China Jones
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''China Jones'' is a 1959
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
'' short directed by
Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...
. The short was released on February 14, 1959, and stars
Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...
and
Porky Pig Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created man ...
. This cartoon later became rarely shown in the United States due to ethnic caricatures of Chinese and other
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
n people. The cartoon is a spoof of the 1950s TV series ''
China Smith ''China Smith'' is a 30-minute American syndicated television adventure series starring Dan Duryea. It is set in Singapore. It was released in the fall of 1952. The program's alternate title was ''The Affairs of China Smith'', and the last 26 ep ...
'', starring
Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying villains, he had a long career in a variety of leading and secondary roles.Gaita, PaulDan Duryea Biography."''Turner C ...
.


Plot

Daffy Duck is China Jones, an Irish private investigator working in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
in the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
. At a restaurant called Lo Down, he finds a fortune cookie containing a call for help which states: "HELP!! I'm being held prisoner in a Chinese bakery. - £150 REWARD" (around £4,374 in today's money) and decides to investigate. Needing a good hot tip as he is unsure where to look out of the thousands of bakeries in China, he sees a solo musician advertising for hot tips from a bar run by Limey Louie, a friend of Jones who is busy doing time in prison. As Jones leaves the restaurant, he is met by Charlie Chung (Porky), a caricature for
Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan ...
, who Jones treats as a fellow detective. When Chung tries to bring up a matter of money, Jones simply thinks Chung is trying to cut in on the reward. It turns out to be a trap set by Limey Louie, who has already gotten out of prison and wants vengeance on Jones, whom he blames for getting him sent up the river. Having anticipated Jones would fall for the "prisoner in a Chinese bakery" fortune, the ex-convict disguises himself as his grieving "wife", first roughing up Jones upon his arrival to "recount" the physical abuse the police gave Louie. When Jones enquires about hot tips, Louie gives him two false clues that each lead to "No. 10, Wong Way" and "Ho Down Wharf, second sampan". In the case of the former, Jones is torched by a fire-breathing "Dragon Lady". In the case of the latter, when Jones investigates the sampan in question, someone cuts the mooring rope securing it and the sampan instantly sinks into the wharf, taking Jones with it. Upon Jones' return and irritated inquiry of more "hot tips", Louie drops the ruse and declares his intention of revenge on Jones. Jones promptly escapes into the back room and tries to make his exit via the back door, only to notice a space marked "trap door" at the foot of it. His attempt to open the door from a distance with a bamboo stick ends up triggering the ''actual'' trap door right beneath him and he almost falls into an alligator pit. Louie however comes in and makes Jones fall in by playing "
This Little Piggy "This Little Pig Went to Market" (often shortened to "This Little Piggy") is an English-language nursery rhyme and fingerplay. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19297. Lyrics The rhyme is usually counted out on an infant or toddler's ...
" with his fingers. Narrowly escaping from the alligators via a back hatch and seeing Chung pass by again, Jones begs him to arrest Louie. However, Chung clarifies that he is not a detective, but a laundryman, and that the money he was referring to earlier was to pay for a large laundry bill. When Jones sarcastically tells Chung "
Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...
say, 'can"t squeeze blood from turnip!'", the latter threatens him with a club, telling him "Also say, 'B-better you press shirt than press luck!'" The last scene shows Jones being forced to work for Chung to pay off his debt, as he speaks rapidly in subtitled "Chinese": "Help! - I'm being held prisoner in a Chinese Laundry!" (in reference to the earlier fortune).


Censorship

During the 1990s, cable television network
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
omitted the final scene wherein Daffy Duck finds himself trapped in a laundromat and delivers a faux Chinese rant. This decision was prompted by concerns regarding the portrayal of offensive ethnic stereotypes. Consequently, the cartoon was not broadcast in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
or
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, although it did receive a limited release on ''Looney Tunes Classic Collection'' (1995) VHS in the latter country. ''China Jones'' remained unavailable on DVD or Blu-ray Disc until WarnerMedia Ride restored a streaming print in 2021. The restoration was later released on the '' Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Volume 3'' Blu-Ray disc in 2024.


References


Attribution


Sources


External links

* {{Robert McKimson 1959 animated short films 1959 films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Films directed by Robert McKimson Daffy Duck films Porky Pig films Looney Tunes shorts Films scored by Milt Franklyn 1950s English-language films American detective films English-language short films