Porky at the Crocadero (Broken Chinatown)

 

Director(s): Frank Tashlin

Summary: Porky has big dreams of being a nightclub bandleader and starts small by getting a job as a dishwasher at the Crocadero. But when Porky gets fired for breaking the dishes and the planned entertainment gets canceled, will Porky and his diploma from the Sucker Correspondence School of Music save the night?

The Channel(s): Nickelodeon

Part(s) Edited: Nickelodeon did two edited versions of the same scene, each were more in the “use alternate footage to cover up problematic scenes” school of editing (which isn’t a correspondence school, but can be taught as a class in most film schools and on YouTube videos on video editing) rather than the “snip-snip” school of editing.

The scene: Porky Pig as Cab Calloway sings “Chinatown, My Chinatown.” During one of the scatting riffs, Porky goes from looking like Cab Calloway (blackface, white suit, and all) to running across the stage dressed as a Chinese emperor (I don’t know from which dynasty) with stereotypical Chinese facial features.

Edited Version #1: The black and white version from when Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon was a Nick at Nite show replaced the appearance of Chinese emperor Porky with a repeat shot of the patrons on the dance floor during the Guy Lumbago scene.

Edited Version #2: When Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon moved to the daytime and phased out their black and white cartoons in favor of redrawn and computer-colorized versions, the brief scene of Chinese emperor Porky was replaced with a frozen shot of the empty stage as Porky runs off it. Nothing was done to the audio on either version.

What Grinds My Gears About the Edit: Very rarely do Nickelodeon edits to Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons grind my gears, because, with some of them, the edits are either seamless, have a sense of humor about them, or at least show that they tried to salvage the cartoon and that the cuts were done because they had to conform to what Standards and Practices wanted, and, if they could, they wouldn’t even bother with the cut in the first place. This is one of those examples where, yeah, it’s obvious that something’s gone, but you don’t care, because it could very well be a broadcasting mistake on their end (especially with the latter cut).

While Cartoon Network and Boomerang didn’t censor this cartoon, they also didn’t air it much because of the Porky as Cab Calloway part (which includes the brief scene of Chinese emperor Porky). My only memory of this cartoon on Cartoon Network was when it was shown uncut on Late Night Black and White (their late Sunday night/early Monday morning installment show that features black and white shorts, mostly pre-Hays Code Betty Boop and Popeye shorts, but they have shown the black and white Warner Bros cartoons that were either early Porky Pig shorts or those one-shot musicals that were a flimsy excuse to sell whatever songs Warner Bros studios had available in their library at the time). It was never shown as a color cartoon, and I can’t imagine what Cartoon Network or Boomerang would have done to edit it. They could go the Nickelodeon route, or they could have wholesale deleted the Cab Calloway performance, which, story-wise, is the point where Porky proves that he can be a great bandleader, since Cab Calloway was known for being that energetic bandleader that could rope you into one of his call-and-response songs.

EDIT: I stand VERY corrected, as I found a computer-colorized version (which I did use for the video comparison section to show how Nickelodeon cut it) from Cartoon Network that was uncut and uncensored.

Video Comparison: As the video shows, Nickelodeon’s versions (I’m assuming) were seamlessly done and didn’t detract from the cartoon as a whole. 

As a bonus, I’m going to include the computer-colorized version from Cartoon Network as evidence that this was uncut on that network.

Availability Uncut: As of this writing, it’s available on two DVD sets: The Looney Tunes Golden Collection, volume 5 (2007) and the Porky Pig 101 DVD (2017). It’s not on any video or laser disc set, nor has it been re-released on Blu-ray.

Is/Was It Available on Streaming?: As of this writing, no. It’s not even on the Tubi Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies collection, as it’s one of the shorts that wasn’t released because of outdated racial stereotypes.

‘Til next time…

Buddy's Theatre (Banned From Re-Release)

Director: Ben Hardaway

Summary: In essence, this is a toned-down version of "Bosko's Picture Show." We have Buddy as the projectionist at a movie theater (Bosko, in the former cartoon, was the organist back when movie theaters actually had sing-along segments as part of the coming attractions and B-level entertainment [the cartoons, the live-action shorts, the second-run movies, etc] before the feature presentation), a lot of newsreel gags (also from "Bosko's Picture Show"), the hero's girlfriend starring in a movie, and the hero trying to save her by messing with the film (and pissing off anyone who paid top nickel to see it). There are no jokes about Hitler trying to kill Jimmy Durante because Durante had that long nose stereotypically associated with Jewish people, Buddy doesn't call the villain (who is an escaped gorilla rather than the mustache-twirling, Snidely Whiplash type associated with the romantic melodramas of the time) a "dirty fawk," and there's no running gag involving the original four Marx Brothers chasing after dogs and singing "Daisy" while riding a four-man tandem bike.

The Channel: Nickelodeon (Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon)

Part(s) Edited: According to the Looney Tunes Fandom wiki, there's supposed to be a scene featuring African natives running towards the audience (I'm assuming as part of the "Coming Attractions" string of gags), which was recycled from "Buddy of the Apes", which was on Nickelodeon's list of Warner Bros. cartoons they weren't allowed to show on Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon. It makes sense why Nickelodeon would cut that part.

How It Plays Edited: To be honest, the edit is seamlessly done. If there's something obviously missing, then I haven't picked up on it, because I currently can't find the uncut version. If anyone out there has it or knows where I can find it, then I will be forever grateful. To get the search started, I'm going to upload the edited version of this short (actual edited version. I didn't alter this in any way) on the blog so anyone out there has a good starting point in their search:

Availability Uncut: As of this writing (in 2024), there's no release of an uncut, uncensored, remastered, and restored version (and, if Buddy truly is one of the least-loved Warner Bros. characters due to being bland and boring and not because of outdated racial/ethnic stereotypes or, in the case of Pepe Le Pew, making fun of sexual harassment, why would there be demand for it, outside of the need for completion?), but I do have faith that an uncut version will resurface. My guess? It'll probably happen when this short enters the public domain.

EDIT: Thanks to Anthony's Animation Talk review for this cartoon, I found out where exactly the African native scene was supposed to be in the fabled uncut version (which isn't a fable, but adding "fabled" to it does give it a bit of mystery). After the joke about Mausoleum (Mussolini) drafting literal toddlers as soldiers for his fascist army (with one asking him in gibberish to either leave the army or go to the bathroom, I don't know), there's a newsreel story about Liverpill (Liverpool), England seeing economic recovery as shoppers are flocking to early dollar day sales in the city's stores, then we cut to the recycled scene from "Buddy of the Apes" (and later, a colorized version shown on Frank Tashlin's "Speaking of the Weather") of the angry natives running towards the camera. Like I said: Nickelodeon did a fine job of seamlessly cutting it, but since the scene was part of a string of gags that had no bearing in the plot, there wasn't much the audience was missing, especially since the joke does feel kind of dated to start with. 

Click here to see the version shown (in clips) on Anthony's Animation Talk.

Buddy's Circus (Ubangi The Drum Slowly)

 

Director: Jack King

Summary: Buddy owns a circus filled with funny animals, non-white natives who can do strange things with their bodies, and a white baby who wandered in on the acts.

The Channel: Nickelodeon (Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon)

Part(s) Edited: Every scene involving the Ubangi circus performers, including a scene where one of the aerial acrobats falls and catapults a baby off a seesaw and the scenes at the sideshow featuring Elastiko the Indian Rubber Man and Asbesto the Human Stove (the last one is not only an edit to get rid of outdated African/otherwise non-white native caricatures, but also an edit for dangerous behavior involving swallowing fire. This is going by my observations, since this was not mentioned on the old Censored Cartoons Page or the Looney Tunes wiki) was cut.

How It Plays Edited/Video Comparison: The first part with the Ubangi Brothers (though the one with oranges for breasts and a skirt is very much a woman. Not a particularly flattering depiction of an African native woman, but what do you expect from 1934?), Elastiko the Indian Rubber Man, and Asbesto the Human stove being cut is no big loss, since it's just a compilation of gags with no real bearing on the story. The second part with the baby getting catapulted...the only criticism I can give is that there's a minor continuity error that not even a diagonal wipe effect that looks like it was part of the cartoon can save:

Availability Uncut: Surprisingly, this is available on home media, uncut, uncensored, and remastered. Your choices are either the Looney Tunes Golden Collection (volume six) DVD set or the Blu-ray version of the Wheeler and Woosley film, Kentucky Kernels. It's probably not going to be on streaming or digital download any time soon, so get it while it's hot on disc.

Rhythm in the Bow (The Quartet Offensive, or Hobo Sweet Hobo)

Director: Ben Hardaway

Summary: Lots of musical gags involving Great Depression-era hobos and the trains on which they hitch rides...at least until the lead hobo who can play the fiddle gets kicked off the train and wanders the countryside, where an angry dog goes after him.

The Channel: unnamed syndication and Nickelodeon (Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon, Nick@Nite edition) [Allegedly]

Part(s) Edited: Now, we come to the part of the job I love when it comes to blogging about censored cartoons: discovering and debunking claims. Yeah, I may have done it before with past cartoons, but this one is special, because Nickelodeon actually aired this one uncut.

According to the Looney Tunes wiki, Nickelodeon once ran this (either after it aired uncut or before. It's currently unknown) with a cut to the part where the four hobos singing the title song go through a tunnel and come out in blackface. It also aired edited on syndicated TV versions that most likely aired as filler on unnamed and long-gone local stations, but it's the Nickelodeon version that gets me, because, while looking for an uncut version to do my compare/contrast videos, I found a version from an airing of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon that was uncut and uncensored, well, except for this opening card seen here:

How It Plays Edited/Video Comparison: Because I love you (and want to show you evidence that this did air uncut on Nickelodeon), I'm going to show you the full cartoon (click here) and the compare/contrast video (seen below):

What Wasn't Cut That Should Have Been Cut: Some of the dangerous behavior involving trains, particularly the hobo skating behind the moving train. Oh, wait. It was the 1990s and concerns over people getting killed by trains (either because of suicide or just being careless) wasn't a thing yet. Yeah, that can stay.

Availability Uncut: As of 2024, this doesn't have an official home media or streaming release, which is odd, because, outside of the blackface part, there's nothing really offensive about it. Archive.org has the Nickelodeon uncut version...for now, anyway.

How Do I Know It's Sunday? (Why Should You Care It's Edited)

 

Director: Friz Freleng

Summary: It’s a “products/label mascots come to life to sing the title song and perform in a closed store” cartoon, but, instead of taking place at night, it takes place on a Sunday during daylight hours, when most, if not all, stores would be closed so people can go to church and rest.

The Channel: Nickelodeon (Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon, because where else would this air? I think I would have remembered it on the daytime version where it was nothing but the post-1964 Daffy Duck/Speedy Gonzales cartoons, the post-1964 Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons made without Chuck Jones’ involvement, the redrawn- and computer-colorized Porky Pig cartoons from the 1930s, the Pepe Le Pew shorts made after 1949’s “For Scent-imental Reasons”, and the semi-forgotten, “underrated gems” shorts -- both one-shot and with established characters --  that aired between 1949 and 1963).

Part(s) Edited: Just two scenes of outdated black/African-American stereotyping:

• The black chef on the Scream Wheat (Cream of Wheat) box singing along with the mammy caricature on the box of Aunt Eliza (Aunt Jemima, now known as Pearl Milling) during the title song. I don’t know if the shot of them in the background was cut too, but, for the purposes of the approximation, I’m going to leave it in because I feel that that’s what Nickelodeon did.

• The kid mascots using the ceiling fan as a merry-go-round -- not because it’s dangerous behavior that can easily be imitated by young, impressionable viewers, but because there are two black caricatures riding on the ceiling fan blades.

How It Plays Edited/Video Comparison: As I've mentioned before: cartoons like this don't lose much in terms of story or plot when it comes to being edited for either time or content (mostly content). With this one, however, I'm amazed there weren't more cuts to outdated racial and ethnic stereotypes. I'm guessing it would have led to a very choppy and incoherent cartoon if Nickelodeon went in that direction. If I wanted a musical cartoon that's severely edited to get rid of outdated racial and ethnic stereotypes, I can watch the Cartoon Network cut of "September in the Rain" (and I have. Thanks a lot, Acme Hour). Here's the approximation compare and contrast video:

Availability Uncut: If you can believe it, this actually has a home media release -- two of them, in fact. It was first released on the Looney Tunes Collector’s Edition VHS (volume 5’s “Musical Masterpieces”) in 2000. Eight years later, it was released on DVD as part of the sixth and final Looney Tunes Golden Collection set (it’s on disc three, which is dedicated to the Bosko, Buddy, and one-shot musical black and white cartoons).

Buddy of the Apes (A Closer Look-Out)

Director: Ben Hardaway

Summary: In this spoof of Tarzan (the movie version with Johnny Weissmuller as the title character), Buddy (who is living in the jungle) is targeted by African cannibals and the only ones who can stop them are his animal buddies.

The Channel: Sunset Production/Guild Films syndication

Part(s) Edited: I was going to omit this one, since this is one of those cartoons that rarely, if ever, airs on American TV due to outdated racial and ethnic caricatures and the fact that Buddy cartoons aren’t very popular, but, it turns out that this did air on television edited. Between 1955 and 1968, “Buddy of the Apes” aired without the scene of the "look-out" cannibal native alerting the cannibal chief about Buddy and the animals (I’m going to assume by how it’s worded on the Looney Tunes wiki that the rest of the scenes with the African cannibals wasn’t edited). This also was on Nickelodeon’s list of Warner Bros cartoons they could legally air at the time they were running the Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon, but, due to Standards and Practices (read: the network censors), couldn’t air it because it would take too much time, money, and effort to edit all the racially insensitive scenes.

How It Plays Edited/Video Comparison: Turns out the version I have is the edited Guild Films/Sunset Productions version. I still did a compare/contrast approximation video, but with a twist. This is one of those “so obvious, it hurts” cuts that even first-time viewers like me can pick up on because of how quickly it goes from the “look-out” cannibal sliding down the tree to the chief ringing the triangle nose ring on the cannibal sitting next to him. There’s something obviously gone.

Availability Uncut: As of 2024, there’s no uncut version on official release (or even unofficial release, as it’s not a public domain cartoon that’s always featured in home media releases that have public domain cartoons) and most WB cartoon fans (barring the hardened completionists) aren’t clamoring for remastered, uncut, and uncensored Buddy cartoons (heck, some were surprised when “Buddy’s Beer Garden” made it to the Looney Tunes Golden Collection). The version I found on Archive.org is the edited Guild Films version, so that will have to do until someone pipes up and says an uncut version exists. It happened to “Buddy the Woodsman,” so anything’s possible.

I've Got to Sing a Torch Song (The Trouble is Not Your Radio Set...)

 

Director: Tom Palmer (planned and credited); Isadore “Friz” Freleng (finished and uncredited)

Summary: The antics of a radio station run by Ed Wynn, featuring many racial and ethnic caricatures enjoying the broadcast worldwide and the title song sung by caricatures of Greta Garbo, ZaSu Pitts, and Mae West. As far as Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies fans are concerned, this one is under-the-radar for good reason. It was made when Harman and Ising finally left Warner Bros. Studios and Leon Schlesinger was desperately scrambling for replacement talent. Tom Palmer (the original director) was supposed to be that talent, but his original versions of this and “Buddy’s Day Out” were so bad that Friz Freleng (back when he was credited as either “Isadore Freleng” or “I. Freleng”) was called to salvage the trainwrecks.

The Channel: Nickelodeon (Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon)

Part(s) Edited:

The old Censored Cartoons Page listed this short’s edits as, “Scenes of the Chinese police and African cannibals were edited out of this cartoon's black-and-white print.” 

And, they are right: there was a scene featuring Chinese police officers sleeping in a rickshaw and tying up the police radio transmitter so they won't be bothered by their boss when he calls for all cars to report to an unknown crime that was cut when Nickelodeon aired this as part of their Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nick (original airdate: August 4, 1991. The Nick@Nite Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon came on between 1988 and 1992 while the installment show itself lasted until 1999, though I never saw Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon after 1996, mostly because the cable wasn’t on much at my house and mostly because this was when Nickelodeon was airing more of its original programming rather than what they had imported from other countries and syndicated domestically), but there was only one scene featuring an African cannibal (just one, not a group of them), and that was the scene of the African cannibal tuning in to a cooking show on his skull radio and adding mustard and salt to his stew of white explorers (shown as caricatures of 1930s vaudeville and film comedians Bert Wheeler and Robert Woosley) before stirring them.

And th-th-th-that’s not all, folks! The good people who used to run the Censored Cartoons Page forgot to mention two more edits that Nickelodeon did:

• The scene of the Bing Crosby caricature Cros Bingsby crooning, "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever?" cut the brief shot of college coeds (some of which are shown in skimpy lingerie) listening to the broadcast, though the old spinster hugging and kissing her radio while listening to the broadcast as well wasn’t censored.
• The sequence of the radio show reaching international audiences had a scene of an Arab sheik shooing away his belly-dancing concubine and switching over to a broadcast of Amos 'n Andy in the uncut version. Nickelodeon’s version redubbed the Amos ‘n Andy broadcast with music from the beginning of the short.

How It Plays Edited:

1) The Cros Bingsby/coed part: Other than a mildly obvious audio skip (and the hypocrisy of leaving in the old spinster making out with a radio when the college coed part wasn’t as sexually provocative as Nickelodeon’s cut makes it out to be), this isn’t too bad.

2) The Chinese police/cannibal part: Okay, the hypocrisy of this cut is starting to annoy me. They left in the Inuit/Eskimo man listening to the radio and nearly getting swallowed by a whale. I can only handle one instance of selective censorship at a time.

3) The Amos ‘n Andy redub: Eh, the music makes the scene feel a bit off. Why would the sheik shoo away his concubine just to listen to some music when he was already listening to music? I guess it can be written off as, “He was sick of the music from his country and wanted to listen to something different, since this is a sequence showing Ed Wynn’s radio show hitting international audiences,” but even that’s pushing it.

And what’s odd about all of this is that I was given the edited Nickelodeon copy from a tape trade and a few years later, the cartoon itself was released on DVD (see “Availability Uncut” below), so I did what every amateur animation critic should do: I watched them side by side to see what was cut and what wasn’t. The old Censored Cartoons Page, sadly, didn’t correct the mistake, so I had to make do with the Looney Tunes Fandom wiki and, of course, this blog here.

Video Comparison: The video was too big to load on the blog, so click here to see for yourself. (EDIT: 11/7/25: I'm going to redo the compare/contrast video on this, as I did a bad job on it the first time. Since this is one of my most popular posts, stay tuned for a new version).

Availability Uncut: This under-the-radar short surprisingly has been released on physical media. It’s on the DVD and Blu-ray version of the film Gold Diggers of 1933 (since the title song is also heard in the movie) and it’s on the fifth volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set. Archive.org has it online (for now), but it’s not on YouTube, unless you want to see clips of how it was censored on Nickelodeon or one of the audio commentary reviews from Anthony’s Animation Talk.

Bosko's Picture Show (Hit-ler and Miss, or Meet the Fawkers)

 

Director: Hugh Harmon and Isadore "Friz" Freleng

Summary: In this, the last Bosko short made for Warner Bros/Leon Schelsinger studios, Bosko shows viewers what a night at the movies was like back in the early 1930s. There were sing-alongs with actual in-house organ players, a newsreel showing world events, a short film featuring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy (though some theaters showed other shorts from comedy duos -- and trios, in the case of The Three Stooges), and a melodrama where Honey is in danger of being kidnapped by Dirty Dalton (the cur!).

The Channel: Nickelodeon (Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon -- Nick @ Nite version; as of the second airing)

Part(s) Edited:

• The “Out of Tone” newsreel sequence is missing the story of a Hollywood screen lover (Jimmy Durante) spending his vacation in Germany getting chased by Adolf Hitler (in what is commonly believed to be his first caricatured appearance in an American cartoon. “Cubby’s World Flight”, an obscure short made around the same time as this, is considered the first, but when was the last time you’ve heard someone talk about Cubby?) with an axe.
• During the melodrama He Done Her Dirt (And How!), Bosko shouts “The dirty fuck!” when he sees Dirty Dalton (the cur!) sneak onscreen on a wheel-less bicycle. The first time Nickelodeon aired this short, that part wasn’t cut (or so it’s believed). Starting with the second time, “The dirty fuck!” was changed to “The dirty cur!” (with “cur” being recycled from the part near the end where Bosko yells, “Stop, you cur!” before jumping through the movie screen).

How It Plays Edited: The first cut doesn’t really affect the overall short. The abrupt cut in audio might hint at something missing, but it can logically be written off as a scene that was cut before theatrical release, not a scene that was edited when aired on television. As for the second cut, it’s obvious that something’s been changed, as this video will show you:

Availability Uncut: The only official release it has (as of 2024) is on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection volume six (on the third disc dedicated to Bosko, Buddy, and one-shot black and white musicals). As it’s still under copyright, you’re not going to find the whole thing on YouTube. You might find clips of the infamous “dirty fuck” line and a review/commentary or two, but no full cartoon. Archive.org does have it uncut, but even that website has had copyrighted videos taken down, so catch it while you can or just shell out money for an official release.

EDIT: “Bosko’s Picture Show” can also be found as a special feature on the Blu-ray release of the movie Lilly Turner, starring Ruth Chatterton and George Brent. The movie was released on Blu-ray this year; that’s why it was never mentioned until now.

Final Thoughts and Miscellany: If you’re wondering whether or not Bosko actually did call Dirty Dalton a “dirty fuck,” then you’re not alone. A lot of classic animation fans and historians have argued this. Some believe that Harman and Ising wouldn’t go that far, since this was the time that the Hays Code was in effect, but no one really took it seriously until mid-1934 (this cartoon was released in 1933, so dicey content in American movies still popped up here and there. You can visit pre-code.com or just look up “pre-Code movies” on YouTube or whatever search engine you prefer if you want to learn some American film history before its Golden Age) and think that Bosko called Dirty Dalton a “dirty fox” (which is the line in the closed captions/subtitles on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection volume six version) or a “dirty mug”. While Mark Kausler (animator and director of the 1991 animated version of Beauty and the Beast, the 1994 animated version of The Lion King, and 2001’s Osmosis Jones) thinks Bosko’s line was “the dirty mug,” according to lip sync and a perceived soundtrack flaw that turned an innocent word obscene, animation historian Jerry Beck had several people see the film, with all of them concluding that Bosko indeed called Dirty Dalton a “dirty fuck.” As for me, I believe Bosko did say “dirty fuck,” but it sounded more like “dirty fock” (rhymes with “hawk”). Guess if the short “u” sound was replaced with an "aw" digraph sound, no one would know the difference back then.

Then there’s the question of why Harman and Ising would let this slip. Was it because films back then were trying to be as subversive and obscene as possible, which caused the Hays Office to censor films more harshly after mid-1934, since the Code wasn’t as enforced as it should have been when it first came out in 1930? Were Harman and Ising so mad at Leon Schlesinger over budget issues that this was their “screw you”/“up yours”/“take this job and shove it” (all of which would be too rude to say or imply under the Hays Code, just so you know) moment that led them to go work for MGM? Or is it actually just an innocent word turned rude?

Bosko's Knight-Mare (Falling Stars)

Director: Hugh Harman

Summary: Bosko dreams that he’s a Knight of the Round Table after falling asleep while reading a book on Arthurian legends.

The Channel: Nickelodeon (on the Nick @ Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon)

Part(s) Edited: When Bosko first meets the Knights of the Round Table in his dream, the scenes showing the knights as popular celebrities of the day (Ed Wynn, Jimmy Durante, Mahatma Ghandi, and Oliver Hardy, with Bosko turning into Stan Laurel, Hardy hitting Laurel/Bosko and Laurel/Bosko whining over getting hit) was cut.

Opinion on the Edit: Yeah, there’s no real explanation behind his cut. Arguments can be made that the Ghandi caricature could be potentially offensive, as Mahatma Ghandi is a revered figure in Indian history, but I have a feeling that Nickelodeon left in caricatures of Ghandi in other early black and white Warner Bros shorts. Maybe there was some kind of licensing issue over the celebrity likenesses being depicted, but then all the celebrities caricatured here and in other shorts would have been cut. Since the only celebrities the Nickelodeon version allowed were the original Marx Brothers (back when Zeppo was included alongside Groucho, Harpo, and Chico), I’m going to assume that the cut was done because the scene simply ran too long and Nickelodeon needed to shorten the cartoon to make room for more shorts and, most importantly, more commercials.

How It Plays Edited: There’s an obvious skip in the audio track, but nothing too serious. That’s all I got.

Video Comparison: 

Availability Uncut: Yeah, there’s no real legal way to see this. It was on television back when Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon aired this in the late 1980s into the early 1990s. I’m not 100% sure if Cartoon Network ever aired this, since they did air black and white Warner Bros cartoons, but most of them were the one-shot musicals. As of 2024, it hasn’t been released on DVD, Blu-ray, or streaming (either as part of a WB short collection or as a special feature to a film). Since it’s under copyright, most video websites will take it down -- operative word being “most”. While YouTube may only have it available as part of a review (they used to have a video clip showing how it was edited on Nickelodeon, but that has since been taken down), DailyMotion has it uncut, as does Archive.org.

Bosko the Lumberjack (Moose-Fire)

Director: Hugh Harman

Summary: In a refreshing break from the one-shot musical cartoons, we’re back with Bosko. As the title indicates, Bosko is a lumberjack who cuts down trees and tries to save his girlfriend, Honey, from a villain named Pierre. It should also be noted that this is (so far) the last Bosko cartoon to be public domain (as the years go by, this will change and I will try to edit in the changes to reflect that).

The Channel: Nickelodeon (on the Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon)

Part(s) Edited: According to the old Censored Cartoons page, there was said to be a scene cut where Bosko fires a rifle into a moose head. Turns out that’s a lie. The actual scene cut was Pierre entering the cabin with Honey to escape Bosko trying to get Honey back, and the moose head on the wall randomly coming to life and shooting Pierre in the butt repeatedly. The Mandela effect at its finest.

How It Plays Edited: Doesn’t affect the overall story, but does create the plot hole of Pierre rubbing his butt just as Bosko enters the cabin to fight him. Nothing major.

Video Comparison:

Uncut version:

Edited clip:

Availability Uncut: As mentioned before, this is the last Bosko cartoon that has fallen into the public domain in America (and, with time, there will be more to come). Since there are no official releases of this short (either on streaming or physical media), your best bet is to watch it on online video sites that allow public domain videos.

Bosko the Doughboy (Censorship is Hell)

 

(Please note: this is not to be confused with “Battling Bosko,” which is about Bosko being a boxer and hasn’t been edited for anything on a notable American TV channel or in unnamed syndication. Also, the video versions of this short may contain quick cuts and flashing lights that could cause issues with photosensitivity or trigger those who violence/war-based PTSD. Viewer discretion is strongly advised)

Director: Hugh Harman

Summary: In a shining example of how not every Bosko cartoon was inoffensive fluff, this outing sees out hero in WWI-style trench warfare. The juxtaposition of the horrors of war with the rubber hose humor and physical comedy that was common in animated shorts like this is what sells it.

The Channel(s): Nickelodeon

Part(s) Edited: Just because this short is a vast departure from your typical Bosko cartoon doesn’t mean it isn’t still a Bosko cartoon. Much like “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub,” “Box Car Blues,” and “Ups ‘n Downs,” the version shown on Nickelodeon’s Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon cut the ending where, after Bosko rescues the nameless hippo from swallowing a cannonball, the cannonball explodes on Bosko and he does the Al Jolson in blackface “Mammy” schtick.

I’m amazed the rest of the comedic war violence wasn’t edited, nor was the scene of the longjohns dumping the bomb on the cannon by opening up its back flap (I’m guessing this was an early example of scatological [“bathroom”] humor in the same vein as the duckling who had to go on “The Booze Hangs High”).

How It Plays With the Edit: Another sign that this is a Bosko cartoon at heart: the ending, while abrupt, doesn’t affect the rest of the short.

(original version)

(approximation of how the Nickelodeon edited version played out. Nickelodeon's edits were a lot nicer than what I came up with, so don't take this as actual footage)

Availability Uncut: And just like that, we have a trait that separates it from most other Bosko shorts. This one does have an official release. It’s on the sixth and final volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set (on the second disc, which features wartime cartoons. A lot are the World War II-era shorts that would otherwise be edited or banned from airing, but there are some that just take place in a wartime setting). It’s still a public domain short (and has been since 1960), so, if you don’t want to buy the Golden Collection DVD, you can easily watch it on YouTube or other video websites. I recommend the CCCartoons version, which actually has it uncut and in high quality.

Update: As of 2026, "Bosko the Doughboy" is also available (restored and in high-def) as a special feature on the Blu-ray version of the movie Possessed, starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford.

Bosko Shipwrecked (Cannibal Run)

 

Director: Hugh Harman (though the title card lists both Harman and Ising as directors, this was the first short where Harman does solo direction and the first time one person is credited for a Warner Bros cartoon)

Summary: After a terrible storm at sea, Bosko ends up shipwrecked on an island, where he must contend with the wildlife that stole his hat and the angry jungle natives who would love to have him for dinner…as the main course.

The Channel(s): Nickelodeon

Part(s) Edited: The angry jungle native part. All of it.

How It Plays With the Edit: I think it’s just better to show you the uncut version vs. the edited version (the latter of which I had to make myself, since I couldn’t find an actual clip), though this might be the first time a scene cut in a Bosko cartoon actually affects the story and not the flow of gags set to music:

(original uncut version)

Link to Edited Version

Availability Uncut: Another day, another public domain Bosko short that hasn’t been officially released on DVD, Blu-ray, or streaming as of this writing in 2024. However, it is on a lot of unofficial public domain DVDs (I remember having the Cartoon Craze DVD specifically titled, “Bosko Shipwrecked”) and, of course, YouTube and other video websites are an option.

Ups 'n Downs (Hot Dog Day Afternoon, or *This* Is The End?!)

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko, working as a hot vendor at an amusement park, ditches his post to compete in a horse race at a nearby track.

The Channel(s): Nickelodeon, syndication (Astra TV)

Part(s) Edited:

l Nickelodeon’s version cut a very bizarre scene (in a cartoon that’s already filled with the kind of rubberhose surrealism you’d see in 1930s animation that wasn’t Disney) where a dog buys a hot dog from Bosko and, just as the dog is about to eat it, the hot dog comes to life in and does the Al Jolson “Mammy” schtick from The Jazz Singer (which was a recurring pop culture reference in the older WB shorts) to beg the dog not to eat him and the dog immediately falls in love with the hot dog and the two skip away happily.

l Astra TV (a television station in Greece) aired a version of this short that, not only was redrawn and colorized, but also went under the title, “Off to the Races” and had an alternate ending to cover up the fact that Radio & Television Packagers, Inc. used an incomplete copy of the original as their source.

How It Plays With the Edit:

l Nickelodeon version: We’ve been through this before: we’re still in the era of the WB shorts having little-to-no plot, so whatever gags get cut for whatever reason probably won’t be missed, unless they’re the highlight of the short. Outside of an abrupt change in audio, there’s no effect.

l The Astra TV redrawn version: I’ll let the video comparison do the talking, but, if you want my opinion, the Astra TV version’s ending feels like the kind of corny comedy that plagued children’s cartoons before the rise of Nickelodeon and Western animation in general at least trying to elevate itself by making its children’s cartoons more creator-controlled and expanding animation to appeal to older viewers (whether it’s intense, dramatic HBO fare, like Spawn and Spicy City or the crude, irreverent comedies like The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, and Adult Swim’s early works):

(original version)

(redrawn Astra TV version)

Availability Uncut: No official release as of 2024 on streaming or home media. However, you can easily see the original black and white version and the Astra TV redrawn version on YouTube and other online video websites without worrying over copyright issues, as “Ups ‘n Downs” has been in the public domain since 1959.

The Booze Hangs High (Gross Hypocrisy)

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko dances and sings with farm animals and deals with a pig family getting drunk on discarded booze. That and a brief scene of a duckling interrupting a dance to use the bathroom are the highlights of this short. It’s not much, but, given how much the Warner Bros cartoons were trying to be like Disney, those scenes show that this won’t last.

Part(s) Edited: Here’s something: a Bosko cartoon that hasn’t been edited on Nickelodeon to remove a character doing the Al Jolson “Mammy!” schtick. Instead, Nickelodeon cut the part where the father pig’s drunken solo is interrupted when he belches up an eaten corncob, dusts it off, flicks off a kernel, and puts it back in a trap door in his stomach. This wouldn’t be a problem, except:

a) The scene isn’t as gross as described.

b) Nickelodeon back in the late 1980s into the 1990s was all about crude and gross humor. If they weren’t, Ren and Stimpy, all variations of Double Dare, and the whole idea of dumping slime on kids and adults (which originated from the Canadian sketch show You Can’t Do That on Television) wouldn’t exist.

c) No cuts were made to the scene of the duckling squirming in desperation and whispering to his mom that he needs to use the bathroom or the piglets getting drunk and their father catching them and joining in on the drunken antics. Hypocrisy in censorship will be a running theme as this series continues.

How It Plays With the Edit: As with the “Big Man from the North” example, I have access to both the uncut and edited on Nickelodeon version for you to see how both versions play:

Edited Version: 

Uncut Version: 

Availability Uncut: This is a public domain cartoon (having been one since 1959) and you can easily find it online or on bargain bin home media. However, this one does have an official release by Warner Bros. You can find it on the sixth and final volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set (it’s on the third disc dedicated to the early black and white shorts) or on the Blu-ray version of the Greta Garbo movie, Anna Christie. That version is an HD restored version, which is better quality than the DVD version.

Ain't Nature Grand? (Spit-Bit)

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko’s fishing trip turns into a string of scenes where he cavorts with nature.

Part(s) Edited: Another light one from the days of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon being a Nick at Night show. Bosko petting the fish until it spits in his face was cut. The Looney Tunes wiki says that there was a scene where Bosko gets bitten by the fish he pets, but I’ve scoured every uncut copy I could find and the biting scene doesn’t exist; only the spitting. If you care anything about people having access to correct information, please fix it. On top of that, there’s nothing overly-violent about spitting in someone’s face. Yes, it’s kinda rude and disgusting (especially since this premiered around the time when the Hays Code was written up as a guideline to proper movie content, but wouldn’t be fully enforced until 1934 and spitting back then was considered crude and disgusting enough to be a problem with the censors), but not violent. This is why I conclude that this was done either because Nickelodeon’s censors were really strict back in the late 1980s or it was just a cut made because the network needed that time for commercials.

How It Plays With the Edit: Since I can’t find evidence that this was edited, I like to imagine that the scene went from Bosko saying, “Ain’t that cute?” to the audience about the fish to the fish jumping out of his hands and back in the water. The cut doesn’t make or break the cartoon, since we’re still in the era of cartoons having thin plots and thinner characterization and only being a vehicle for visual gags set to music.

Availability Uncut: No official release as of 2024, but this is a public domain short, so your best bet is either on online video sites or bargain bin videotapes and DVDs that have compilations of old cartoons (and maybe a forgotten short film or live-action movie) that aren’t under copyright. Here’s the whole cartoon below for those who don’t want to go on YouTube:

There's also a redrawn colorized version of this short that exists, but, as far as I can tell, I never saw it on television. Here's a video showing the differences between the black and white and redrawn-colorized version:

The Big Man From the North (Born Under a Backside)

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko is a Canadian Mountie whose sergeant assigns him the task to catch a wanted criminal, dead or alive. Like most cartoon shorts of the time at Warner Bros., expect a lot of music numbers and gags that eat up a lot of clock to cover for a thin plot.

Part(s) Edited: The version that aired on Nickelodeon’s Looney Tunes on Nick (the Nick at Nite version where it was mostly black and white shorts) cut the scene of the outlaw getting stuck in the saloon doors, Bosko grabbing the outlaw’s knife, and plunging it into his rear end. Despite this, Bosko popping out of the spittoon and firing a machine gun into the bad guy’s butt wasn’t cut. Did the Nickelodeon censors feel that the knife in the butt was more of a threat to be imitated? It did look like it could be easily done and knives are more accessible than guns, even though I live in America, where the gun/knife accessibility ratio is 50/50 or more, depending on the state laws and any precedent from previous court cases.

How It Plays With the Edit: Why should I tell you how it plays out when I can show you? Here’s how it plays out uncut (start point at 6:33):

And here’s a clip from the censored version:

Availability Uncut: So far, the only physical media that has this short are the DVD release of the 1931 gangster film, Smart Money, starring James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson and volume three of the Warner Gangster Collection DVD set. It’s not on any Warner cartoon collections (at least, not as of this writing), either in physical media or on streaming, nor has it aired on television since its days on Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon (it may have made an appearance on Cartoon Network’s Late Night Black and White, but I haven’t seen it there. Someone else can correct me on this). However, all is not lost. This cartoon has been in the public domain since 1958 and can easily be found on YouTube or whatever video website you prefer.