Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943)

Good movie but grossly overrated

best movie i've ever seen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Merrie Melodies short, directed by Bob Clampett, 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, a spin on Snow White with a black cast of characters (mostly voiced by black actors), is arguably the best of all the cartoons on the Censored Eleven list. It's hailed as one of Clampett's masterpieces by many animation historians. Some viewers today might not see what all the fuss is about and will almost certainly be put off by the exaggerated racial stereotypes. But there is value here, particularly with the energetic animation and the incorporation of jazz music. And honestly it's funny in spots, too. Recommending cartoons like this is tricky business because people have strong reactions to anything racial. Many people will likely not enjoy it and may even find themselves uncomfortable watching a minute of it. But those who are able to view it through something other than a "modern lens" I think will see that there's a lot of artistic merit to it and, yes, even some entertainment. It's not for all tastes, though, obviously.

Although it has some interesting commentary on the war and is certainly a good tool for teaching and sparking discussion about American race relations, it is certainly not something that I think deserves the outright praise that some of you have been giving it.It is still wrought full of stereotypes (specifcally the over-sexualized black female and the hyper-sexed black male pimp) that are sadly still represented far too often today in music videos, movies, and the like.This is a good cartoon, but not for its entertainment value, but for its close-up on racism as it stood during that era and a representation of how racial stereotypes masked as entertainment are enacted today (and often in modalities directly targeting children).

While Walt Disney and his collaborators include fine music coming from classical instruments and from inspired emotional feeling into the legendary Grimm Brothers tale, Warner Bros. turn Snow White into a black Betty Boop surrounded by jazz and blues improvised singers and a modern landscape (well, the '40s at the time).But that simply doesn't work. It's clear that WB doesn't care about making children cartoons. Or maybe they try to care, but they don't know how to do it the effective way. I can't stand from seeing a Black girlie moving her hips and her buttocks without stopping and the other people around her.The music is good, however. It's the mood of the '40s and the cartoon owns musical pieces which would make Ray Charles and Al Jolson proud of. But I don't think that this music owns its place here. It should be elsewhere. Maybe in a real musical story, like "The Jazz Singer"... The animation is also good, I have to say. The images are well drawn and the motion is perfectly executed.But the minor favorable elements are literally foreshadowed by the ridiculous, stupid and insupportable storyline and the images associated with it. I think that seeing this Black girl could have lead to more discrimination and moral harassment towards the American Black community. Maybe that was the goal. Maybe that racists made this movie. We might never know...

People, people....Robert Clampett's style was always OVER THE TOP!!! No matter what the subject was. It is clearly shown that the team did some extensive field research(music, extra talent from the local scene, etc.) and came up with a very sardonic- urban-hop (predating hip-hop!!! Take that!) short that is deliriously funny, fast-paced and definitely NOT for everyone(what is, anyway?). Unfortunately, all the "racial" stereotypes will detract some viewers (with no sense of humor, I'm guessing-hey , I'm a Hispanic and I'm a stereotype, but, I DO have a sense of humor and Tolerance , above all), these were other times and no harm was intended-except for the members of the "Axis" during the WWII years-and STILL, it was never hate that was expressed, but plain ridicule). Clampett is my all time favorite director, the zaniest and the one who took the most risks-kudos to him on this one. Taking into account that no big-major-conglomerate-company in their right mind would release this classic on DVD, the only source that I've ever seen it on is 1989 VHS "Uncensored cartoons", definitely OOP. I think that there might be some business in releasing all of these "Politically Incorrect"(WWII, Inki, etc.) WB shorts with very stern warnings on the cover("Mothers of prevention"?-thanks FZ); we shall see...hey , if I had a way to do it, I would! It would be great to see this in a nice restored print.