I Was a Teenage Thumb

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I Was a Teenage Thumb

Directed By: Chuck Jones Maurice Noble Produced By: David H. DePatie Released: January 19, 1963 Series: Merrie Melodies Story: John W. Dunn Chuck Jones Animation: Bob Bransford Ken Harris Tom Ray Richard Thompson Layouts: Bob Givens Backgrounds: Philip DeGuard Film Editor: Treg Brown Voiced By: Mel Blanc Richard Peel Julie Bennett Ben Frommer Music: Bill Lava Starring: George Ebenezer Thumb Prunhilda Ralph K. Merlin Jr. King Arthur Preceded By: Martian Through Georgia Succeeded By: Devil's Feud Cake I Was a Teenage Thumb I Was a Teenage Thumb (1963) (Uncensored)

I Was a Teenage Thumb is a 1963 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones.

This is the Jones' second Looney Tunes cartoon based on the classic Tom Thumb story, the other being Tom Thumb in Trouble. This one, however is told with a dry, British twist.

Plot

George Ebenezer Thumb and his wife Prunhilda desperately want a son, so they are granted a thumb-sized one by the wizard Ralph K. Merlin Jr. But after being snatched by the family cat, and then by a large bird, the baby manages to escape, then falls victim to a giant fish caught by a knight, which is then brought to King Arthur himself for a meal. The baby then is noticed by Arthur when he cuts open the fish. Arthur makes him a knight, and he eventually marries and has a son the size of his thumb, who has a son the size of his thumb, and so on.

Censorship

Versions of this cartoon commonly shown on American television censor King Arthur's line after he finds the thumb-sized baby in his fish, removing the profane word "ass." The scene is edited in at least three different ways depending on the channel:

1. On ABC and Nickelodeon, King Arthur's line after he finds the thumb-sized baby in his fish, "Morty, you ass! This fish is full of people!" was edited to remove "you ass" (so now the line goes, "Morty...this fish is full of people!"). It should be noted that ABC used to air this uncut on Saturday morning TV between 1985 and 1989. The "you ass" edit wasn't made until 1998.
2. Rather than edit the "you ass" in "Morty, you ass! This fish is full of people!", Cartoon Network and Boomerang USA's version cut the scene featuring that entire line. Despite this, this cartoon aired completely uncut and uncensored on Tooncast (evident on the second video in the infobox).
3. In the version shown on the first video in the Infobox from Russian channel 2x2, the fish cutting scene remains, but the line is muted.

Shown on:

• The Merrie Melodies Show: Episode # 13 (1970's) along with Mexican Mousepiece and Tease for Two.
• The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour (1985-6)
• The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show

Gallery

Title Card (Faded Quality)

Title Card (2x2 version)