Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Tad Pole . . . team of Ted Turner and his then-spouse "Hanoi Jane" Fonda ignorantly red-lined this key Warner Bros. cartoon offering on the fateful night when they were smashed from chugging six pitchers of mint juleps on Ted's veranda and putting together their infamous Looney Tunes "Forbidden Eleven" List because it hit too close to home in parallel to this hypocritical pair's own Racist Tendencies. Put together by the same creative team as JUNGLE JITTERS--also Verboten by Ted and Hanoi J.--THE ISLE OF PINGO-PONGO was likewise written by the future Secwepemc Shuswap Kamloops Chilliwack Kootenai Cowichan Canadian Indian Chief George Manuel. The Clairvoyant Mr. Manuel foresaw that his Southern Neighbor--the USA, that is--was irrevocably on a course where the majority of NFL American football players would be Black (shown at 6:02), the media would be totally dominated by Black Music (7:48), and Blacks would monopolize EVERY aspect of American Culture (passim). For Racists such as terrible Ted and juvenile Jane, the Truth hurts too much to be allowed to see the Light of Day.

TheLittleSongbird Tex Avery was a wonderful animator and animation director, one of the best there was/is, responsible for many great cartoons and some among the best ever made.Not all his cartoons are fantastic, but even when Avery was not at right at the top of his game, even his lesser cartoons fare better than most. 'The Isle of Pingo Pongo' is lesser Avery but worth watching at least once. It is known as one of the "Censored 11" cartoons, and while there are more offensive and duller cartoons of this group it is easy to see why 'The Isle of Pingo Pongo' is part of it. It's not a great cartoon but not a travesty.Humour wise, it is very hit and miss. Some of the jokes work and are clever and imaginatively animated, but others sorely needed sharper timing and come off as strained, such as the ship taking the route around the map of the world. The subject it's spoofing is very interesting and works well enough times to still make the cartoon watchable but lacks consistency. Most of the references were recognisable to me so understanding the joke in question didn't present a problem, there were a few that weren't so familiar so they went over my head.Ranking it among the "Censored 11" cartoons, it ranks somewhere around the middle but nowhere near among the worst. Comparing the other "Censored 11" cartoons in regard to dubious content, while there are more offensive cartoons in the group around (like 'Jungle Jitters' and 'Angel Puss') any stereotypes or anything deemed offensive is less than tame here. The Natives are very stereotypically drawn and written with grotesquely ugly character designs (am really starting to grow tired of the over-sized lips), while there is some less than flattering or tasteful language in reference to them in the narration and the musical number (although the music itself is very good) is also not for the easily offended.However, the animation is just wonderful, aside from the character designs of the Natives. A lot of it is beautifully drawn, everything is meticulously detailed especially the backgrounds and vibrantly coloured. Carl Stalling's music score is the highlight, as well as being lushly and cleverly orchestrated it is infectiously lively, characterful and dynamic with the action as well as enhancing it.As said too, some of the jokes and references were easy to get and very amusing (but Avery showed since that his humour was more consistent in quality. Egghead is a likable and fun enough character, and much of the pacing is lively apart from a few dull stretches where some of the jokes feel strained or over-egged. The voice acting is good.In conclusion, some obvious good points but very hit and miss as a cartoon. A lesser effort from Avery, though still watchable. 5.5/10 Bethany Cox

utgard14 Merrie Melodies short, directed by Tex Avery, 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 is a spoof of the travelogues that were popular at the time. Avery did quite a few of these and this is the first (and the only one on the censored list). The cartoon follows an ocean liner as it leaves New York and visits various tropical islands with some rather obvious gags that play off their names (Sandwich Island has a large sandwich on it, Thousand Island has a large jar of salad dressing, and so on). Finally the ship arrives at the island of the title, Pingo Pongo, and it is here we get to why the short has been banned. On the island are black natives who are drawn in the exaggerated and offensive style black people were drawn in cartoons back then. Other than the depiction of black people, the animation is quite nice and colorful. Carl Stalling's music is lively and upbeat. The gags range in quality with some, like the aforementioned island gags, not really working but others, like the mockingbird (who mockingly repeats whatever the narrator says in a snide tone) providing some chuckles. Also featured in this is Egghead, Tex Avery's largely forgotten creation that many people believe became Elmer Fudd. It's not a great cartoon, controversy aside, but it is worth a few laughs. It's probably one of the less offensive shorts that were on the Censored Eleven list but would still upset sensitive types today.

Tweekums This Warner Brothers cartoon does not feature any of their famous cast of characters, instead it takes the form of a travelogue, following the voyage of a cruise ship from New York to the Pacific island of Pingo Pongo. Once on the island it starts by showing us the strange native fauna which includes a mocking bird which repeats everything the commentator says in a sarcastic tone and a gazelle which when asked to stop so we can get a look at her stands on her hind legs to show off a (human shaped) feminine figure.The problems start in the second half when we are introduced to the native population; these are drawn in a way that one might think they were meant to be apes if one wasn't told otherwise. There were still a few decent jokes though, at one point we are told that the native is unaware he is being filmed then he whips out a camera and takes a photograph. I must admit that I was fairly amused by this overall, especially the sight gags that seemed popular in early cartoons, I could have done without the locals being drawn the way they were but wasn't too offended.