The minimal storyline centers on the plucky Piggy's efforts to rescue his girlfriend and a doglike Uncle Tom from perilous predicaments and villains. The short's use of the racial epithet "Uncle Tom" prompted United Artists to withhold it from syndication in 1968, making it one of the Censored Eleven.
Comparison of steamboat piloting scenes in Steamboat Willie (top) and Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land
Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land has a rudimentary plot, unlike most of the Merrie Melodies of the time, which barely have any plot at all.[4] The cartoon stars the Mickey Mouse-esque Piggy, his girlfriend Fluffy, and a canine Uncle Tom.[5] The film opens with a singing steamboat dancing down a river. On the deck, three blackface caricatures play the song for which the short is named on the harmonica, banjo, and bones. Meanwhile, Uncle Tom drives Fluffy toward the boat by donkey cart. The scene shifts to Piggy the riverboat captain in a sequence reminiscent of Disney's 1928 film Steamboat Willie.[5]
Fluffy joins the frolicking steamboat passengers and reunites with her boyfriend, but during the revelry, Piggy falls overboard. The pig has a run in with an alligator, but he makes it back to the boat. Meanwhile, Uncle Tom's donkey bucks him into a cemetery. There, in a variation on a stock gag featuring a superstitious black man,[6] he is scared by three dancing skeletons reminiscent of those in Disney's 1929 short The Skeleton Dance. Tom escapes to the middle of the river, but a shoddy boat leaves him stranded and drowning. Piggy saves the day but not before a vaudevillian villain kidnaps Fluffy. Piggy captures the villain on a passing mail hook, leaving the villain tortured over a buzz saw. This short marks the second and last appearance of the characters Piggy and Fluffy.[5]
Distribution
Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land was released in theaters on November 28, 1931 by Warner Bros. The cartoon has been in the public domain since 1959 after its copyright expired and was not renewed. However, the cartoon has been withheld from distribution since 1968. At that time, United Artists owned the rights to some Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land 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.[7] The cartoon has never been released on laserdisc, home video, or DVD, not counting public domain home releases. These eleven cartoons make up the so-called Censored Eleven.[5]
Reception
On December 19, 1931, Motion Picture Herald said, "A New York Strand audience seemed to enjoy this number of the Merrie Melodies series in which popular song numbers accompany the animated cartoon figures."[8]
^Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
^Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 12. ISBN0-8050-0894-2.
^Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 118. ISBN0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^BBeck, Jerry, and Will Friedwald (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Owl Books. ISBN0-8050-0894-2. Page 12.
^ abcdCruz, Brian (2003). "Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land 2007-06-14 at the Wayback Machine". Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: The Early Years. Toon Zone. Accessed June 21, 2007.
^Lindvall, Terry, and Ben Fraser (1998). "Darker Shades of Animation: African-American Images in Warner Bros. Cartoons". Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation. Rutgers University Press. page 128.
^Did Bugs Bunny appear in a racist cartoon during World War II?, The Straight Dope, February 5, 2002
^Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 137. ISBN978-0810832503.
hittin, trail, hallelujah, land, 1931, warner, bros, merrie, melodies, animated, cartoon, directed, rudolf, ising, short, released, november, 1931, stars, piggy, uncle, terrorized, skeletons, scene, reminiscent, walt, disney, 1929, film, skeleton, dance, direc. Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land is a 1931 Warner Bros Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising 2 The short was released on November 28 1931 and stars Piggy 3 Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah LandUncle Tom is terrorized by skeletons in a scene reminiscent of Walt Disney s 1929 film The Skeleton Dance Directed byRudolf IsingProduced byHugh Harman Rudolf Ising Leon SchlesingerStarringJohnny Murray Rochelle Hudson Rudolf Ising Ken Darby 1 Music byFrank MarsalesAnimation byIsadore Freleng Paul SmithColor processBlack and whiteProductioncompanyHarman Ising ProductionsDistributed byWarner Bros Pictures The Vitaphone CorporationRelease dateNovember 28 1931 1931 11 28 Running time7 min one reel LanguageEnglishThe minimal storyline centers on the plucky Piggy s efforts to rescue his girlfriend and a doglike Uncle Tom from perilous predicaments and villains The short s use of the racial epithet Uncle Tom prompted United Artists to withhold it from syndication in 1968 making it one of the Censored Eleven Contents 1 Summary 2 Distribution 3 Reception 4 Credits 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksSummary Edit source source source source source source source source Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land Comparison of steamboat piloting scenes in Steamboat Willie top and Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land has a rudimentary plot unlike most of the Merrie Melodies of the time which barely have any plot at all 4 The cartoon stars the Mickey Mouse esque Piggy his girlfriend Fluffy and a canine Uncle Tom 5 The film opens with a singing steamboat dancing down a river On the deck three blackface caricatures play the song for which the short is named on the harmonica banjo and bones Meanwhile Uncle Tom drives Fluffy toward the boat by donkey cart The scene shifts to Piggy the riverboat captain in a sequence reminiscent of Disney s 1928 film Steamboat Willie 5 Fluffy joins the frolicking steamboat passengers and reunites with her boyfriend but during the revelry Piggy falls overboard The pig has a run in with an alligator but he makes it back to the boat Meanwhile Uncle Tom s donkey bucks him into a cemetery There in a variation on a stock gag featuring a superstitious black man 6 he is scared by three dancing skeletons reminiscent of those in Disney s 1929 short The Skeleton Dance Tom escapes to the middle of the river but a shoddy boat leaves him stranded and drowning Piggy saves the day but not before a vaudevillian villain kidnaps Fluffy Piggy captures the villain on a passing mail hook leaving the villain tortured over a buzz saw This short marks the second and last appearance of the characters Piggy and Fluffy 5 Distribution EditHittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land was released in theaters on November 28 1931 by Warner Bros The cartoon has been in the public domain since 1959 after its copyright expired and was not renewed However the cartoon has been withheld from distribution since 1968 At that time United Artists owned the rights to some Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land 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 7 The cartoon has never been released on laserdisc home video or DVD not counting public domain home releases These eleven cartoons make up the so called Censored Eleven 5 Reception EditOn December 19 1931 Motion Picture Herald said A New York Strand audience seemed to enjoy this number of the Merrie Melodies series in which popular song numbers accompany the animated cartoon figures 8 Credits EditProduced by Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising and Leon Schlesinger Directed by Rudolf Ising uncredited Drawn by Isadore Freleng and Paul Smith Musical score by Frank MarsalesSee also EditList of animated films in the public domain in the United StatesReferences Edit Scott Keith October 3 2022 Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age Vol 2 BearManor Media Beck Jerry Friedwald Will 1989 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros Cartoons Henry Holt and Co p 12 ISBN 0 8050 0894 2 Lenburg Jeff 1999 The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons Checkmark Books p 118 ISBN 0 8160 3831 7 Retrieved June 6 2020 BBeck Jerry and Will Friedwald 1989 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros Cartoons Owl Books ISBN 0 8050 0894 2 Page 12 a b c d Cruz Brian 2003 Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land Archived 2007 06 14 at the Wayback Machine Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies The Early Years Toon Zone Accessed June 21 2007 Lindvall Terry and Ben Fraser 1998 Darker Shades of Animation African American Images in Warner Bros Cartoons Reading the Rabbit Explorations in Warner Bros Animation Rutgers University Press page 128 Did Bugs Bunny appear in a racist cartoon during World War II The Straight Dope February 5 2002 Sampson Henry T 1998 That s Enough Folks Black Images in Animated Cartoons 1900 1960 Scarecrow Press p 137 ISBN 978 0810832503 External links EditHittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land at IMDb Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land at the Big Cartoon Database Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land is available for free download at the Internet Archive Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hittin 27 the Trail for Hallelujah Land amp oldid 1132282370, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
