Inki and the Minah Bird (1943)

Players: "Inki", "Minah Bird", "Lion".Director: CHARLES M. JONES. Animators: Robert Cannon, Shamus Culhane. Lay-outs: John McGrew. Color by Technicolor. Producer: Leon Schlesinger.Copyright 31 October 1949 (in notice: 1942) by The Vitaphone Corp. (Which means of course that the film is actually not copyright at all as the statutory period for registering the original copyright had long since expired. However, it would be foolhardy to risk making a copy as Vitaphone have access to some very smart lawyers who could tie you up for years in court). A Warner Bros "Merrie Melodies" cartoon. U.S. release: 13 November 1943. 1 reel. 7 minutes.COMMENT: This "Merrie Melodies" cartoon entry comes across as rather more than somewhat below par. It should in fact really be titled "Inki, the Lion and the Minah Bird". A great deal of the action actually centers on the first two, namely Inki and the Lion - and neither very witty nor smartly paced action it actually is either. Indeed, despite the charm of some of the backgrounds, this entry signally lacks comic invention in both spot gags and situations.

HITTING THE APPROACH from what could be described as a different angle, this cartoon short subject is as mysterious and even bizarre as any one reeler could be. Introducing us to this new character, young Black Native boy, Inki, the production team hits the ground running. Or rather we should say walking; as the pace is noticeably slower than a more typical LOONIE TUNES/MERRIE MELODIES bot of output.THERE IS SORT of triangle of competition established between little Inki, an over-aged male Lion with dentures and this surreal minah bird. Whenever there is some fast-paced action sequence pitting the little man vs. the king of beasts, the slow and deliberately easy paced minah intervenes passively; his moving through each scene, keeping cadence to the 'tune' of Felix Mendelsohn's THE HEBRDIES (aka FGINGAL'S CAVE Overture).THERE SEEMS TO have been some blacklisting of this cartoon because of the caricature of Inki as being stereotyped and not acceptable in this modern era of ours. This we believe is the bunk.THE CHARACTER DESIGN of the little hunter is a fine example of the merging of some great character traits. True, this little native boy is inept with his hunting; but, that is an expected flaw in the young and inexperienced, regardless of whatever the ethnicity, race or national origin.WE VIEW THE design and handling of the character as innocent fun; that has not even the most remote bit of bigotry in its inception. Inki is a dark skinned little cherub, with all the foibles of the young and inexperienced.

Okay, I'll admit right up front that the Inki cartoons made by Loony Tunes are pretty offensive and I can understand why Warner Brothers has pulled them off the market. Seen today, the huge-lipped and very stereotypical Inki is not politically correct. However, the cartoons were well-made and it's a shame they aren't released with some sort of explanatory prologue (such as the one with Leonard Maltin they included with some recent politically incorrect Donald Duck cartoons that were recently released on DVD). In other words, throwing out the cartoons completely is to forget our history. Plus, Inki, Little Black Sambo and other racist cartoons are out there--especially on the internet.This Inki cartoon has our little hero out hunting. At first, he's chasing a cute little caterpillar but later accidentally happens upon a lion--a lion that is more than happy to make Inki his dinner. However, through all this, a weird Minah appears again and again...and eventually you'll see why this bird is so important to the story.Cute, well made and clever. I like the Inki cartoons. Plus, I take pleasure in showing them to extremely thin-skinned liberal friends just to watch them have apoplectic fits or even heart attacks. Loads of fun, folks!

Genre: Cartoon short with no dialogue, African girl and lion.Main characters: Inki, the lion and the minah bird. What happens: A lion wants to eat an African girl called Inki. There is also a rather confusing Minah bird. Is he on Inki's, or the lion's side..?Message: Erm…My thoughts: I agree with Lee Eisenberg, this is rather mean on poor African people!! :-( I like how the main character, Inki (who is an African girl) is quite a nice main character, but they still portray her rudely and make a younger audience not like her very much just because she's HUNTING!! GRRR CHARLES M. JONES!! I don't like the lion very much and I think the minah bird is ALL RIGHT (I suppose). Personally I prefer Charles M. Jones's Looney Tunes cartoons in the future.If you want to watch this anyway, then I recommend the website YouTube. Just type in "Inki" on the space in the main page and you're there. I wish Charles M. Jones had been nicer to Inki in this short. So there. Recommended to: People who are interested in old cartoons and/or people who are just messing around on You Tube.