Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land
Encyclopedia
Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land is a Merrie Melodies
animated
cartoon directed by Rudy Ising (uncredited), produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
, and released to theatres on November 28, 1931 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation. 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 stereotypical portrayal of black characters prompted United Artists
to withhold it from syndication in 1968, making it one of the infamous Censored Eleven
. It was the second Merrie Melodies
film to be released.
-esque Piggy, his girlfriend Fluffy, and a canine Uncle Tom
. 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
. 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, 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 his porcine paramour. 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.
. The cartoon's copyright expired in 1965, making it go into public domain. However, the cartoon has been withheld from distribution since 1968. At that time, United Artists
owned the rights to most 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. The cartoon has never been released on laserdisc, home video, or DVD. These eleven cartoons make up the so-called Censored Eleven
.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
cartoon directed by Rudy Ising (uncredited), produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
, and released to theatres on November 28, 1931 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation. The minimal storyline centers on the plucky Piggy's efforts to rescue his girlfriend and a doglike Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
from perilous predicaments and villains. The short's stereotypical portrayal of black characters prompted United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
to withhold it from syndication in 1968, making it one of the infamous Censored Eleven
Censored Eleven
The Censored Eleven is a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that were withheld from syndication by United Artists in 1968...
. It was the second Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
film to be released.
Summary
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. The cartoon stars the Mickey MouseMickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
-esque Piggy, his girlfriend Fluffy, and a canine Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
. The film opens with a singing steamboat dancing down a river. On the deck, three blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
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
Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black-and-white by The Walt Disney Studio and released by Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the debut of Mickey Mouse, and as his girlfriend Minnie, but the characters...
. 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, he is scared by three dancing skeletons reminiscent of those in Disney's 1929 short The Skeleton Dance
The Skeleton Dance
The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 Silly Symphonies animated short subject produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks. In the film, four human skeletons dance and make music around a spooky graveyard. It is the first entry in the Silly Symphonies series...
. 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
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
villain kidnaps his porcine paramour. 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.
Distribution
Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land was released in American theaters on November 28, 1931 by Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
. The cartoon's copyright expired in 1965, making it go into public domain. However, the cartoon has been withheld from distribution since 1968. At that time, United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
owned the rights to most 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. The cartoon has never been released on laserdisc, home video, or DVD. These eleven cartoons make up the so-called Censored Eleven
Censored Eleven
The Censored Eleven is a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that were withheld from syndication by United Artists in 1968...
.
Credits
- Produced by Leon SchlesingerLeon SchlesingerLeon Schlesinger was an American film producer, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.-Early life and career:...
- Directed by Rudolf Ising (uncredited)
- Drawn by Isadore Freleng and Paul SmithPaul J. Smith (director)Paul J. Smith was an American animator and director.Smith worked for the Walter Lantz studio for much of his career, first starting as an animator, and then as a director. He also animated at the Warner Bros...
- Musical score by Frank MarsalesFrank MarsalesFrank Alfred Marsales was a Canadian-born musician and composer best known for his work scoring many classic Warner Brothers cartoons in the 1930s...