Jim on Film
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Right Intentions, Wrong Questions

Last week, I decided to burn a Disney CD collection of my own, taking at least one song from all the Disney animated features from which I had been able to find music. I burned the CD in chronological order, and once I got to Peter Pan, I found myself presented with a problem.

What is an educated, socially conscious person to do with something as un-politically correct as the song What Makes the Red Man Red? In the song, the wagon-red Indian chief with a soccer-ball sized nose who speaks broken English in a deep gravely voice explains to the children a history of his people. Each of the male Natives are either thin or fat and tired/lazy in appearance. One Native woman, who refers to Wendy as "squaw," is train wreck ugly, while another is a vixen, and the third, Tiger Lilly, looks about as Native American as Shirley Temple. The song explains the origin of Native American phrases such as how and ug. But despite these horrendous caricatures, the song is admittedly funny. In fact, the whole scene, fifty years after its release, is still quite funny.

This spring, a local theater had a limited run of the comedy musical classic Singin’ in the Rain. The old theater, which was recently restored to its silent film days glory, played the 1939 Donald Duck short The Autograph Hound before the main attraction. The film, which features caricatures of popular 1939 stars, was a big hit with the audience who laughed readily throughout. But when it came to an appearance by a grossly caricatured African-American man, there were audible gasps from the audience. That was one joke no one laughed at.

There is only a little difference between these caricatures, though the main difference is perhaps that African-American groups have considerably more political power than Native American organizations. Both are essentially exaggerating common misperceptions of the times for a comedic effect. While these caricatures were well-intended, the potential harm in reinforcing dehumanizing stereotypes was great.

And these were not the only Disney films with uncomfortable racial issues. Most prevalent is Song of the South, but there is also the unedited version of Fantasia that may never be seen again, countless shorts (which are being released on DVD, thanks to Leonard Maltin), as well as films allowed to be seen complete with stereotypes.

Dumbo, for example, features African-American stereotypes in the crow characters, including the horrendous pun of naming the leader Jim, a reference to the Jim Crow laws that made segregation legal.

But in the process of questioning my culturally sensitive worldview and my love for these classic Disney works, I think I found the solution to these problems.

Part of the response is that, as Leonard Maltin so eloquently states on the Disney Treasures DVD and as others have said, caricatures have always been a rich source of humor in entertainment. From Carol Burnett’s Mrs. Wiggins to Mad TV’s Mrs. Swan, caricature allows us to exaggerate reality and find humor. As timeless as Disney’s animated classics are, they are still products of their time. And despite some content issues, they are still worth keeping around. It’s up to parents to guide and teach their children about what is real and what is not. Unfortunately, some people would be more likely to focus their energies on protesting releases of old films than they would on dealing with serious issues at the heart of ethnic America. Furthermore, when kids are listening to violent and sexual gangster rap and are being given PG-13 and R-rated movies for Christmas, it highlights the more important concerns that few people are seriously addressing.

But there’s more to it than that. Culture is an ever evolving concept. The 1933 short The Pet Store opens with a large Italian man. With earrings, a very round stomach, a thick Italian accent, the man says something about getting something to eat while patting his Santa Claus belly. This is a caricature of both Italians and those who are overweight. In fact, Pinocchio’s Stromboli reinforces Italian stereotypes as well, including that of the hot Italian temper.

As John Grant points out in his wonderful book The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s Animated Characters, the gossipy old women elephants of Dumbo are also caricatures. They are old bitties, as the saying goes, and in their gossip, they cause great pain for poor Dumbo.

The Dijon character from Ducktales: The Movie, the Treasure of the Lost Lamp and the series, though being only thirteen years old now, is a caricature of Eastern Indians, complete with 7-11 accent and underhanded tendencies.

The tubby soldier in The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a caricature of an overweight person, with belittling humor and a voice that sounds like it’s eating a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove is a caricature of muscle-bound men, following the stereotype of brawn and no brains. And the little girl with red hair in Lilo and Stitch endorses the stereotype that people with red hair are unpleasant.