Angel Puss (1944) User Reviews

It's no Coal Black

[Markc65 · 5/10 · 28 March 2002]

It is interesting to compare this Chuck Jones cartoon with Bob Clampett's Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943), since both were written by Warren Foster and dealt with racial stereotypes. While Coal Black seems to have an admiration for the culture it is ridiculing, and is filled with an exuberance and joy in its portrayal of the characters, Angel Puss seems just mean-spirited. The vain Prince and greedy Queen are the main objects of mockery in Coal Black, but Angel Puss picks on an innocent black child for fun. He is paid to drown a cat but cannot bring himself to do it. While he is arguing with his conscience the cat manages to escape the bag he was kept in. The cat, pretending to be the child's conscience, urges the child to go through with his original plan. The cat then spends the rest of the cartoon pretending to be a ghost and "haunting" the child. This part of the story is just painful to watch. The child obviously doesn't deserve the treatment he suffers through. While many of the Warner Bros. cartoons dealt with a heckling character hassling some milquetoast in a very humorous way, this cartoon seems spiritless, as if director Chuck Jones was just going through the motions. It is interesting to note that this is one of the rare times that Jones worked with Foster, as he usually worked with writers Tedd Pierce and Mike Maltese.

*EDIT* I was mistaken about Warren Foster being the writer of this cartoon. It was actually written by Lou Lilly.

Sure to offend and not especially funny

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 15 June 2007]

This cartoon is on the web and can be watched on Google Video, though it is NOT in general release because it is so patently offensive. While I am one of the least politically correct-minded people you'll meet (I actually believe in Free Speech), I can easily see why Warner Brothers pulled this one, as it is so offensive and gross in its stereotype of Black Americans. The main character is a huge-lipped and ultra-stupid Black named "Sambo", so it certainly isn't surprising that with today's sensibilities that this is deemed offensive! Now if you look past the horrid stereotype, the rest of the cartoon is only mildly funny by Looney Toons standards, so I really think you aren't missing anything if you don't watch it. I just hope it is NOT pulled off Youtube since I hate to see anything completely banished plus it is an important and uncomfortable part of our history.

another racist one

[lee_eisenberg · 5/10 · 10 July 2007]

Yes, it's another long-lost Looney Tunes cartoon chock full of racial stereotypes. This one portrays an African-American boy sent to drown a cat, but the feline gets away, encourages the boy to toss the bag into the harbor, and then pretends to be its own ghost. Most people will probably agree that we should only watch these cartoons to see what kinds of images pervaded popular media during certain eras. "Angel Puss" would be a prime example.

Most of the humor comes when the boy keeps getting scared by the cat pretending to be an apparition. But mostly, I find it hard to laugh at black-face images.

Good story, but...

[javiervera · 3 October 2002]

This cartoon is an example of good stories done the wrong way. It seems that writer Lou Lilly (he wrote this short, NOT Warren Foster) suggested the idea of a little kid having to drown a cat but the cat manages to survive and heckles him then, sounds good so far, but they decided to go with the racial stereotyping, causing this cartoon to be shoved in the vaults. I believe they could have perfectly used one of the "regular" characters in this cartoon (this could have been a good time for Porky to show up), as the jokes themselves are not racist at all (except obviously for the gambling scene). The music is good, but nothing you haven't heard in any other Carl Stalling cartoon, the animation is good and filled with those facial expressions that only Chuck Jones made. All in all, a good short with a good story that may sadly never be shown on TV, the only public domain video that has it is called "Uncensored Cartoons", but since it seems to be discontinued, you'll have to work your way hard into the video stores if you want to watch this cartoon.

Angel Puss is the most appalling of the "Censored 11" cartoons

[tavm · 1/10 · 10 July 2008]

Well, it took until I watched the 10th of the Warner Bros. "Censored 11" cartoons, but Angel Puss is the most appalling of them. And the most shocking thing about this is the fact that Chuck Jones-the one who usually made some of the most clever Bugs/Daffy/Elmer shorts ever and had some of the most cute ones in his catalogue-was behind it. The awful premise is that Sambo (yes, Jones used the stereotypical black boy name here) has to drown a cat for his boss or he has to forfeit his "four bits". But that's not the really bad thing here. It's the fact that the cat is actually behind him telling him to do this and Sambo is way too dumb to notice-especially when the cat later paints himself white with wings-that results in a wild goose chase that lasts throughout the short. Add in the atrocious voice and characterization (I wonder if Mel Blanc ever held himself in shame over this), and you've got the worst cartoon I've seen yet from Warner Bros. The only positive thing I can say is that Sambo's singing of "Shortnin' Bread" isn't too bad.

"Dat sho is wet water."

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 11 March 2016]

Looney Tunes short, directed by Chuck Jones, 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 is, in my opinion, the most offensive of the Eleven. The story is about a young black kid named Sambo (yes, really) who tries to drown a cat in the river (yes, really). The cat escapes but the boy thinks he's killed it. So, for the rest of the cartoon, the cat pretends to be a ghost and haunts Sambo for laughs. Eventually Sambo realizes what's going on and kills the cat with a shotgun (yes, really). Throughout the short there's all kinds of racist stuff like Sambo being drawn in blackface caricature and speaking in an exaggerated Southern black accent. Also there's the expected stereotype of black men being afraid of ghosts that was a constant fixture in movies of the time featuring black comedians. This is Chuck Jones' only entry on the Censored Eleven. There's really very little of what would later be his signature style on display here. It's a one-joke cartoon and that one joke isn't that funny to begin with. If it weren't for the controversy there really wouldn't be much to say about this. It would be lumped in with dozens of other similarly forgettable shorts from the period. See it for the history, I guess, or maybe if you're a Jones completist. Otherwise I don't see why you'd want to take a look at it.

Grossly offensive

[Prismark10 · 1/10 · 4 August 2013]

Those people who go on about political correctness gone mad will highlight this film as something mildly offensive that has been denied to the general public by self appointed censors.

Angel Puss is a racist cartoon short. I was shocked by the racism.

It makes me sad that Chuck Jones was involved in making this. An Oscar winning legend in the world of animation. I shudder to think what views he had of black people during the 1940s.

The tale is of a young, lazy, dumb black boy called Sambo who plays up to the stereotype and who has been told by his boss to drown a cat.

Yes a children's cartoon where someone is forced to drown a cat. However the cat is no innocent and at one point whites himself up.

Mel Blanc (White in French) should also be singled out for his voice work that plays with the stereotypical nature of the characters.

There are good reasons why this cartoon are part of eleven that Warner Brothers have withdrawn.

No duh, Sherlock, these were meant to be offensive!

[cartoonnewsCP · 6/10 · 3 July 2017]

I do get that this is an un-reputable short, especially under the direction of Chuck Jones, however, I do like some of the scenes. Animation is great, and it is a bit offensive, but the time these were made, the US had segregation, discrimination, lynching, and all other sorts of stuff. The only thing that they should have eliminated was that accent. Other than that, it's pretty normal.

It's not really funny, but it's worth watching once for a historical reference.

The worst and most offensive of the "Censored 11" cartoons

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 17 August 2016]

Not all the "Censored 11" cartoons are bad, and some of them are not that racist or offensive today and are actually pretty tame.

Some of the racism and racial stereotyping in other cartoons is much more blatant, including 'All This and Rabbit Stew' and 'Jungle Jitters'. From memory, the worst and most offensive of the lot was this, 'Angel Puss'. On re-watch, it is an opinion that this opinion still shares.

Not just blatantly racist, with stereotypes that makes one squirm, and parts that are not for those easily offended and much of it was offensive, but 'Angel Puss' is also a poor cartoon in its own right.

The only good things about it are some of the animation, which is unmistakable Chuck Jones and has some imaginative detail, with exception of the very poorly drawn and uncomfortably exaggerated main character, reminding one of the hunter character in 'All This and Rabbit Stew', and the vibrant and lively music score.

However, 'Angel Puss' is sorely lacking in laughs, instead being stupid and ridiculous. The story is far too sadistic in places, especially the suffering of the main character via the cat, is dull and constantly uncomfortably weird. The main character is bland and irritating, and the cat evoked the same reaction that the story did. Dialogue is unfunny and stilted.

Don't expect the usually brilliant Mel Blanc to save it. He does in all fairness have poor material but he doesn't do anything with it and is more annoying rather than exuberant, never has he voiced so poorly than here.

Overall, of the "Censored 11" cartoons 'Angel Puss' is the worst and the one that makes one feel uncomfortable and offends the most. 3/10 Bethany Cox

An okay cartoon that's been buried by the owners because it makes them nervous

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 27 May 2002]

This short is nothing terribly special. It's an okay cartoon, nothing more or less. But it is unlikely to see the light of day until or unless it reaches public domain, because of racial stereotypes that are no longer acceptable. While I can see their point (and the short is by no means a masterpiece), there are shorts equally mundane and inconsequential shown every day. This should be available at least for historical purposes, although I can see a point to not airing it for broadcast. Worth watching at least once. Recommended due to its scarcity for completists.

Warner Bros. heroically tries to warn America's Urban Population . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 6/10 · 29 March 2017]

. . . about the dangers of gambling, particularly Craps, but by implication the Numbers Game as well, with this brief cartoon, ANGEL PUSS. While some people might see the doomed feline title character as the victim here, a close examination is required to spot Warner's True Meaning. ANGEL PUSS is a glib, fast-talking, perfidious CAT, representing America's Fat Cat slumlords, Johnnie-Come-Lately outsider bodega shysters, and local Crime Lords who prey upon the Poor and Under-Educated filling America's ghettos. ANGEL PUSS is a condescending, patronizing, Racist Fat Cat to boot, calling his Black Male keeper "Boy" and "Sambo" every chance he gets. Warner suggests that ANGEL PUSS is just begging for a .22 slug between his lying eyes. However, when ANGEL PUSS begins manipulating the mailboxes of the USPS, this is Warner's way of warning Blacks to be especially weary if the Government ever horns in on the Numbers Racket itself. Tragically, this 1944 prophecy of doom was COVERED UP by that Racist Southerner Ted "The 'Tomahawk Chopping'" Turner, owner of the Atlanta Braves, who seized control of Warner's Looney Tunes Early Warning Division so that he could suppress, hide, and forbid access to his so-called "Censored Eleven," as a way of helping the Racist Confederate states to hold the Black Man down in a perpetual bondage of harassment, unemployment, incarceration, and death-by-cop. Even the NAACP has declared that "Powerball" and "MegaMillions" is a PROGRESSIVE TAX whose primary purpose is to keep America's Urban Population "in check" by sucking resources out of the Hood. Anyone who watches the News knows that most of the Players are Black, but almost ALL the winners are White! Warner outlined this dire danger in ANGEL PUSS to prevent it from rearing its ugly Racist Head in Real Life, but Ted Turner and his bigoted Henchpeople undid Warner's Profile in Courage!