Sadly Over-hyped

The first must-see film of the year.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Tex Avery pioneered the spot gag format in cartoons. These had no plot and were simply a series of sight gags centered around a theme with an offscreen narrator. Most of the spot gag cartoons he did were parodies of travelogues and wildlife documentaries. It can be arguably said that he also pioneered "mockumentaries" as we know them today. THE ISLE OF PINGO PONGO was the first spot gag short that was done. Tex cited the Fitzpatrick travelogues of the material he parodied. This was a film series that showcased the culture of a people in a faraway land. Documentaries like these tended to speak condescendingly of the cultures discussed. And that dismissive tone carries over into this short. While the island culture depicted is fictitious (given the deliberate geographic errors for comic effect), they do represent how America perceived "natives" in other lands in this era. This has made it unsuitable for broadcast/video release in recent decades. Although, with the advent of the internet, this short is now easily accessible. I found it unusual that the animation is lacking on this short. It doesn't look as smooth as the kinetic animation from Avery's cartoons released this same year. The one redeeming quality that this short has is the swinging rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown. Other than that, Avery's better travelogue parodies are DETOURING AMERICA (1939) and CROSS COUNTRY DETOURS (1940).

. . . 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.

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.

This is another of the "Censored 11" Warner Bros. cartoons that will probably never be seen on commercial television again. It starts harmless enough with various spot gags about the Sandwich Island (shaped like a...well, you know), as well as the Thousand Island (with a giant bottle of the salad dressing on board). There's also various birds represented such as a Mockingbird (who mocks everything the announcer says). Then there are various scenes with the natives who are portrayed here in animated form as black with white lips. As demeaning as these stereotypes are, they do provide some entertaining musical moments singing "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain", the last number in a Country-Western vibe. Then there's the running gag of Egghead (precursor of Elmer Fudd) asking the off-screen announcer, "Now, boss?" with the boss saying, "Not yet." When that boss finally gives his approval at the end, Egghead provides the short's topper. Since this was directed by Tex Avery, I do recommend The Isle of Pingo Pongo. Just be aware of the political incorrectness that pervades the last few minutes...