As a history teacher and lover of films, I occasionally like watching cartoons that have been banned, as they tell us a lot about our society and how far we have come over the years. What was perfectly acceptable decades ago is now, in some cases, seen as gross and inappropriate. Occasionally, these cartoons which have been removed from screening aren't particularly offensive but often, as in the case of this cartoon, they are so god-awful it's hard to imagine that people would have laughed at and enjoyed these films! Thirteen of these cartoons have been packaged together on a DVD entitled "Cartoon Crazys: Banned and Censored" and while the print quality of many of the cartoons is less than stellar, it's a great chance to see how sensibilities have changed.
This cute little cartoon stars the comic strip character "Little King" and on Christmas Eve he picks up a couple hobos and treats them like friends in his home. The action is pretty cute and for a 1930s cartoon, it's pretty good.
Now as to why it was pulled, the main reasons are silly. In one scene, the three men are bathing together and some people at the Hays Office apparently were worried about perceived homosexuality!!! Come off it, folks--this is ridiculous. Other than that, there was a 3 or 4 second scene where the three are looking in a shop window and there is a "Sambo doll" in the window that would surely offend some viewers, though it also could easily be removed and the film still shown to modern audiences. I sure wish this did happen, as it is a cute little film.
