Sunday Go to Meetin' Time
Sunday Go to Meetin' Time | |
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![]() Nicodemus tries to steal a chicken. Sunday Go to Meetin' Time features African American characters who look and act like blackface minstrel show and coon song stereotypes. | |
Directed by | I. Freleng |
Story by | Allen Rose J.B. Hardaway (uncredited) |
Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
Starring | |
Music by | Norman Spencer |
Animation by | |
Color process | Technicolor |
Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 7 minutes (one reel) |
Language | English |
Sunday Go to Meetin' Time is a 1936 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.[2] The short was released on August 8, 1936.[3] The name of the short comes from the colloquial adjective "sunday-go-to-meeting", describing something appropriate for church or otherwise presentable.[4]
Because of the
Plot
Ringing bells in a lazy town announce that it is time to go to church. A black preacher with caricatured enormous lips greets his parishioners as he sings the song for which the short is named. A
Freleng introduces the cartoon's protagonist,
Reception
National Exhibitor (Sept 5, 1936): "One of the best in the series this, however, should not be played on the same bill with Green Pastures. The shiftless darky doesn't want to go to church on Sunday, escapes from his wife, runs away, is knocked out chasing a chicken, dreams he is in Hell where he is made the ball in a bagatelle (pinball) game with other things happening to him. Finally he wakes up, heads for church. Color, animation, gags are above average with the whole thing a stand out. Very Good."[6]
Notes
- This cartoon was re-released into the Blue Ribbon program on October 28, 1944. Because the short credits Leon Schlesinger on the original release, the original closing title card was kept. Though the short was re-released, the original titles are known to exist.[7]
- Sunday Go to Meetin' Time was rejected by the British Board of Film Censors in 1936 and remains unreleased in the country. It was banned in Australia and Germany.
References
- ISBN 979-8-88771-010-5.
- ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Sunday-go-to-meeting". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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:|website=
ignored (help) - ^ Lindvall 128.
- ^ ISBN 978-0810832503.
- ^ "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 140. Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (1936)". April 2012.
Further reading
- Bdeir, Ayah (Fall 2004). "That's all Sheikh: Arab representation in U.S. cartoons". CMS. 790. Media Theories and Methods I - Comparative Media Studies - Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Accessed 22 June 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.
- Straight Dope Science Advisory Board (February 5, 2002). "Did Bugs Bunny appear in a racist cartoon during World War II?" The Straight Dope. Accessed June 21, 2007.
External links
- Sunday Go to Meetin' Time at IMDb