''The Isle of Pingo Pongo'' is a 1938 '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon supervised by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

. The short was released on May 28, 1938 and features an early version of Elmer Fudd. This is the first of a series of

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or ...

spoofs, and the first Warner Bros. "spot gag" cartoon, where each vignette is punctuated by a moment of blackout.

Plot

The short follows a cruise ship's trip from New York to the island, presumably located in the South Seas. The ship sails past the Statue of Liberty, who acts as a traffic cop, past the "Canary Islands" and "Sandwich Islands". The cartoon revolves around themes of jazz and primitivism, and is set on a remote island. The central character is an early version of Elmer Fudd known as Elmer, and most of the cartoon consists of travelogue-type narration and blackout gags, many including Elmer. The inhabitants of Pingo-Pongo are mostly tall, black, and have big feet and lips. Like other cartoons at this time, the native inhabitants resemble animals and reflect stereotypes of the time. The natives are at first playing drums, then break into a jazz beat, still described as a "primitive savage rhythm," which leads the audience to connect the savage jungle to modern jazz music. There is a running gag with the Elmer where he says, "Now Boss?", but the narrator keeps saying "Not now." That is, until the end, where the sun fails to set when he says "as the sun sinks slowly into the West". Elmer reappears and says "Now Boss?" The boss says "Yeah, now!" Elmer shoots the sun, making it sink into the West and ending the film.

Reception

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals'' Greenwood Press. p. 242. It was replaced by the ''QP Heral ...

'' printed a letter from an exhibitor in their "What the Picture Did For Me" section: "These ''Merrie Melodies'' are as good as the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

stuff."

References

External links

* *
''The Isle of Pingo Pongo (Blue Ribbon)'' on the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isle of Pingo Pongo, The 1938 films 1938 animated films 1938 short films Censored Eleven Merrie Melodies short films Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Films about race and ethnicity History of racism in the cinema of the United States Films directed by Tex Avery Films set in Oceania Films set on islands 1930s Warner Bros. animated short films Elmer Fudd films 1930s English-language films