Monday, December 7, 2009

Great Moments in Race Relations: The Dick Tracy Show

This actually works on two levels, since the subject is also a very Forgotten 'Toon. Mind you, it is more 'hidden' than 'forgotten.' The reasons for that will be clear shortly.

The show is framed with the titular detective getting news about a crime. As opposed to, you know, doing it himself, he has an array of sidekicks do all the work. Damn internships! The following part explains why I include it here. These are some of his sidekicks...

Joe Jitsu: A tiny (as in about three feet tall) Asian man who speaks with an exaggerated accent and judo-flips guys while saying his immortal catchphrase- "So sorry! Excuse prease! Begging your pardon!" Yeah, that's not horrible. I should also mention that he was voiced by a Jewish man.

Heap O'Calorie: A fat Irish cop who had a penchant for stealing apples and just generally being jolly. Man, it's a good thing that I don't know someone named Mullins...

Manuel Tijuana Guadalajara "Go-Go" Gomez Jr: A tiny Hispanic man who ran really fast. On the plus side, they didn't make him lazy. On the down side, everything else!

I should probably mention that this show was made in 1961 before the Civil Rights Act was passed, shouldn't I.

Next up, a counterpoint to my earlier induction of Fu Manchu. It's not much better though. Stay tuned...

No comments:

Post a Comment