September in the Rain

September in the Rain is a 1937 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.
== Plot ==
One late evening while it's pouring outside, product logos spring to life. First, a bottle of Blueing sings "Am I Blue" as a figure on a can of coffee plays his instrument, causing the Tootsie Tooth Paste begin to dance around like a snake. The light on a can of searchlight begins to move about as many Old Maid Cleanser ladies dance together. A single rubber glove begins to do a Scottish-themed dance. Having to re-inflate himself after so long.
The camels on a pack of Carmel Turkish blend cigarettes march together. Then two thistles on bottles of Good Ol' Scotch begin to dance too!
Meanwhile, in the fruit, a little worm pops out of an apple in multiple spots, then hops out to investigate and check things out. A few chicks on boxes of My Ami? Powder then proceed to chase after it. One of the chicks manages to get the worm but the worm refuses to give up. Causing the small chick to bounce around and slither until it pops out of the little chicks mouth and quickly hops away and back into an apple.
More singing takes place as a river on a box of threaded wheat rains onto the Salt cans beneath it. The girl sings as she holds her umbrella. The boy on the box of Uneedum approaches to sing and dance with her. Then the man on Dream of Wheat (a caricature of Al Jolson) begins to sing and make conversation with Aunt Emma on the can of Pancake Flour.
After he finishes, two figures on Domingo and Tarrytown cigarettes dance with one another. Including dancing on top of matchboxes. Nearby two figures on the Gold Rust Twins Washing Powder tell the Biscuit chef to begin playing music. The Strong Arm baking soda arm hits the pan on the box of Kleenex as one of the gold rust twins begin to play the piano on the box of Piano Wax. The other one begins to sing as Aunt Emma begins to dance, soon finishing with a trumpet solo, as it's still raining outside the window.
== Caricatures ==
* Ruby Keeler - Morton salt girl singing "By a Waterfall"
* Dick Powell - Uneedum cracker boy singing "By a Waterfall"
* Al Jolson - on Dream of Wheat package
* Fred Astaire
* Ginger Rogers
* Fats Waller - on Gold Rust Twins package
* Louis Armstrong - on Gold Rust Twins package
== Availability ==
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Vol. 4.jpg|(1993) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 4, Side 10, Merrie Melodies (uncensored)
Lt carefree.jpg|(2006) DVD Carefree (USA 1995 Turner print, censored)
== Censorship ==
* When aired on TBS and TNT in the 1980s and 1990s, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang, all scenes featuring black caricatures, the Al Jolson on the Cream of Wheat box singing "September in the Rain", and the entire ending performance of "Nagasaki" were all cut. This ends up making this a shorter cartoon than usual. The DVD extra version of the movie Carefree is also censored.
* The 1995 Turner dubbed version leaves in Al Jolson singing to the Aunt Emma pancake flour lady, but cuts the entire ending performance of "Nagasaki".
* Ever since Cartoon Network stopped airing Looney Tunes shorts, this short seldom airs on American television due to heavy racial stereotyping that would be deemed offensive to modern audiences.
== Goofs ==
* Two out of five chicks were bright yellow while the others were paler. When they all pounce on the worm, they all have pale yellow feathers. The feathers turn back to bright yellow when chasing it.
== Notes ==
* At a run-time of just under six minutes, including titles, this is one of the shortest Warner Bros. cartoons ever made, and versions shown on American television and most home media titles have made it shorter due to several scenes of black stereotypes being edited. See "Censorship". The Turner "dubbed" version of this short has these scenes excised.
** This is also the shortest cartoon to be Blue Ribbon reissued in The Golden Age of Animation.
** It is also the second shortest one-off Warner Bros. cartoon short ever made, just behind "Bartholomew Versus the Wheel" which came out 26 years later.
* The Turner "dubbed" prints on Merrie Melodies shorts that credit Schlesinger use the ending card from this short.
* The animation and music in the "Nagasaki" musical sequence would be reused in "Tin Pan Alley Cats", which was directed by Bob Clampett.
* This short was featured in the final episode of The Bugs & Daffy Show that aired 11 April 2004.https://cnas.fandom.com/wiki/April_11,_2004
*On November 25, 2023, the original titles for this cartoon were found by "Not an Animation Historian". On the same day, they were removed from Patreon.
**The print seems to have the opening color rings from "Jungle Jitters", but before the fade to the main title, it cuts to the proper color rings.
== Gallery ==
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Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.39.18.png|One of many African-American caricatures cut from this short.
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Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.41.26.png
Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.42.24.png|Another image from the oft-censored ending.
Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 19.43.36.png|A final image from the oft-censored ending.
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extra0.jpg|Lobby card
== References ==
Category:Hollywood in Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:1937
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Caricatures of real people
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist
Category:One-Shot Cartoons
Category:Spot Gag Cartoons