Jungle Jitters (1938) User Reviews

Eh, alright

[cartoonnewsCP · 6/10 · 17 June 2016]

The film is now withdrawn from distribution due to stereotypes. Since it is in the public domain, it can be handed down to anyone to distribute. Turner owns the original negative to the cartoon.

Turner said he would never air these cartoons again on his networks. However, a station in Costa Rica aired it in 1995.

The cartoon isn't offensive at all, but the cannablism is a bit creepy.

There is a salesman but the black people want to eat him. He then sinks in the soup, preferring to be burned than eaten alive.

6/10, but it is one of Friz Freleng's earliest cartoons and he would be awesome in the 40s-70s.

This one will never air, but it isn't all that good in any case.

[llltdesq · 5/10 · 29 May 2002]

I suspect that even if there weren't stereotypes and caricatures that would be viewed as unacceptable today, this one probably wouldn't air today because it simply isn't all that funny. It starts off okay, but then we meet the "hero", who's about as stupid as they come (I've seen better heads on a glass of root beer) and it goes downhill from his entrance on. This one just doesn't work for some reason. Of interest only to die-hard Warner Brothers fans and rare cartoon enthusiasts. Otherwise, skip this altogether.

Big on stupidity but low on laughs

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 5 January 2015]

Jungle Jitters isn't a complete waste of time, the animation backgrounds are crisp and detailed, rarely feeling stiff, and the whole cartoon looks colourful and vibrant. Carl Stalling's music is as characterful, rhythmically energetic and lushly orchestrated as always, the action always enhanced. Jungle Jitters has two amusing moments, one was the tribe envisioning the salesman as a turkey and the other being the final line. The two biggest problems however that Jungle Jitters has is that it is not particularly funny and that none of the characters are engaging. Apart from those two moments, the cartoon barely raises a smile, the main problem being that it's stupid in a mind-numbing sense and also that the style of humour would have been funny then but some people(myself included, coming from a huge animation fan and someone fond of a vast majority of Fritz Freleng's work) will find that it goes over their heads now. The Clark Gable and Robert Taylor references could have been funny but weren't executed well. Even more problematic are the characters, the tribe are very stereotypically characterised and while the stereotypes are not as blatantly racist as something like Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat it is easy to see why they would offend some, they show very little personality either. The salesman is also incredibly annoying. The story is lacking in energy, while I did dislike the character designs especially after the rest of the animation being done as well as it was. Okay sure it's a cartoon and it makes sense for them to be exaggerated but these character designs looked ridiculous and borderline stupid(especially for the queen). Mel Blanc is one of the greatest voice actors who ever lived and had a knack of elevating the weakest of material, but here his material is some of the weakest he's ever had and this is one of few times where his voice work did nothing for me. Overall, a lot of stupidity here and unengaging characters but also apart from a couple of moments short of laughs. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Not Enough Laughs

[Michael_Elliott · 4 May 2014]

Jungle Jitters (1938)

** (out of 4)

Rather bland cartoon from Warner takes place in Africa and it starts off as a group of cannibals are dancing and then they turn into a merry-go-round where they then play a game trying to pull the nose ring out of one man's nose. From here the story focuses on a salesman who shows up at a home where the cannibal at first want to eat him before deciding to marry him off to an ugly queen. JUNGLE JITTERS is best remembered today for being one of the "Censored 11" from Warner, which of course got pulled off of television due to their racial content. Overall, this one here really isn't all that offensive but then again, that's going to be determined by the one actually watching since we've all got our own lines that we don't think should be crossed. Overall there are a couple funny moments in this one including the scene where the salesman shows up and the cannibals look at him and see him as a turkey. The ugly queen is certainly one of the ugliest creatures ever drawn in these animated movies and it makes for a fun ending. There's even a Clark Gable joke thrown in for good measures. Still, there's no question that there simply aren't enough laughs to keep this one from being better.

Jungle Spitters

[Dawalk-1 · 3/10 · 23 September 2017]

Although this may not be the most racist cartoon ever made, I agree that this isn't among the best. But the thing that gets me is this: The other black-themed cartoons that make up the Censored 11, and other racist cartoons from the Golden Era of American Animation are banned but some of the more modern cartoons such as Family Guy, which also make racial (or racist) jokes are not and they're given a pass to keep that alive? Why? I inquired about this in a thread on another site, but I forgot the reason. Even as much as I don't care much for the cartoons that target racial (or racist) stereotypes toward my own race (black), what's the point in banning them if negative, ethnic, stereotypical jokes are allowed on Family Guy? Political incorrectness hasn't really been done away with at all. As much as I love some of those Golden Era Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts, they haplessly also have a negative side to them and in the WB cartoons' history.

Negative, racist, stereotypes aside, that's not the only reason to detest this cartoon. Other than the very few, funny moments like the reference to The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down when the cannibals form a carousel with the tent, there isn't much else to it. I concur the backgrounds and animation quality are better than the characters themselves. These one-off characters, including the salesman, the African natives, and the queen aren't the most intriguing ever. As much as I don't care much for the character designs of the African natives with their black-face look, I know that unfortunately, in most cases, that was the way of the world back then, when too much ignorance towards minorities was rampant. This is one of the less funny LT or MM shorts. Back in the early half of the 20th century especially, there were cartoons that poked fun at various races a lot, yes, true. But does that make them right? And are they any fun? Well, maybe not, if you're a part of the race that's being targeted. And I believe that right there is where the problem lies. Why so many people have a problem with this kind of cartoons, with generalizations toward everyone within that race that aren't true about everyone in that race. The artwork with the backgrounds may be one of the few bright spots about this. I can't state much else about this that the other reviewers who gave lower rated reviews about it have stated, as I'm on their side on the same issues. The two, only reasons I'd ever recommend this are either for historical purposes or to be a completist. And to the reviewer who actually likes this, at least somewhat, and doesn't care for almost any LT/MM shorts, all I can say about that is he has no taste or crappy taste when it comes to real entertainment, so what does he know?

Banned and forgettable

[haildevilman · 5/10 · 31 July 2006]

Putting the 'banned' label on this will bring it attention it doesn't really deserve.

The main reason for the controversy was the depiction of south seas' blacks as cannibals. That was a regular occurrence in these cartoons.

The humor is so dated that I truly believe anyone who sees it today won't get most of the jokes. It may belong in a time capsule, but it's only place is in history.

Did anyone notice the native guard suddenly talking like a Chinaman? Typical 30's cartoon. Filled with spot gags so it never gets boring, but it never takes off either.

The final line is the best. If you can find it, see for yourself.

Jungle Jitters was another of the "Censored 11" I recently discovered

[tavm · 3/10 · 28 June 2008]

This is another of the "Censored 11" Warner Bros. cartoons that I found on Thad's Animation Blog. Thad thinks most of the gags are stupid but since Friz Freling directed this, there are at least a few clever ones like the Looney Tunes Theme-"The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down"-being depicted with these cannibals going up-and-down on a pole in a circle with a tent-like roof and a few others whistling in unison or the tall humanized salesman getting punched in the stomach. Besides that, however, the stereotypical characterizations pretty much defeats whatever entertainment value this short once had and dated references to old-time radio stars doesn't help. And what's with one of the natives speaking in a pseudo-stereotypical broken Chinese English? And why is their leader a white prissy queen drawn as a chicken? And why does she see the dog salesman as humanized Clark Gable and Robert Taylor? If you're a Warner cartoon completest, I'd recommend Jungle Jitters for one time viewing. Otherwise, stay away.

If you're expecting this review to be a panning, prepare for disappointment

[nnwahler · 6/10 · 27 June 2010]

Really, when I look back on all the Warner cartoons I've seen, I QUITE ENJOY this one......and I'll take it any old day over: (*big, long sigh*) "Feed The Kitty," "Boyhood Daze," "Much Ado About Nutting," "It's Hummer-Time," "Half-Fare Hare," "China Jones," "Scent-imental Over You," "Old Glory," "Tom Thumb In Trouble," "Those Wonderful Dames," "The Coo-Coo Nut Grove," "Prest-O Change-O," "Feline Frame-Up," "Kiddin' The Kitten," "The Aristo-cat," "Wacky Blackouts," "The Big Snooze," "Rabbit Hood," "Cat Feud," "Scaredy Cat," "A Waggily Tale," "Hare-Abian Nights," "Tweet Dreams," "Tom-Tom Tomcat," "Daffy And The Dinosaur," "The Good Egg," "Fifth Column Mouse," among many others. (Watch this list for future additions.) And if you want to e-mail me and tell me I'm lower than scum for preferring it, feel free to e-mail me. I won't care, though.

And as for the present cartoon?

The opening gags involving the cannibals are of the most blatant sort imaginable; but they don't take much away from a rather engaging central story of two white folks who end up at the altar. The queen's an absolute howl, and the nerd salesman is a transcendental bore--to the cartoon's advantage.

Let me put it this way: They're about as much an insult to Caucasians as the cannibals are to blacks......so it really evens up.

Dated and dumb

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 16 January 2016]

Merrie Melodies short, directed by Friz Freleng, notable today for being one of the Censored Eleven. For those who don't know, the Censored Eleven are cartoons that were withheld from syndication because they were considered to be too offensive due to their use of racial stereotypes and imagery. This one takes place in an African village populated with black people, except for the queen, who is an old white woman (or some kind of bird, I couldn't really tell). The natives are dancing and carrying on at the start of the cartoon when a traveling salesman shows up and gets himself into trouble. Not a funny cartoon and, yes, as politically incorrect as they come. At one point one of the African natives even does an Asian accent. Most of the jokes are dumb, including the dated parodies of Robert Taylor, Clark Gable, and the now-forgotten Al Pearce. The animation is actually quite nice, grotesque depictions of black people aside. It's colorful and the action is well-animated. The music is also good, including the Looney Tunes theme song used during the merry-go-round bit. But really there's no reason to see this unless you are an animation buff or curious about the Censored Eleven.

Someone goofed up Big Time in claiming that . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 17 August 2022]

. . . JUNGLE JITTERS is a controversial picture from 1938. One of my contacts in the Detroit Area recently forwarded me a copy of this 2017 film from a collection at a Motor City Area District Library to refute the idea that minority people take offense at the drop of a hat. While the dance moves in this piece may not be taking Motown by storm anymore, the fact that this literary repository of Rainbow sensitivity paid $19.95 in December, 2017, for something sold by Sears and Echo Bridge called "The Ultimate Cartoon Collection" and have yet to receive a complaint about it during the nearly five years Southeast Michigan residents have been checking it out disproves the idea that it could possibly be a remnant from the Evil 1930's. See for yourself: JUNGLE JITTERS is the 43rd offering under the heading "Classy Cartoons" on Disc One of the three-DVD set sold by Echo Bridge and Sears in 2017.

most likely filler

[lee_eisenberg · 5/10 · 6 August 2007]

Typical racist cartoon from back in the days when it was acceptable to portray Africa as people dancing around in loincloths. As it is, I got the feeling that "Jungle Jitters" was one of the cartoons that they made as a place holder in between the really good cartoons (1938 also saw the release of "Daffy Duck in Hollywood").

So, while the offensive material is the most obvious thing, the other point is that there is one clever scene: the merry-go-round (to the tune of "Merry-Go-Round Broke Down"). And there's the common situation of a cultural reference that people won't get nowadays; I'd certainly never heard of Elmer Burt.

So, I recommend this one as a historical reference.

Lighten Up! It''s A Typical Cartoon Which Exaggerates Everyone

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 18 August 2007]

I have to laugh at the typical liberal reviewers here, the PC Police types who want to ban anything which remotely might offend a minority. Talk about Nazi mentality! Excuse me, but the white character in this film is the most stupid idiot of them, more than the natives from Africa....yet you don't hear a peep out of the "reviewers" about that. I am referring to the "utensil salesman," the guy with the freckles, straw hat and buck teeth. Of course, all the lily- white Libs only see what they want to see.

Cartoons exaggerate all characters, all races, all animals, fish, birds, anything!

In this story we have a bunch of cannibals (who I guess, should wear three-piece suits to make the PC Police happy), who want to eat the salesman. The humor comes in when they try out his strange objects for sale, such as a vacuum cleaner. We see a guy who screws two lights bulbs in his ear, puts a shade on head, and he's all set for some reading! Good stuff, clever, and similar to cartoons I've seen over several decades involving all kinds of people and animals.

Those who saw this cartoon in the late '30s would "get it" more than people today, with the references to Clark Gable and Robert Taylor, the parody of a radio personality of the day "Elmer Blurt," and the popular song, "Too Marvelous For Words" (or something like that).

Lighten up, and enjoy the cartoon for its humor and nothing else. If it's hilarious: great, if the jokes are lame, move on. I found it pretty humorous and enjoyed this Looney Tunes effort. Those who are "Looking For Comedy in PC World,"to paraphrase a recent Albert Brooks movie, apparently don't laugh much.

Warner Bros. tackles the tough issues of Inter-Racial affairs for the first time since Shakespeare . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 6/10 · 18 March 2017]

. . . scribbled out OTHELLO with his quill pens. If Ted Turner and his then-spouse "Hanoi Jane" Fonda had decided to get smashed on six pitchers of Mint Juleps and while away an evening Red-Lining the works of "The Bard," no doubt OTHELLO would have appeared on their Shakespearian "Censored Eleven" Blacklist. Nowadays the rest of Hollywood is just catching up to the Warner Bros. savants of the 1930s, with such recent releases as LOVING. However, all is NOT "sweetness and light" in such affairs, as Nicole Brown Simpson learned to her dismay. Sometimes even innocent bystanders such as busboy Ron Goldman get caught up in such incidents of BIRTH OF A NATION-like rage. Warner Bros. suggests that the products or legacies of such pairings constitute the proverbial "Fate Worse Than Death" to many if not most Americans in their right minds. (If you're not with Warner's program, watch GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER and you'll see that it's the Black Mailman Dad who is the most cognizant of this fact.) No matter how much the Bleeding Heart Liberals want to condemn the Nicoles and Rons of Modern America to tragic demises in order to satisfy their delusion that we all live in a world of Unicorns and friendly Dragons, Warner Bros. was, is, and always will be in the forefront of sharing a frank, unblinking view of Reality with America, no matter how many pitchers of booze Ted and Jane chug down.

Ban it for being stupid!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 30 December 2008]

This is one of the famous "Censored 11"--Looney Toons cartoons that were pulled from circulation in the late 1960s because they were considered racially offensive.

I have seen the 11 films and found this one among the least offensive of the cartoons, though what is and isn't offensive is awfully subjective--one person might see it and have a fit and another may not. Some of the 11 are offensive to anyone who isn't a total jerk--this one, however, is debatable.

What may offend some is the depiction of cannibals (though how do you depict them well?!). They all look very stereotypical--with big lips and some with bracelets on their necks (though as one astute reviewer pointed out, this is from Burma--no where near cannibal country). One of them also looks a bit like Steppin Fetchit but with huge lips. Considering that these were among the only images of Black Americans on TV for many years, I could see someone being offended by this. Today, with a more diverse lineup on television, this cartoon might even pass unnoticed if shown, but who can tell?

My problem with the film isn't so much because of the racist qualities but because of the overall lack of quality in the cartoon. The bottom line is that it just isn't funny and I doubt if anyone will miss this or the vast majority of cartoons from the 1930s--an era when the toons just weren't that good compared to the 40s and 50s. Sure, there are many exceptions, but in general the cartoons were big on being cute but seldom had laughs or interesting characters. Friz Freleng-directed shorts of the 1930s just don't hold a candle to his edgier and funnier films such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Roadrunner cartoons of the studio's golden age. And this is one Freleng short you probably won't mind skipping.

My advice is that this and all the Censored 11 cartoons should not be shown on broadcast television unless they are shown with some sort of prologue that could explain the context and reasons they offend. Having them continue to be available on the internet (when you can find them) isn't a bad thing, however, as I am loathe to ban any sort of speech and it is an unfortunate but important part of our history. And if we eliminate EVERYTHING that might offend from our history, then we are left with,...well,...nothing!

Hello, Folksies

[rudy-30 · 10 November 2004]

This film isn't all that bad. After all, when the Queen made an appearance in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", those who remembered her howled with laughter. The animation is clever in spoofing Elmer as Clark Gable and Robert Taylor as seen by the queen; to the cannibals, he looks like fried chicken. Elmer, the shy salesman is a parody of the radio comedian Al Pierce's character, Elmer Blurt. The characteristic knock on the door, the stammer, "I Hope, I hope, I hope.", are all part of what became Warner's biggest trademark--parodies of radio comedians. After all, every time someone would pick up the telephone, Daffy might say, "Oh, is that you Myrt?", which came from "Fibber McGee and Molly." Also, how many times have Jack Benny and Rochester, not to mention Eddie Cantor, been used to good advantage?

This film starts slow, but does pick up speed when Elmer makes his entrance. He also has a great closing line, something the writers of some of these cartoons desperately needed. I recommend this film for students of old radio.

Dorgan's Syndrome meets Elmer Blurt

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 25 June 2007]

I'd heard no end of horror stories about how 'Jungle Jitters' is allegedly so mind-bogglingly racist that it has been banned from polite society for all eternity. It turns out that this cartoon's major crime is that it isn't very funny. The single most racist gag involves a black man who looks like Stepin Fetchit but with enormous lips. He eats a persimmon, and his lips pucker until they're normal size. Elsewhere there are moronic gags involving African natives (all male) with nose rings and metal bands elongating their necks. (Apparently the gang at Termite Terrace have got African men confused with Burmese women.) I was surprised that there weren't any plate-lip gags ... but, really, most of this toon is just so stupid and unfunny that it's not worth the credibility of being called racist. Some other Hollywood toons from this same period are far more racist, maliciously so. Step forward, Chuck Jones's Inki.

After the initial gags, we get two interesting examples of Dorgan's Syndrome, a term I invented. Dorgan's Syndrome (named for comic-strip artist Tad Dorgan) is when a comic-strip character or cartoon character (almost invariably male) is drawn to look like an exaggerated human (fully clothed), but very minor details -- such as floppy spaniel ears or a black button nose -- indicate that he's actually a humanised animal, nearly always a dog. (Tad Dorgan drew comic-strip dogs who were so completely anthropomorphised, you have to look carefully to see they aren't comic-strip humans.) Into this cartoon jungle comes a commercial traveller who appears to be a white man, except that he has a dog's nose. The African natives (who are clearly human beings, at least by cartoon standards) want to put him in a big cauldron and eat him. Before anybody cries 'cannibalism', how can they be cannibals if they're humans eating a dog? The talking dog's flesh tones resemble a caucasian human's, so I guess he's 'white'.

Now we veer into H. Rider Haggard territory, as it turns out that all these black men are ruled by a white queen ... a very old queen, in fact, wearing Mammy Yokum high-button shoes. She too appears to suffer from Dorgan's Syndrome, as she looks nominally human but her mouth and nose are drawn to resemble a chicken's beak. (An old biddy?) She takes one look at the dog and starts screeching 'A man!'. She's surrounded by black men, but apparently she's been waiting for a talking dog with caucasian flesh tones. While the dog is talking, the hen imagines him morphing into Clark Gable (very unpleasantly drawn) and Robert Taylor. It shows how defeatist the makers of this Warner Brothers cartoon were, that they had to invoke two MGM contract actors as examples of male sex appeal. Couldn't they have used Warners actors Cagney, Raft ... even Dick Powell?

This whole toon is too dumb to bear much scrutiny. When the African men look at the dog, he morphs into a fried chicken. But their queen IS a chicken, so why don't they eat HER?

A previous IMDb reviewer, Randy H Farb, observes that the travelling salesman in this cartoon is a parody of a radio character named Elmer Blurt. He's correct, but Mr Farb has misspelt the name of the radio actor who invented the character: that would be Al Pearce, not Pierce. Al Pearce's radio character Elmer Blurt was nicknamed 'the Low Pressure Salesman'. As Farb notes, quite a few Warners toons featured parodies of radio or movie actors. Which brings me to the one good thing about this cartoon: the dog character (an imitation of Blurt) is actually fairly interesting in his own right, and could have been quite effective in a funnier cartoon. It's a shame that Warners never used him again. Maybe he'll show up in a Tiny Toon. I'll rate 'Jungle Jitters' just 2 out of 10. That's all, folks.

cannibals and love

[Kirpianuscus · 18 April 2021]

Nice for references, decent for story and dark humor. Not impressive but good example of Looney Toones universe.

Bamboozled

[tedg · 7 January 2006]

I see these "banned" things and react variously. I think Amos and Andy, for instance is ennobling, and the often respected "Song of the South" disgusting in its racial typing.

This one seems pretty offensive too, especially at the beginning where multi-hued cannibals prance around in what must be a near carbon copy of a similar scene with "Indians." Its darn upsetting. But then the other characters get introduced, a white guy and the queen who inexplicably is white. Well, maybe she's white because having her attack the salesman romantically really would be unacceptable for the time.

As with all these, everyone seems to be stereotyped to the same extent. There aren't any characters that are not poked fun at.

But in this case, I think it should be shelved.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.