Uncle Tom's Bungalow

Uncle Tom's Bungalow
Directed byFred Avery
Story byBen Hardaway
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
StarringBilly Bletcher
Bernice Hansen
Elvia Allman
Mel Blanc
Roy Glenn
Narrated byTedd Pierce
Music byCarl W. Stalling
Animation bySid Sutherland
Virgil Ross
Color processTechnicolor
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • June 5, 1937 (1937-06-05)
Running time
8 minutes (one reel)
LanguageEnglish

Uncle Tom's Bungalow is an American Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery, and released to theatres on June 5, 1937, by Warner Bros. The short cartoon is a parody of the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin and of the "plantation melodrama" genre of the 1930s. It contains many stereotypical portrayals of black characters. The cartoon plays off Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel in that it portrays Uncle Tom as an old man, and wooden shacks and cotton fields pervade the scenery. Director Tex Avery adds his own sense of humor and "trickster" animation, giving the classic theme a modern, humorous twist.

In 1968, the cartoon became a part of the Censored Eleven, a group of cartoons withheld from syndication by the television arm of United Artists due to the controversy surrounding their racially stereotypical content. Brief segments did, however, appear in Turner Entertainment's 1989 home video release, Cartoons For Big Kids, hosted by Leonard Maltin.