Injun Trouble (1969 film)

Injun Trouble
Directed by	Robert McKimson
Produced by	William L. Hendricks
Animation by	Ted Bonnicksen Jim Davis LaVerne Harding Ed Solomon
Color process	Technicolor
Distributed by	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Running time	6:18 min

Injun Trouble is a 1969 animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert McKimson and featuring Cool Cat. It is noted for being the final cartoon produced by the original Warner Bros. cartoon studio, breaking a run which had lasted since 1930 (with the exception of the four years when the cartoons were produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises).

The cartoon shares its name with an earlier short directed by Robert Clampett.

Synopsis

Cool Cat is driving to the town of Hotfoot one day, when his route happens to take him through an Indian reservation. Two scouts spot him and of one them gives chase, only to fall into a chasm when the weight of him and his horse causes the makeshift bridge to collapse (even though it had carried Cool Cat and his car without trouble). Cool Cat rescues them and continues his journey. Along the way, he encounters a morbidly obese Indian girl who falls in love with him, a more attractive one that invites him for an "Indian Wrestle" (which turns out to be a fight with a man who is far larger than Cool Cat), a literal bareback rider and an Indian who uses a typewriter-like device to create smoke signals which read "COOL CAT GO HOME!"

Finally arriving in Hotfoot, Cool Cat spots a "Topless Saloon" and heads in, only to discover that the only topless person is the bartender, a rather burly man. An outlaw named Gower Gulch then arrives and seemingly challenges Cool Cat to a duel, but then settles for a game of poker. Cool Cat gets a good hand with four Aces, only for Gulch to get a Royal Flush. Announcing that he is "cutting out," Cool Cat produces a pair of scissors and cuts a hole out of the background, which he then disappears into. He then reappears for a moment and ends the cartoon (and series) with the words "now cool it now, ya hear!"

Censorship

Owing to controversy over its stereotyping of Native Americans (and some racy jokes such as the "topless bar"), the cartoon has never been shown by United States television broadcasters, or released on video. While bootleg versions are available (most commonly with a timecode on the print), the cartoon still proves very difficult to track down. In fact, it is one of the rarest of all Warner Bros. cartoons, owing to the relative unpopularity of cartoons from this era of the studio (unlike the "censored eleven," which were produced during the studio's heyday).