Q. Where can I see these cartoons on TV?

A. The Merrie Melodies are often shown on Cartoon Network’s “Late Night Black &White”program, along with many B&W Porky Pig and Popeye cartoons. The show currently airs Sunday night/Monday morning from 2 to 3 a.m. The Looney Tunes have not aired on TV since Nickelodeon broadcast them in the early 1990s. Cartoon Network probably has the broadcast rights, but has thus far chosen not to air them (possibly because of issues brought up further down this page).

Q. Where can I get the Uncensored Bosko and Inside Termite Terrace tapes?

A. You can order them through the Whole Toon Catalog (call 1-800-331-6197 for a copy), or through their parent company’s website at www.facets.org. Just search for “Bosko cartoons”or “Termite Terrace”. There are three volumes of Bosko, and five of Termite Terrace.

Q. Where can I get the Golden Age of Looney Tunes videos and/or laserdiscs?

A. Unfortunately, the Golden Age of Looney Tunes series is now out of print. This series was released by MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s, but the rights to those cartoons have now reverted back to Warner Bros. It is unlikely that WB will release them again in that configuration. Used copies may be available on the various internet auction sites, Ebay in particular.

Q. You obviously have all these cartoons! Can I get copies?

A. No.

Q. Please! I’ll even pay you!

A. Definitely not! If I copied cartoons for money, that would be video piracy. However, I am willing, under certain circumstances, to trade for cartoons I do not yet have. I need complete, uncut, and good quality copies of the following WB Cartoons: “Buddy’s Day Out”, “I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song”, “Buddy’s Showboat”, “Buddy’s Circus”, “Buddy the Woodsman”, “Rhythm in the Bow”, “Buddy’s Adventures”, “A Cartoonist’s Nightmare”and “The Phantom Ship”. I also need copies of the color MGM Bosko cartoons that were not on the Happy Harmonies laserdisc set, and copies of the Disney features “Victory Through Air Power”and “Song of the South”. If you have any of these, please e-mail me and we might work something out.

Q. Are Bosko &Honey black?

A. There is evidence that they were intended to be cartoon versions of a black boy and girl, but most of the cartoons do not make this obvious. At the time, all-black characters with white facial features were the norm (Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, etc.), so their skin coloring alone does not necessarily define them as being black. Bosko had a stereotypical black voice in his first appearance, and Honey’s hair is occasionally shown with African features. Expressions like Bosko’s “Dat sho is fine!”also reinforce this notion. Nevertheless, the characters are probably best categorized as non-descript living blobs of ink. The characters became undeniably black when they appeared in a series of MGM color cartoons, which Harman &Ising made after leaving Warner Bros.

Q. Aren’t a lot of these old cartoons racist?

A. It depends on what you define as racism. If you think that any portrayal of ethnic characters that is not as realistic as possible is racist, then maybe they are. But if you have no problem with cartoon characters — be they black, white, asian, indian, or otherwise — appearing exaggerated and (God forbid!) cartoony, then most of them aren’t. Many of the stereotypes are undeniably ignorant, but most were not intended to be malicious. The ones which are very hurtful and irresponsible have already been banned from television and video, but the fact that they existed must not be forgotten, which is why they are included unaltered on this site.