Is this racist? ((All This and Rabbit Stew))

Is this racist? ((All This and Rabbit Stew))

I kind of held off on this post because I was busy with other things, but got around to it because

This is one of the old censored eleven cartoons from the Loony Toon era. Tex Avery directed this cartoon back in 1941 and it was called “All This and Rabbit Stew”. According to the wiki page, this was Tex Avery’s last cartoon for Bugs Bunny.

Let’s get this out of the way. Yes, there is some racism in this cartoon. At the time, it was deemed okay to see foolish black characters that could barely put a sentence together. The design of the black hunter is closely based on the blackface routines one would see at the time. They were offensive at the time and down right mean.

The black hunter has shades of this throughout the 7-minute cartoon.

-He speaks with an over the top ignorant voice: This becomes extremely annoying. With the lazy eyes and droopy look were also stereotypes.

-Bugs Bunny used dice to defeat the Black Hunter: As if every black person can’t not resist the sound of dice rolling… This is probably the most offensive thing about the episode.

Yet, there are sight gags that were reused throughout most of the Loony Toons cartoon. I did laugh at the hunter turning into a sucker every time he was tricked. But, that doesn’t make up for the blatant racism. Focus is on how stupid the hunter is and the use of a racial stereotype to defeat him.

Maybe it is the time period this film was made that makes it come across as bad.

So, how does this compare another cartoon like say “Ali Baba Bunny”? I’m not 100% sure it is as racist, because Chuck Jones’s cartoons seemed a bit smarter and of better quality than some of the earlier stuff. But it is a good discussion.