Sunday Go to Meetin' Time
Encyclopedia
Sunday Go to Meetin' Time is a Merrie Melodies
animated
cartoon directed by Friz Freleng
, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
, and released to theatres on August 8, 1936 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation. The plot follows the misadventures of a black man in the stereotypical minstrel show
and coon song
mold. He sneaks out of church and soon finds himself in hell. There, he learns the error of his ways, and when he wakes up again in the living world, he makes haste to the church. The short's stereotypical portrayal of black characters prompted United Artists
to withhold it from distribution in 1968, making it one of the infamous Censored Eleven
.
dandy
and his gal jazz up the song as they dance their way to church. A succession of gags featuring stereotyped black characters follows: a mammy
and old uncle shine the heads of pickanniny children; a woman steals a bra off a clothesline to use as a bonnet for her twin children. Lindvall notes that mammies were "ubiquitous in films dealing with black culture".
Freleng introduces the cartoon's protagonist, Nicodemus, when his mammy wife finds him playing dice. She exclaims, "You good for nothing! Get yourself to that church. The Devil's gonna get you sure as you're born!" and drags him off by the ear. Nevertheless, Nicodemus slinks out the door, opting to steal some chickens instead. A knock on the head sends him to the "Hades Court of Justice". A demon there reviews his crimes: "Shooting craps, stealing chickens, missing church, raisin' dickens!" and sends him deeper into hell. Big-lipped demons carry him to the Devil himself, who sings to Nicodemus that "you've got to give the Devil his due." The boss orders some demons to "give 'em the works," but Nicodemus wakes to find the prods of pitchforks are really the pecks of chickens in the land of the living. He hears the church bells and makes haste to the meeting house.
released Sunday Go to Meetin' Time in American theaters on August 8, 1936. Since 1968, the cartoon has been withheld from distribution. At that time, United Artists
owned the rights to Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons prior to August 1948. Sunday Go to Meetin' Time and ten other cartoons were deemed to feature racist depictions of African Americans that were too integral to the films for simple cuts to make them palatable for modern audiences. These eleven cartoons make up the so-called Censored Eleven
. However, it was announced in October 2010 that all Censored Eleven cartoons, including this one, will finally be available for release on DVD in 2011 on the Warner Archives collection of DVD sets.http://www.toonzone.net/news/articles/35331/nycc2010-warner-archive-to-release-the-censored-eleven/. A print of this cartoon, with its original titles and original opening and closing rings, is known to exist on Youtube
.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
cartoon directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
, and released to theatres on August 8, 1936 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation. The plot follows the misadventures of a black man in the stereotypical minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
and coon song
Coon song
Coon songs were a genre of music popular in the United States and around the English-speaking world from 1880 to 1920, that presented a racist and stereotyped image of blacks.-Rise and fall from popularity:...
mold. He sneaks out of church and soon finds himself in hell. There, he learns the error of his ways, and when he wakes up again in the living world, he makes haste to the church. The short's stereotypical portrayal of black characters prompted United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
to withhold it from distribution in 1968, making it one of the infamous Censored Eleven
Censored Eleven
The Censored Eleven is a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that were withheld from syndication by United Artists in 1968...
.
Summary
Ringing bells in a lazy town announce that it is time to go to church. A black preacher with caricatured enormous lips greets his parishioners as he sings the song for which the short is named. A minstrel showMinstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
and his gal jazz up the song as they dance their way to church. A succession of gags featuring stereotyped black characters follows: a mammy
Mammy
"Mammy" is a variant of "mama" used in several English dialects, including Hiberno-English used in Ireland."Mammy" may refer to:* Mammy archetype, a stereotype of a black woman, depicted as rotund, homely, and matronly...
and old uncle shine the heads of pickanniny children; a woman steals a bra off a clothesline to use as a bonnet for her twin children. Lindvall notes that mammies were "ubiquitous in films dealing with black culture".
Freleng introduces the cartoon's protagonist, Nicodemus, when his mammy wife finds him playing dice. She exclaims, "You good for nothing! Get yourself to that church. The Devil's gonna get you sure as you're born!" and drags him off by the ear. Nevertheless, Nicodemus slinks out the door, opting to steal some chickens instead. A knock on the head sends him to the "Hades Court of Justice". A demon there reviews his crimes: "Shooting craps, stealing chickens, missing church, raisin' dickens!" and sends him deeper into hell. Big-lipped demons carry him to the Devil himself, who sings to Nicodemus that "you've got to give the Devil his due." The boss orders some demons to "give 'em the works," but Nicodemus wakes to find the prods of pitchforks are really the pecks of chickens in the land of the living. He hears the church bells and makes haste to the meeting house.
Distribution
Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
released Sunday Go to Meetin' Time in American theaters on August 8, 1936. Since 1968, the cartoon has been withheld from distribution. At that time, United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
owned the rights to Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons prior to August 1948. Sunday Go to Meetin' Time and ten other cartoons were deemed to feature racist depictions of African Americans that were too integral to the films for simple cuts to make them palatable for modern audiences. These eleven cartoons make up the so-called Censored Eleven
Censored Eleven
The Censored Eleven is a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that were withheld from syndication by United Artists in 1968...
. However, it was announced in October 2010 that all Censored Eleven cartoons, including this one, will finally be available for release on DVD in 2011 on the Warner Archives collection of DVD sets.http://www.toonzone.net/news/articles/35331/nycc2010-warner-archive-to-release-the-censored-eleven/. A print of this cartoon, with its original titles and original opening and closing rings, is known to exist on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Credits
- Produced by Leon SchlesingerLeon SchlesingerLeon Schlesinger was an American film producer, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.-Early life and career:...
- Directed by Friz FrelengFriz FrelengIsadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
- Written by Allen Rose