 am
I’ve seen far worse. If you think that’s bad, look up a cartoon by Charlie Chaplin called “The Great Dictator”. It’s about Nazi Germany.
October 18th, 2005 at 10:18 am
Jazz, right but the point is we didnt understand them so its ok.. i cant say the same for the kids in america because the do know what racism is and the history of it at a very young age
William, WHAT?! my dad commented on your blog?! he doesnt even comment on MY blog! loool! where??
Mad, i’ll check if it is
McA, EXACTLY.. thats is why i’m collecting them all.. i have a list of their names.. theyre about 400 something.. warner bros. tom & jerry, popeye, disney and all the ones we know
William, i’ll add that to my list.. i have quite a few ww1 and ww2 cartoons.. about nazis, japs, and russians.. i’ll be posting them every once in a while..
October 18th, 2005 at 10:22 am
Will, i just checked, that was my mom not my dad.. lol
October 18th, 2005 at 12:02 pm
Yep this is had to be one of the worst
October 18th, 2005 at 12:06 pm
detailed info here
http://www.toontracker.com/coalblack/coalblack.htm
October 18th, 2005 at 2:33 pm
oh my Godddd can we say RACIST LOL!! that was aome crazy stuff!! snow white/coal blacks a little hoochie mama haaa!! oo aham shay murder inc!! JAPS FOR FREE!! thats so bad.. haha, where do you find this stuff?!
October 18th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
sometimes at websites and sometime in iMesh
October 19th, 2005 at 3:23 am
Shino?!??! SORRY!!!! I thought that was your dad! Tell your mom I said I’m sorry!
October 19th, 2005 at 9:47 am
hehe.. its ok! lool.. calm down
October 19th, 2005 at 5:50 pm
Yep…when we were younger we didnt reliese what these cartoons really ment…but as i see it…the world has always been a place where ur either fat..short or put into some sort of category…anyways…Racism , i believe, will always exist not matter how many people on this world want to stop it…its such a shame its human nature…”judging someone by their looks…is said shoudnt be done…but how many of us truely can?..”
October 19th, 2005 at 11:58 pm
couldnt have said it better myself.. our reactions to certain people are human nature..
January 22nd, 2006 at 2:29 pm
It is an animation masterpiece. Funny sexy and only offensive to Farrakan, Jesse Jackson and uptight hypocritical white liberals. Animated cartoons is about caricature, exaggerating to extremes. If I wanted real life depictions, I’d step outside the theater.
February 5th, 2006 at 1:28 am
i think that this is very sick. how the whte man talk about our race. they think we don’t know there making fun of us and that we don’t know about our history… WELL I DO AND ITS NOT A JOKE
February 5th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
they know that now and its a good thing becuase they dont make these kinds of cartoons anymore
September 14th, 2006 at 4:12 am
I’m down with Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs. It’s my all-time favorite
cartoon and it’s what sparked my affinity for retro jazz, swing and blues, what is now my favorite style of music. This cartoon is certainly not racist, just impoliticly correct at moments. This was an amazing tribute to black culture, and the positive surely outweighs the negative. What’s to be offended by? Big lips? They’re dad-blasted caricatures! If whites can be characterized, why can’t blacks? The notion that black culture cannot be utilized in cartoons is racist itself. I find contemporary black stereotypes much more offensive than relatively harmless ones such as dice. It infuriates me that someone would censor something like that but defend such degrading contemporary minstrel shows such as hip-hop and Def Jam. And then there’s ones like Dumbo and the Jasper shorts that are totally positive and nonstereotypical, and that no one could be rationally offended by, except maybe Jasper and the Watermelons but even that wasn’t that bad. I think Warner Bros is oversensitive about re-releasing African-American cartoons because of the fear of offending someone; they feel they need to be responsible since cartoons are more easily scrutinized because they appeal to children. But all they do is deprive people of great works of art. They will be sure to gain more fans than lose if released again. They can’t hide it forever! I am black by the way, and this cartoon reinforces my pride rather than put me to shame, go figure. The jivin’ musical score, the frenetic animation, the beautiful So White, what’s not to love? My other C11 faves are Goldilocks and the Jivin Bears (Goldie’s another cutie) Tin Pan Alley Cats, Clean Pastures, and Sunday Go To Meeting Time. And the one with black Elmer Fudd was hysterical. He was portrayed as an individual buffoon who happened to be black, no diffwent than Fudd was potwayed as an individual white guy. Huhuhuh. The only WB Censored 11 I find racist are Angel Puss (but then it’s doubtful harm was really intended) and the native ones. But I see the native cartoons differently depending on what mood I’m in. One day I find them totally appalling and grotesque and can barely watch, the next day I find myself pointing at the screen and giggling like an idiot laughing at the stupidity. Besides, anyone who thinks natives really have bicycle tire lips, jump rope with oversized nose rings, eat watermelon and dance around the fire covering their mouths going “woo-boo-woo-boo-woo” has problems of their own.
And So White is NOT a “hoochie mama”. That’s racist. Just because she’s pretty and black doesn’t make her a “hoochie”. She’s just sexy in the classic cute Betty Boopish kind of way, if you want to see a REAL trashy “hoochie mama”, look no further than Foxxy Love from Drawn Together. Now SHE’S a racist stereotype. Go complain about real problems you insecure PC whinos. And jazmyne you don’t sound like an actual black girl you sound like one of those hypersensitive politically correct whiteys.
September 14th, 2006 at 7:10 pm
impolitely correct.. i like that.. i never thought of it that way.. i always thought that “racist” was the only word available to describe this kind of material.. it also is one of my favorites simply because of its historical value and ofcourse its humor
by the way, whats “dice”? a tv show or something?
thanks for that input
September 24th, 2006 at 2:08 am
After years of finally hearing about this cartoon, I have to say that the only things that really impressed about this cartoon were the voice talent and the musical score. Even though So White was much prettier than I expected, this cartoon really did not impress me too much. It is blatantly racist and even though Bob Clampbett’s intentions were meant to glorify African-Americans, I am deeply offended.
October 12th, 2006 at 4:17 am
How can a movie be “racist” or a “bigot” I guess this is what to expect from our culture today. Maybe it portrays “Black America” as seen thru “White Eyes”. However this being said there are so many who claim to be artistic or liberal who will no doubt blab on about freedom of speech and expression when it suits them but let something that is not politically correct such as some of these old cartoons try to be distributed and someone squashes it or the powers that be wont release it aka Disneys “Song of the South”. I say let “History be seen and not squashed” & Burn No Books or Movies just because you don’t like them or agree with them. Believe it or not the same thing is being done with History and the Nazis. Why don’t you think they ever subtitle what Hitler is saying in those documentaries on A&E and the History Channel. I just say lets hear them and see just how big an idiot they were!!!! or not. Let people decide for themselves.
January 11th, 2007 at 3:03 am
I understand the opinions that everyone has stated above, and I actually did enjoy this cartoon and can see why it is considered to be one of the greatest cartoons ever created. I felt the music was a lot of fun and that the cartoonistry was done very well.
However, I can also see why it is not shown on TV today. We spend a lot of time in this modern era trying to remain politically correct. What with all the lawsuits going around and the easily-offended families of our country, it’s understandable. The show can also easily be interpreted as racist, which I’m sure we all understand.
I’d like to add another reason why they cannot show this now. We understand better now that our prejudices are established when we are children, even in the most subtle of ways. Using the example of one my teachers, if I may, if a white child was with his mother at a grocery store, and his mother was prejudice against African Americans, and she happened to see a person of this ethnicity nearby and then grabbed her child’s hand in a protective manner, the child might interpret that African Americans are dangerous, and may end up with a racist mentality in the future.
Yes, children are innocent. They don’t know prejudice or racism. They’re pure. However, it is possible that the reactions to this cartoon in a household may influence their future prejudices. There is definitely still racism and prejudice in our country today, and I’d certainly rather censor a show from television than have a horrible period of time of hate.
Yet, shows like these, though removed from TV, should definitely be historically documented for future reference as to how life was in various decades. We learn from our mistakes, right? Perhaps we should start admitting them.
February 2nd, 2007 at 5:45 am
I just discovred this great film and watched it probably ten times over. While the exaggerated caricatures are way over the top, the sentiment of the cartoon is good. The whole thing just bounces along, and there are several absolutely classic moments. The scene of The Queen, sitting in her throne and wolfing down Chatanooga Chew Chews, and then bouncing up to the mirror; and her croaky-voiced request for a prince, is astounding. I had to go back and watch it over and over. It is deliciously bizarre. Also, the intro of So White, with her little tush gyrating around to the boogie-woogie piano music, is perfect. So White herself is absolutely charming, as well as being a babe. The scene of her and the prince, danicing a faux minuet, and then breaking into the wild jitterbug, is also perfect. Very satisfying build up. As a whole this film works very well. It’s funny and stunning at the same time. I can see how some blacks would be offended by the absurd representations, but if you look beyond that, the thing is just great. And finally, after hearing the Queen, I now know where the guy who sings “The Double Dutch Bus” got his idea for the weird voice.
February 21st, 2007 at 11:31 pm
So why is it that this http://www.area-77.com/images/coalblack3.jpg is a racist stereotype, but this http://gfx.tv4.se/imagesdb/editor/kandis/35C6F0FF-9003-4153-9056-00B1E447113B.jpg isn’t?
February 27th, 2008 at 2:11 am
Good grief. If people try to analyze this to death, then maybe it is racist. But then, they shouldn’t show What’s Happenin’, nor Fat Albert (cartoon), or some of those other shows from the 70’s on TV anymore either!. Because it shows actual AA (and I don’t mean Alabama Adventure - though there’s lots of AAs at AA.)behavior and gains humor from it. The Jeffersons always had the dumb white guy neighbor… I liked the show as a kid, but now consider IT racist! Thing is if you don’t live in the South, like I do, you don’t understand some of these classic people’s behaviors. We used to mock EVERYBODY in the old days, not just a certain ‘group’. It was EVERYBODY. It was slapstick. It was funny, it was humor, it was spur of the moment and considered satire. It was everywhere at that time. Thing is, if certain people did NOT behave a certain way, then why was it made fun of? For every joke, for every stereotype of ANY color, there IS some reason or history or fact behind it, that nobody wants to acknowledge! And now we’re in the next century. The color barrier HAS been broken. It’s not about ‘racism’ any more, it’s more BEHAVIORISM now. And where that behavior stems from, is taught from, and or why? should be the MAIN consideration not just because of color. On Topic: I find this cartoon absolutely hilarious! it’s a decent tribute to showing the dwarfs in a different light, and blacks in the army back then (which was even a bit of a no-no back then). I loved it when Dopey got So White at the end. And the animation of her at the beginning making breakfast is simply amazing. I believe this is a Warner Brothers cartoon, but it’s hidden on my copy of Song of the South… I didn’t realize until I found the easter egg online! Thing, you shake your head in frustration of being offended in the short, your BOUND to miss something considering how QUICK this short goes to contain the whole Snow White story in 7 minutes! Amazing, simply amazing.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:21 am
Nifty, i agree.. also, to me this is very educational. it’s a piece of american history and culture. and it IS HILARIOUS. my fave parts was the queen when she called “Muhda Incopolated”
i love it.. and of course when the dwarves drive up in their little cars and the last one has the word “peep” on it! and the funniest thing of all is the part when the worm moves out of the apple with the “refoogie” sign.