Thursday, May 25, 2006
Filmography: Chiquita Banana Theatrical Commercials
This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 7 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great cartoons to study.
Today, we continued capturing video to add to the database. Marc Deckter worked on Fleischer Bouncing Ball cartoons, while I focused on some theatrical commercials from the late 1940s starring Chiquita Banana...
I'm afraid I don't know anything about these cartoons, but I can guess a few things by looking at them... They appear to be produced by Famous Studios in 1947. Several of the incidental characters appear to have been designed by Dave Tendlar. They are pretty elaborate by Famous Studios standards.
I don't know how many of these were produced, but the titles that we digitized today included... Chiquita Banana, Chiquita Banana (2), Chiquita Banana Goes North, Chiquita Banana Helps The Pieman, Chiquita Banana's Fan, Chiquita Banana and the Cannibals, Chiquita Banana's Magic, Chiquita Banana's School For Brides, Chiquita Banana's Beauty Treatment, Chiquita Banana Tells A Fortune, Chiquita Banana Wins A Medal, Chiquita Banana Makes A Better Breakfast, and Chiquita Banana And The Tough Customer.
A lot of people object to the recent trend of commercials being shown in movie theaters, but the truth of the matter is that commercials have been a part of the movie-going experience ever since Shamus Culhane animated In My Merry Oldsmobile for Max Fleischer in 1931. I'm sure no one would be complaining if the commercials being shown today had as much entertainment value as these cartoons.
Take a look at a few of these rare Chiquita Banana theatrical commercials...
Chiquita Banana Commercials
(Famous Studios?/1947)
(Quicktime 7 / 12.5 megs)
Mark Evanier has some info on the singer and production company on his blog, News From ME.
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Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
Stumble It!
posted by Stephen Worth @ 5:45 PM
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9 Comments:
Unbelievable! Beautiful pictures! I'm reminded of the banana jingle, which which goes something like this: I'm Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say/Bananas need to ripen in a certain way./ When they're flecked with brown and have a Golden hue,tht's when they taste the best and are the best for you.
These animated films have a certain a-peel!
Oh c'mon. Stop booing. Someone had to say it.
(Seriously, great job on the website, and thanks for your work bringing us cool animation history to appreciate!)
Why does every one ignore or refuse to discuss the clear racism in this cartoon. The "British" black man was a terrible Sambo image. The lips alone are grotesquely racist. There is not enough dialog about racist images in these old cartoons. I have been reading this blog for a while and everyone talks about how wonderful these old cartoons are but never about the imagery itself.
I only wish ads in the theater were this way again! Too often they're just 35mm ports of the TV originals often, and don't really gel well with the unlimited possibilities that could be done in something like this.
Love to see more of this type! Theatrical ads were rather big in Europe as well. Britian used to do it through the 1980's, but I think they had stopped them in recent years.
a-ornery, I completely agree. I refuse to accept the excuses of "artistry" or "being a reflection of the time" as justification for cartoons and other mediums with racist overtones. I had to stop watching the commericals when I got to that cartoon. Birth of a Nation may be considered an important piece of cinematic history, but I refuse to hold ANY work which engages in the degredation of others in high esteem.
So, let's just censor history altogether. If a cartoon becomes offensive, stop watching it - no use in knowing exactly what offends you. A spark of discomfort is a perfect excuse for a revolution. I guess knowledge of the past is useful only to those willing to at least try to create a comparatively better future.
Absolutely racist in content and a screening of "Ethinc Notions" would support this theory.
Chiquita herself is a stereotype of what a Latin woman would look and sound like, based on Carmen Miranda. The ad campaign is certainly a product of the American "Good Neighbor Policy" and neo-colonial efforts to control the economic potential in Latin America.
For more info, see Bentley, _Traditions and Encounters_, 3rd ed. (2007) p.1026-1027.
This is not about censorship. It is about recognizing that which is. American history (like other histories) is riddled with racism and racist images. We can look at the cartoon and see the lovely art, but we shouldn't ignore the other things that are present.
:OD
Racism...riiiight. Get a life!
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