Confederate Honey

Yes, details of why the Civil War happened are just too heavy for a cartoon, especially in 1940. I guess it just wouldn't be funny to have any shred of history in this cartoon. Fair enough. But why must anyone other than mainstream people be a caricature? Yes, all Blacks in this cartoon are the typical stereotypes.

I've seen every religious and racial group lampooned in cartoons. But what you get here is the extra irony for Blacks.

"Confederate Honey" has apparently been pulled out of circulation by Warner Brothers because they are concerned it might offend Black-Americans. While I can understand why, this is a rare case when removing it isn't all that bad because the film isn't among the studios better cartoons of the era.

"Confederate Honey" is supposed to be a send-off of the recent film, "Gone With the Wind". The problem is that it isn't that funny and apart from a few items (such as the lady being named "Crimson" instead of "Scarlet"), it seems to bear only a very minor similarity to the film. The biggest similarity are the happy slaves--a 1930s and 40s creation that just didn't jibe with the facts--and this is probably why it's not in circulation. If you must see it, this and many other banned films are available to watch or download for free at archive.org.

OK, so Friz Freleng's "Confederate Honey" contains stereotypical depictions of slaves. The people behind the cartoon didn't mean any hostility towards African-Americans; it was just that they didn't know any other images. This over-the-top parody of "Gone with the Wind" casts an early Elmer Fudd as opportunistic Red Cutler, trying to win the heart of southern belle Crimson O'Hairoil during the Civil War. Seeing the sort of gags that the cartoon contains, it surprises me that Tex Avery didn't direct it.

It's worth noting that this is the early incarnation of the cartoon world's most famous hunter. He evolved from a character named Egghead, whose appearance changed over the course of about two years. In 1940, they permanently turned him into Elmer Fudd (the name had first come up in "A Feud There Was", with Egghead as a peacemaker named that), but he still looked like Egghead. "A Wild Hare" introduced not only Elmer's recognizable form, but also Bugs Bunny's recognizable form.

Anyway, a really funny one.

PS: The scene with "The British are coming!" appears to have been lifted from Chuck Jones's "Old Glory".

My opinions on this short are different than those of the previous poster. I didn't find this cartoon to be racist at all. In cartoons, everything is a caricature of something, but there are just some liberals out there who think the animators were being racist. They don't seem to have enough sense to realize that it was made at a time when black caricatures in films were common.

This is my favorite Elmer Fudd short. It's one of those cartoons where he isn't starring with Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck. This cartoon was a humorous parody of "Gone with the Wind," with Elmer Fudd playing Ned Cutler (Rhett Butler in the real movie).

Just watched this on a special on political incorrectness. This cartoon spoofs Gone with the Wind with many anachronisms like a radio during the Civil War era or Paul Revere warning of the British! One of the characters sounds like Elmer Fudd but his permanent form isn't used yet. There's also the stereotypical depiction of various people of color either as domestics or the way they're drawn. If one doesn't let that bother them (like it didn't me) then one should be amused by some of the gags depicted, like I was. So on that note, I say Confederate Honey is worth a look.