10 -The Michigan Daily --Wednesday,July 26,_1995
Pre-code cartoons not all that racy,
By Ted Watts
Daily Arts Writer
Ah, the late '20s and early '30s,
when the film studios could do what-
ever most people would allow before
censorship began to be enforced in
1934. And that freedom went for
cartoons, too.
This collection of pre-code car-
toons is hardly a black and white
primer for Fritz the Cat, however.
The cartoons aren't even really as
racy as some of the Cartoon
Network's new material. What is un-
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The University of Michigan
School of Music
Wednesday, July 26
Digital Music Ensemble
Stephen Rush, director
UM students present synthesizer performances and computer-
generated graphics: music of Frank Zappa, Internet file
performances, musical chairs, and more
8 p.m., Mctrosh Theatre, School of Music, free
Monday, July 31
Faculty Carillon Recital
Margo Halsted, University carillonist
7 p.m., outside Burton Memorial Tower, free
Sunday, August 6
Summer Digital Music Ensemble
Bart Polot, director
Synthesizer pieces arranged and performed by music educa-
tion graduate students
7 p.m., pond outside the School of Music, free
All events are free and wheelchair accessible unless
specified otherwise. For weekly events listings, call
the Music Hotline, 763-4726. The School of Music
is located at 1100 Baits Drive, North Campus.
Bosko is taking a bath, as is his
honey, Honey (not together, unfortu-
nately). Relying largely on sight
gags and music (and a whole lotta
sight gags having to do with music),
the cartoon seems fairly innocuous.
Sure, you see Bosko and Honey na-
ked, but they have that smooth
genitalessness that allows Porky to
run around without pants or fur. One
particularly interesting part of the
short that wouldn't have made it past
the code is the bellicose cow. It both
spits some chaw at our hero and has
a big swinging udder. Udders gave
people at the Hays office hives be-
cause they look like big scrotums
with lots of penises sprouting from
them. Look at Disney's early cows
with udders, and then look at later
Clarabell cartoons. Alas, she has lost
her female mammalian inheritance,
perhaps in a shaving accident. But
the cow in "Sinkin"' has a particu-
larly inflammatory udder, as it
swings in the breeze as if it had
something moderately heavy inside
it. Nothing quite like making the
morality squad squirm.
The Bosko short sets the tone for
the rest of the cartoons. The minor
infractions against code regulations
seem pretty innocuous today. There
is the occasional outburst of blatant
lechery, however. The Little King is
featured in two cartoons with won-
derfully rendered backgrounds and
highly stylized figures, and he tries
acceptable has changed quite a bit,
although what's funny hasn't mu-
tated all that much.
The bill begins with "Sinkin' in
the Bathtub," a Looney Tune from
1930 starring the infamous Bosko.
One of the characters that
"Animaniacs" has based the look of
Yakko, Wakko and Dot upon, Bosko
was one of the earliest Warner Bros.
stars. In this particular piece of cin-
ematic history - the first of two
Bosko shorts in this compilation -
to have sex in both of them. In the
first, "Jest of Honor," the king suc-
ceeds in mating with a mermaid un-
derwater, shown only by several air
bubbles rising to the surface. The
deed is confirmed, however, when
she shows up with a brood of
mereboys wearing little versions of
the king's crown. Today this coul
be shown as a cautionary tale to e-
ementary school students to rein-
force the importance of birth con-
trol.
The Betty Boop cartoons in this
collection have much more to do
with skin than sex. Betty's legs are
renowned for the amount of them
that are shown (might I remind you
that garter belts were not designed to
be seen by the general public.) How-
ever, these cartoons seem especialle
sexual. The shifty ringmaster in
"Boop Oop A Doop" actually rubs
her leg after saying "Do you like
your job?" And Betty herself rubs
between her legs when she's been
saved by Koko the clown. In "My
Palm Read," Betty's naked chest
(are those nipples?) and bottom can
be seen clearly, although she is only
a baby at the time. Another scene in-
volves seeing Betty's legs under ho
skirt when a light shines behind her.
In yet another part, Betty's bottom
gets patted by a wave and she takes
off her wet clothing and puts on
some dry coconuts and a grass skirt.
All these parts of the cartoon have
been removed from some public do-
main copies of the film, leaving
those copies extremely difficult to
understand. This big-screen version
really shows that it's better to have
little gratuitous skin than a chopped
up movie.
This cartoon fest has it all: sex,
udders and stars the likes of Bosko,
Flip the Frog, Cubby Bear and Betty
Boop. It's a heapin' helpin' of en-
joyable historic animation that isn't
even shown on TV when it's sani-
tized. Sure, the screen aspect ratio is
the same one as TV (so the parts that
get chopped off on the small sere@
because of size get chopped here
too), but unless you have access to
an original print, you don't have
much choice. See it now so you
don't have to wait another 65 years.
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