Jungle Jitters isn't a complete waste of time, the animation backgrounds are crisp and detailed, rarely feeling stiff, and the whole cartoon looks colourful and vibrant. Carl Stalling's music is as characterful, rhythmically energetic and lushly orchestrated as always, the action always enhanced. Jungle Jitters has two amusing moments, one was the tribe envisioning the salesman as a turkey and the other being the final line. The two biggest problems however that Jungle Jitters has is that it is not particularly funny and that none of the characters are engaging. Apart from those two moments, the cartoon barely raises a smile, the main problem being that it's stupid in a mind-numbing sense and also that the style of humour would have been funny then but some people(myself included, coming from a huge animation fan and someone fond of a vast majority of Fritz Freleng's work) will find that it goes over their heads now. The Clark Gable and Robert Taylor references could have been funny but weren't executed well. Even more problematic are the characters, the tribe are very stereotypically characterised and while the stereotypes are not as blatantly racist as something like Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat it is easy to see why they would offend some, they show very little personality either. The salesman is also incredibly annoying. The story is lacking in energy, while I did dislike the character designs especially after the rest of the animation being done as well as it was. Okay sure it's a cartoon and it makes sense for them to be exaggerated but these character designs looked ridiculous and borderline stupid(especially for the queen). Mel Blanc is one of the greatest voice actors who ever lived and had a knack of elevating the weakest of material, but here his material is some of the weakest he's ever had and this is one of few times where his voice work did nothing for me. Overall, a lot of stupidity here and unengaging characters but also apart from a couple of moments short of laughs. 4/10 Bethany Cox

"Jungle Jitters" is one of the eleven cartoons, all from the 30's and 40's, that were put on a list in 1968 called the "Censored 11", and banned from television, as they were considered too racist. Nonetheless, I was born eighteen years later, and I remember watching this one a lot on video as a kid, and enjoying it. However, I was entertained by just about everything I saw on TV or video at the time, and I no longer find this animated short very amusing.The cartoon begins with an African tribe doing various things, including dancing, drumming, and riding on a merry-go-round. However, their fun is interrupted when someone comes to their doors. It turns out to be a silly door-to-door salesman (one with a dog's face) on the other side of the wall. As this salesman waits for someone to answer, members of the tribe look down at him from above, and he doesn't realize that this is a tribe of cannibals who want to eat him for dinner! When I watched this cartoon as a kid, I obviously never thought of it as racist, as that word wasn't even in my vocabulary at the time. Right now, I can understand the controversy, but that's definitely not my main problem with the short. Yes, it does portray Africans as cannibals, but it has been nearly seventy years since it was made, and I don't think there's any point in getting worked up about it now. What is my main problem with "Jungle Jitters"? Well, if you ask me, it's simply not very funny. The only part that makes me laugh is when the salesman knocks on the doors, and tribe members keep opening and closing them. I probably don't get a lot of the gags simply because they are out-of-date, and I would probably have a better understanding of the cartoon if I knew more about the era in which it was made.Nowadays, this 1938 animated short can cause different reactions from viewers. Some could find it appallingly racist, while others may think those people are overreacting, and defend the cartoon by saying it's not THAT offensive, and/or that the stereotyping is not all that one-sided. So, there's obviously a lot of controversy among those who are familiar with "Jungle Jitters" over whether banning it was a wise decision or not. However, if the cartoon were 100% politically correct, I don't think too many people would be talking about it anymore, as I don't think it has anything else that could give it much recognition these days. While some could still find it amusing, I would say it's probably too dated to have wide appeal today.

Putting the 'banned' label on this will bring it attention it doesn't really deserve.The main reason for the controversy was the depiction of south seas' blacks as cannibals. That was a regular occurrence in these cartoons.The humor is so dated that I truly believe anyone who sees it today won't get most of the jokes. It may belong in a time capsule, but it's only place is in history.Did anyone notice the native guard suddenly talking like a Chinaman? Typical 30's cartoon. Filled with spot gags so it never gets boring, but it never takes off either.The final line is the best. If you can find it, see for yourself.

I suspect that even if there weren't stereotypes and caricatures that would be viewed as unacceptable today, this one probably wouldn't air today because it simply isn't all that funny. It starts off okay, but then we meet the "hero", who's about as stupid as they come (I've seen better heads on a glass of root beer) and it goes downhill from his entrance on. This one just doesn't work for some reason. Of interest only to die-hard Warner Brothers fans and rare cartoon enthusiasts. Otherwise, skip this altogether.