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'''''China Jones''''' is a 1959 [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short directed by [[Robert McKimson]].<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=313}}</ref> The short was released on February 14, 1959, and stars [[Daffy Duck]] and [[Porky Pig]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |accessdate=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/60/mode/2up |pages=60–62}}</ref> This cartoon later became rarely shown in the United States due to ethnic caricatures of Chinese and other [[East AsianAsia]]n people. The cartoon is a [[Spoof film|spoof]] of the 1950s TV series ''[[China Smith]]'', starring [[Dan Duryea]].
 
==Plot==
 
Daffy Duck is China Jones, an Irish private investigator working in [[Hong Kong]] in the [[Far East]]. HeAt a restaurant called Lo Down, he finds a fortune cookie containing a call for help which statedstates: "Help.HELP!! I am'm being held prisoner in a Chinese Bakerybakery. - £150 REWARD" (around £4,374 in today's money) and decides to investigate. ThisNeeding isa actuallygood ahot traptip setas byhe ais vengefulunsure criminalwhere namedto Limeylook Louieout whomof Jonesthe hadthousands bustedof before.bakeries Severalin times throughoutChina, Jones'he assistant.sees Charliea Chungsolo (Porky),musician a caricatureadvertising for Charliehot Chan,tips remindsfrom Chinaa Jonesbar thatrun heby owesLimey himLouie, a great dealfriend of money, revealed at the end, after Jones escapeswho fromis Limeybusy Louie,doing totime be due to a large laundryin billprison. WhenAs Jones tellsleaves Chungthe "Confucius sayrestaurant, 'canhe squeezeis bloodmet fromby turnip!'",Charlie theChung latter threatens him with(Porky), a club,caricature tellingfor him[[Charlie "Also sayChan]], 'B-betterwho youJones presstreats shirtas thana pressfellow luck!'"detective. TheWhen lastChung scenetries showsto Jonesbring beingup forceda tomatter workof for Chungmoney, asJones hesimply speaksthinks inChung "Chinese":is "Help!trying -to I'm being held prisonercut in a Chinese Laundry!" (in reference toon the earlier fortune)reward.
 
It turns out to be a trap set by Limey Louie, who has already gotten out of prison and wants vengeance on Jones, whom he blames for getting him sent up the river. Having anticipated Jones would fall for the "prisoner in a Chinese bakery" fortune, the ex-convict disguises himself as his grieving "wife", first roughing up Jones upon his arrival to "recount" the physical abuse the police gave Louie. When Jones enquires about hot tips, Louie gives him two false clues that each lead to "No. 10, Wong Way" and "Ho Down Wharf, second sampan". In the case of the former, Jones is torched by a fire-breathing "Dragon Lady". In the case of the latter, when Jones investigates the sampan in question, someone cuts the mooring rope securing it and the sampan instantly sinks into the wharf, taking Jones with it.
 
Upon Jones' return and irritated inquiry of more "hot tips", Louie drops the ruse and declares his intention of revenge on Jones. Jones promtly escapes into the back room and tries to make his exit via the back door, only to notice a space marked "trap door" at the foot of it. His attempt to open the door from a distance with a bamboo stick ends up triggering the ''actual'' trap door right beneath him and he almost falls into an alligator pit. Louie however comes in and makes Jones fall in by playing "[[This Little Piggy]]" with his fingers. Narrowly escaping from the alligators via a back hatch and seeing Chung pass by again, Jones begs him to arrest Louie. However, Chung clarifies that he is not a detective, but a laundryman, and that the money he was referring to earlier was to pay for a large laundry bill. When Jones sarcastically tells Chung "[[Confucius]] say, 'can"t squeeze blood from turnip!'", the latter threatens him with a club, telling him "Also say, 'B-better you press shirt than press luck!'" The last scene shows Jones being forced to work for Chung to pay off his debt, as he speaks rapidly in subtitled "Chinese": "Help! - I'm being held prisoner in a Chinese Laundry!" (in reference to the earlier fortune).
 
==Censorship==
During the 1990s, cable television network [[Nickelodeon]] omitted the final scene wherein Daffy Duck finds himself trapped in a laundromat and delivers a faux Chinese rant. This decision was prompted by concerns regarding the portrayal of offensive ethnic stereotypes. Consequently, the cartoon was not broadcast in the [[United States]] or [[United Kingdom]], although it did receive a limited release on ''Looney Tunes Classic Collection'' (1995) VHS in the latter country.
 
''China Jones'' remained unavailable on DVD or Blu-ray Disc until WarnerMedia Ride restored a streaming print in 2021. The restoration was later released on the ''[[Looney Tunes Collector's Choice#Volume 3|Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Volume 3]]'' Blu-Ray disc in 2024.
In the 1990s, cable network Nickelodeon removed the ending in the laundromat scene when Daffy was held prisoner with his faux Chinese rant. The reason is due to offensive ethnic stereotypes, that cartoon wasn't shown in the US nor UK, not even DVD or Blu-ray Disc, until WarnerMedia Ride restored a streaming print in 2021.
 
==References==
=== Attribution ===
{{Fandom content|sitename=looneytunes|article=China Jones|datecopied=2024-01-30}} <!-- material introduced in this edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=China_Jones&diff=prev&oldid=1200884985 from this revision https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/China_Jones?oldid=334684 -->
=== Sources ===
<references/>
 
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*{{IMDb title|tt0052692}}
 
{{Daffy Duck in animation}}
{{Porky Pig in animation}}
{{Robert McKimson}}
 
[[Category:1959 animated short films]]
[[Category:1959 films]]
[[Category:1950s AmericanWarner Bros. animated short films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert McKimson]]
[[Category:Films featuring Daffy Duck films]]
[[Category:Films featuring Porky Pig films]]
[[Category:Looney Tunes shorts]]
[[Category:Films scored by Milt Franklyn]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
 
[[Category:American detective films]]
{{LooneyTunes-stub}}
[[Category:English-language short films]]