Vintage Cartoons. . . And "Vintage Movies"

 Both " Aesop and Son" and "Fractured Fairy Tales" were animated segments featured on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (originally Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show), produced by Jay Ward Productions. While both segments were humorous takes on classic stories, they had different themes, writers, and storytelling styles.

Aesop and Son

• Concept:
•  A comedic retelling of Aesop's Fables, featuring Aesop and his son, Junior, who often misinterpreted the morals of the stories.
• Writer:
• The main writer was Chris Jenkyns, along with contributions from other Jay Ward Productions writers.
• Tone & Style:
• The stories had satirical, often pun-heavy humor, with exaggerated morals that twisted the original lesson into something absurd.
• Notable Stories:
• Adaptations of classic fables like The Tortoise and the Hare or The Boy Who Cried Wolf, but with humorous and unexpected twists.
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Fractured Fairy Tales

• Concept:
• Classic fairy tales rewritten with absurd, ironic, or modernized elements, often changing the plot and message entirely.
• Writer: Primarily written by Bill Scott, who was also the voice of Bullwinkle and a key creative force behind the show.
• Tone & Style:
• More satirical and socially aware than Aesop and Son, often mocking cultural tropes, bureaucracy, and clichés.
• Notable Stories:
• Spoofs of stories like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Jack and the Beanstalk, often with ridiculous logic and unexpected outcomes.
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Which Was Better?

• Fractured Fairy Tales is generally considered the superior segment in terms of humor, writing, and cultural impact. It had sharper satire, wittier writing, and broader appeal beyond just reinterpreting a set of fables.
• Aesop and Son, while fun, tended to follow a more predictable formula and had a narrower comedic range.

Overall, Fractured Fairy Tales is better remembered and more influential in the history of animated comedy, while Aesop and Son remains a charming but lesser-known part of Jay Ward’s legacy.

 Which one is better? Leave a comment!

                                  Bj 🙈🙉🙊😏

Early Life & Rise to Fame

Perry was born in Key West, Florida, to West Indian immigrants. As a young man, he initially pursued a career in vaudeville, where he developed his stage persona, “Stepin Fetchit,” a name reportedly derived from a winning racehorse. His comedic style—slow-talking, shuffling, and seemingly dim-witted—was exaggerated for entertainment purposes, but it would later become his signature in Hollywood.

In the late 1920s, he transitioned to film and quickly gained recognition, becoming Hollywood’s first Black movie star. His portrayal of the “lazy” Black servant became widely popular among white audiences, making him one of the highest-paid Black actors of his era. By the 1930s, he had contracts with major studios and was reportedly the first Black actor to earn a million dollars. He lived a lavish lifestyle, owning expensive cars, multiple homes, and even hiring white servants—an ironic reversal of his on-screen roles.

Struggles and Controversy

While Fetchit was undeniably successful, his career was built on racial stereotypes that many in the Black community found offensive. His character reinforced negative tropes of Black men as lazy and unintelligent, which led to criticism, especially during the Civil Rights Movement. As the fight for racial equality intensified, Fetchit’s roles were seen as outdated and harmful, leading to a decline in his career opportunities.

Additionally, mismanagement of his finances contributed to his downfall. Despite earning significant wealth, he struggled with money later in life. His career dwindled as Hollywood moved away from the type of roles he had once been famous for. By the 1950s, he had faded into obscurity, and by the 1970s, he faced financial difficulties.

Later Years & Legacy

Though largely forgotten by Hollywood, some in the entertainment industry later reassessed his legacy. Filmmaker Ossie Davis and others argued that Fetchit’s portrayal, while controversial, was also a form of subversive resistance—using exaggerated behavior to outwit his white counterparts.

In the 1970s, he was awarded an NAACP Image Award for his contributions to film, signaling a reassessment of his place in history. He was later recognized by Black Hollywood for being a trailblazer, as he helped open doors for future Black actors.

Stepin Fetchit passed away in 1985, leaving behind a complicated but significant legacy. He was a man who broke barriers as the first Black Hollywood millionaire but also became a symbol of the painful racial stereotypes of early American cinema. His career remains a topic of debate—was he a victim of his time, or did he knowingly use the system to his advantage? Either way, he remains an important figure in film history....Short movie clip: Stepin Fetchit and Moms Mabley 1945