''Jasper Goes Hunting'' is an animated short film in the ''

Puppetoons ''Puppetoons'' is a series of animated puppet films made in Europe (1930s) and in the United States (1940s) by George Pal. They were made using replacement animation: using a series of different hand-carved wooden puppets (or puppet heads or limbs ...

'' series, directed and produced by

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

and first released on July 29, 1944. The short was distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

.Catalog (1943–1944), p. 119 The short features Jasper, his friend/nemesis Professor Scarecrow, and the Blackbird.Sampson (1998), p. 36–37

Plot

Jasper's mother is seen counting her chickens in the

chicken coop Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises poultry, domesticated birds such as chickens, Domestic duck, ducks, turkey (domesticated), turkeys and domesticated goose, geese to produce chicken meat, meat or Egg as food, eggs for ...

and realizes that another of her chickens have gone missing, and concludes that she's facing a chicken thief. Nearby, said thief, the Scarecrow, is seen finishing his meal. Jasper is put in charge of guarding the coop as his mother leaves the residence. Jasper fancies himself a soldier, and starts marching within his residence. When the Scarecrow appears at his window, Jasper immediately points the weapon at him. The Scarecrow is at first terrified, he explains to Jasper that he should not be pointing the weapon at live targets, since it is likely to go off. Convincing the boy to hand him the gun, the Scarecrow claims that the "mean-looking" weapon reminds him of his past as a

big game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for Trophy hunting, trophies, taxidermy, meat, and commercially valuable animal product, animal by-products (such as horn (anatomy), horns, antlers, tusks, bones, fur, body fat, or special o ...

. As the Scarecrow begins narrating his supposed past at the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

, the scenery changes into a jungle. The trio are off to a hunting expedition. As the Scarecrow explains that they ate after big game, he fails to notice an

African elephant African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...

standing behind him. When he does notice, the "brave" hunter flees in terror. In a 23-second scene, the Scarecrow points his gun at a rabbit hole and orders its resident to come out.

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

emerges, notices his surrounding and realizes that he is in "the wrong picture", and returns to his hole. A confrontation with an enraged elephant sends the trio flying back towards the hovel. The Scarecrow lands in the chicken coop and is soon confronted by Jasper's mother, who is also armed and figures that he is the chicken thief. The final scenes has the Scarecrow and Blackbird in prison, with the latter considering writing a letter to the congressman.

Background

The Jasper series of shorts relied on a small, consistent cast. The titular character was a playful

pickaninny Pickaninny (also picaninny, piccaninny or pickininnie) is a racial slur for African-American children and a pejorative term for Aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. The origins of the term are disputed. Along with s ...

, his mother a protective mammy, Professor Scarecrow being a black

scam artist A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibil ...

, and the Blackbird serving as his fast-talking partner-in-crime.Cripps (1977), p. 230 Pal described his protagonist as a

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

influenced by

African-American folktales African-American folktales refer to the storytelling and oral history practices of Slavery in the United States, enslaved African Americans from the 1700s through the 1900s. Common themes in African-American folktales include tricksters, life le ...

. Considering that the righteous boy consistently managed to outwit his plotting enemies, one can see some resemblance to

Br'er Rabbit Br'er Rabbit ( ; an abbreviation of ''Brother Rabbit'', also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African Americans, African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean ...

.Cripps (1993), p. 197–198 The series' use of stereotypes did not seem to attract much criticism at first, but in 1946, ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' reported "

Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...

" groups protesting their depiction by Pal. In an apparent response to the criticism, Pal released ''

John Henry and the Inky-Poo ''John Henry and the Inky-Poo'' is a 1946 American stop-motion animated film written and directed by George Pal using Pal's '' Puppetoons'' stop-motion style. The film is based on African American folk hero John Henry. ''John Henry and the Inky- ...

'' (1946), a short based on the folk hero

John Henry John Henry most commonly refers to: *John Henry (folklore) John Henry may also refer to: People Artists and entertainers * John Henry (actor) (1738–1794), Irish and early American actor *Seán Ó hEinirí (1915–1998), known in English as John ...

. ''Ebony'' responded favorably at this more serious depiction of a "Negro" protagonist. ''Jasper Goes Hunting'' is notable for including a cameo appearance of

, courtesy of

Leon Schlesinger Productions Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was an American animation studio, serving as the in-house animation division of Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, it w ...

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for come ...

reprises his role as Bugs,Lawson, Parsons (2004), p. 63 while

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 ...

served as the animator. It marks the first time a

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 ...

character was officially used outside of a

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 ...

related production.

Sources

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References

{{Bugs Bunny in animation 1944 films 1940s American animated films Films directed by George Pal Films about hunting Films set in Belgian Congo Animated crossover films American animated short films Paramount Pictures short films Puppetoons Bugs Bunny films 1944 animated short films