WARNING: The viewer might suffer from massive cringe.
Jungle Jitters is a 1938 Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng about a dopey, Goofy-esque salesman trying to sell his wares to an African tribe that has a white woman as their queen... and looking to marry the salesman.
The film is infamous for being one of the Censored Eleven (a collection of eleven cartoons that have never aired on American TV or were released on official home media due to extensive black stereotyping).
This cartoon contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: The queen wanted to have the salesman for a husband. He was so disgusted by her attempt to kiss him that he chose to get eaten instead.
- Alliterative Title: Jungle Jitters.
- Ambiguously Human: The village queen lacks a nose and her face has a sort of bird-like look.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: One of the guards inexplicably has a stereotypical Japanese accent and mannerisms.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The queen greets the audience, and asks their opinion on the salesman's looks.
- Dogfaces: The salesman. He lacks dogs ears and has human hands though.
- Downer Ending: The salesman willingly lets himself be cooked by the villagers instead of marrying their queen, declaring he hopes they get indigestion before submerging into the water.
- Fate Worse than Death: The salesman is so disgusted at the thought of marrying the queen that he'd rather be eaten by the villagers.
- Hypocritical Humor: The queen has Love at First Sight for the salesman and decides to marry him immediately. When she is asked for her vow, she says it's "all so sudden."
- Love at First Sight: The Queen quickly took a liking to the salesman when he's brought to her.
- Meat-O-Vision: The villagers see the salesman as a giant roast chicken.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The salesman is a parody of Al Pearce's character Elmer Blurt, and there's a brief parody of actor Stepin Fetchit.
- No Name Given: No one in this short says their name out loud, not even the salesman.
- Public Domain Animation: The cartoon has fallen into public domain, likely because similar to Tokio Jokio, Warner Bros. was so ashamed of it.
- Regret Eating Me: The salesman hopes that he gives the villagers indigestion when they eat him.
