Here we have an amazing example of just how far a good studio could go with 2 color Technicolor. By today, this cartoon is not Politically Correct with regards to Native Americans - but for the day, this was just every day Cowboys and Indians movie standard. Harman and Ising’s second cartoon for MGM, The Old Pioneer, was the first to bear the name “Happy Harmonies.”
The star character “old pioneer” in this film recounts his travels on the wagon trail to California, which would have occurred almost a century before the film’s release and that was almost 90 years ago! This film is also more gag-oriented than Harman-Ising’s later cartoons for MGM, where they seemed to emulate Disney’s films, emphasizing in charm and spectacle as the Silly Symphonies, and sometimes, like with Too Spring, surpassing the Disney famed art and color design.
We start out this classic cartoon with an old prospector telling a young boy selling the days news paper, a tall tail about how he caused the cigar store Indian to be holding 3 cigars! As the cartoon continues. As our story continues, The prospector sees a young boy Indian falling to his doom, he saves him as his tribe is preparing to attack and kill all the cowboys!
All the warriors put on their warpaint (rouge, lipstick, etc.) before they attack. The pioneer helps save a juvenile Indian explorer from certain death from a fall off a cliff. He then saves his wagon train from an Indian attack because of his friendship with the Indian boy. The grateful Chief says, "Paleface my friend," and offers the pioneer a peace pipe; the latter says, "Thankee, Chief, have a smoke yourself!!" This leads to the pioneer concluding to the newsboy, "And that, my boy, is how that Injun got them purty cigars!"
We must remember, when seeing a cartoon like this one, that anyone still alive from the time when this cartoon showed on the screen would have been very very young back then. We should not be so narrow minded as to apply standards of Politically Correctness on a work of art from so long ago when norms were not the same as today.
You are certainly free not to watch this cartoon, but please allow the open minded fans of classic animation to enjoy a rare treat!
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