SunnyHello
Nice effects though.
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Tyreece Hulme
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Tad Pole
. . . about Looney Tunes director Friz Freleng's Profile-in-Courage-worthy response to Thomas Alva Edison's 1905 offering, THE WATERMELON PATCH, which had shocked Friz when it was screened by his racist third grade teacher. (If you do not want to trust my account of Edison Manufacturing Co.'s PATCH, it is readily available to see for yourself in its 10 minute, 42 second original entirety on YouTube; PATCH is so egregious in its suggestion of a "Final Solution" for American Blacks that President Obama PERMANENTLY banned Edison's light bulbs under a guilt-by-association clause which even Leader Trump does not dare to reverse.) PATCH opens with eight Black men crawling in a field to filch melons until chased toward their rural community center by a pair of White Skeletons; the scene then shifts to that cabin, in which other Blacks are gyrating with NO sense of rhythm, including the two Gay Dudes Twerking, and the musician strumming a Racist Banjo. When the melon thieves arrive, one of them "serves" this treat by dropping it to shatter on the floor, whereupon there's a lingering Edison group shot with 16 Blacks of all ages posed in rows as they sloppily slurp up the melon pieces. Just then five Whites--including former KKK Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd--run up to the cabin, nailing all exits closed and blocking the chimney, so that these Black men, women an children will be asphyxiated (no doubt inspiring Hitler's initial plan to off all the Jews by driving them around in the back of trucks into which the exhaust was vented; however, this diverted too much gasoline from Adolf's Blitzkrieg, causing Der Fuhrer to go to Plan Xyklon-B).CLEAN PASTURES, on the other hand, celebrates the Black Culture of the 1930s by portraying an Urban Population with a good command of Jazz, Rhythm, and sophisticated musical instruments such as the trumpets and pianos favored by Beethoven rather than the Racist Banjo popularized by Southern Crackers such as that plagiarist Stephen Foster. Know-Nothings have been ragging on Mr. Freleng for decades, just because the Racist Ted Turner and his infamous spouse Hanoi Jane (the deplorable pair behind the Atlanta "Braves" Tomahawk-Chopping Politically Incorrect Fad) got smashed on six pitchers of mint juleps on their Verandah one night and randomly Red-Lined CLEAN PASTURES and several other of Friz's film offerings. But now YOU know the rest of the story (and hopefully will make the Real Racists pay by putting any future payments of "Edison Bills" into escrow until a Judicial Referee settles the question of Reparations on which the Edison miscreants are trying to block payment).
MartinHafer
CLEAN PASTURES is a play on words, as the year before this film debuted, a film with an all-Black cast, GREEN PASTURES, was released in theaters to White and Black audiences alike.This is one of the so-called "Censored 11"--Looney Toons cartoons that were pulled from the market in the 1960s because of racist stereotypes of Blacks. While the general feeling of the reviewers is that this isn't offensive or that offensive, I can see how calling Heaven "Pair O Dice" could easily offend, as showing Black men as shiftless gamblers was a common stereotype of the age. As for the people who are parodied (mostly Black jazz musicians), I don't think this was intended as offensive and I bet most of them (such as Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong) were probably flattered by the attention. Throwing in a Steppin Fetchit-inspired character, though, is inflammatory as he is practically the poster child for the "I hate my race and will whore myself out for money" club. The bottom line is that there are elements of this film that can't help but offend. This is sad, as because with a few minor changes, this could be a more acceptable and widely enjoyed cartoon.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!
didi-5
This cartoon, one of Warner Bros. 'Censored 11', is one of the funniest ones I have seen and it is such a shame a wide audience are denied the chance to see it.The premise is that Pair-O-Dice (geddit?) a place where the angels congregate, is suffering from those sinners just heading for Hades instead. So ... with the help of Al Jolson, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Fats Waller, and 'Swing for Sale', is it possible to turn around the fortunes of the holy land? The caricatures of the great musical personalities are great and the title (a parody of 'Green Pastures') is inspired. Highly recommended if you can get to see it.
Robert Reynolds
This is a beautiful musical short that is frowned on these days because it features caricatures of Stephin Fetchit, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Louie Armstrong and others. It's really too bad, because the jazz is great and it's a wonderful piece of animation. Unfortunately, the prevailing attitude these days seems to be that animation is for kids when the reality is these shorts were made for adults and children both. You'll have to dig to find this, but it's worth the time and effort. Most highly recommended.
