| The Isle of Pingo Pongo | |
|---|---|
_Lobby_Card.jpg) Lobby card | |
| Directed by | Fred Avery |
| Story by | Geo Manuell |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Irven Spence |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corp. |
Release date |
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Running time | 8 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Isle of Pingo Pongo is a 1938Merrie Melodies cartoon supervised byTex Avery.[1] The short was released on May 28, 1938, and features the debut ofElmer Fudd.[2] This is the first of a series oftravelogue spoofs, and the firstWarner Bros. "spot gag" cartoon, where each vignette is punctuated by a moment of blackout.[3]
The short follows acruise ship on a trip from New York to the island, presumably located in the South Seas. The ship sails past theStatue of Liberty, who acts as a traffic cop, past the "Canary Islands" and "Sandwich Islands".
The cartoon revolves around themes ofjazz andprimitivism and is set on a remote island. The central character isElmer Fudd in his Debut, and most of the cartoon consists of travelogue-type narration and blackout gags, including Elmer. Pingo-Pongo inhabitants are mostly tall, black, and have big feet and lips. Like other cartoons of the era, the native inhabitants resemble animals and reflect stereotypes of the time. The natives are at first playing drums, then breaking 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 Elmer where he says, "Now, Boss?" but the narrator keeps saying, "Not now". That is, until the end, 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.