Tom and Jerry quit smoking–retroactively

Turner Broadcasting will edit smoking scenes out of more than 1,500 Hanna Barbera cartoons after a complaint was made to the UK broadcasting regulator.

The regulator’s latest news bulletin stated that a viewer, who was not identified, had complained about two smoking scenes on “Tom and Jerry,” saying they “were not appropriate in a cartoon aimed at children.”

In the first, “Texas Tom,” the hapless cat Tom tries to impress a feline female by rolling a cigarette, lighting it and smoking it with one hand. In the second, “Tennis Chumps,” Tom’s opponent in a match smokes a large cigar.

“The licensee has … proposed editing any scenes or references in the series where smoking appeared to be condoned, acceptable, glamorized or where it might encourage imitation,” Ofcom said, adding that “Texas Tom” was one such example.

Because there’s nothing so enticing to a small child as a cat smoking a cigarette.
by Rachel

Trackbacks & Pings

  1. Diggers Realm on 22 Aug 2006 at 3:22 pm

    Turner Broadcasting To Edit Smoking Out Of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons After One Viewer Complaint In Britain…

    Wow, it’s good to see that one person can complain about something they find offensive and change history, art and the work of others. Some asshat in England was sitting there watching Tom and Jerry and decided that in one……

Comments

  1. dorkafork wrote:

    Of course, when Jerry slams an ironing board on Tom’s head, and when he shoots a spoon down Tom’s throat that bulges out on the other side, and when Tom goes after Jerry with a hatchet, that’s still all ok.

  2. canuckistani wrote:

    If you’ve seen the savagely butchered Warner Bros. classics on the Cartoon Network up here in the north, you’d realize that cartoon violence is not ok with the censors either. I’ve been forced to turn to the internet to teach my children valuable life lessons like what the consequences will be if you are a loud-mouthed chicken and you hit a dog with a baseball bat. That having been said, I have always found it creepy seeing cartoon characters smoking, especially in ads. I guess the problem is that violence is funny, and sex is funny, but smoking isn’t*; it’s usually just there to establish the character’s coolness.

    *Except when Bugs Bunny is pretending to be a gangster.

  3. Jillian wrote:

    Geez… Next thing ya know they’ll eliminate Pepe Le Pew for teaching kids sexual harassment behavior in his never ending pursuit of les femmes.

  4. rachel wrote:

    Jillian: I’m surprised they haven’t already.

  5. Jillian wrote:

    Rachel,

    I predict we’ll see Gloria Allred representing Pepe’s victim Penelope on Court TV, closely guarding details of Penelope’s case, .. a juicy book deal is sure to follow… :)