Millions of animation fans across the country had been looking forward to this event for over a year, and several fans had already stocked up on blank tapes for the event. Many of these classics have not been officially released for years and many a collector haspaid a pretty penny (and in some cases, several thousand pretty pennies!) to get their hands on bootleg copies. Cartoon Network, now the sole owner of the rights to broadcast Warner Bros.' classic cartoons, was putting the network on the line by planning to air these cartoons (with blatant disclaimers that they were presented for historical accuracy purposes). Still, if they had run, dozens of civil rights groups would undoubtedly have been jumping down their throats (quite the unsanitary practice) before the next commercial break.

But they were forced to give way to pressure from Warner Bros., who claimed that public exhibition of the offensive cartoons would hurt their merchandising venues with the character (heaven knows, the world couldn't survive if they had to cut back on the production of shampoo bottles and band-aids with Bugs' face on 'em!). Warners, in addition to owning the cartoons, is Cartoon Network's parent company. The number one rule of succeeding in business today is that it is usually not a brilliant idea to tick off your boss, so the Network caved in, and twelve ofthe planned 177 cartoons have been removed from the lineup.

These cartoons, for the most part, were considered offensive for some parody / exaggeration of certain aspects of various races. These parodies were done with little or no malice intended at the time--the whole purpose of cartoons was to create silly, exaggerated portrayals of real-life people and things for comic effect. Then again, there have already been complaints about the "violence" implied by Elmer Fudd carrying a gun and Porky Pig's speech impediment. Can Brooklynites protesting Bugs' stereotyped accent be far behind?

Well, yes. Probably so. That'd just be downright silly. Still, the removal of these cartoons is something of a kick in the pants for cartoon buffs. A listing of the now-banned cartoons(dubbed "Bugs' Censored Twelve" by fan Jon Cooke, in reference to the infamous "Censored Eleven" Warner cartoons):

- Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt - Featuring a stereotypical Injun trying to catch Bugs
- All This and Rabbit Stew - The only Bugs cartoon on the Censored Eleven, featuring a stereotypical black boy trying to catch Bugs
- Any Bonds Today? - A completely inoffensive propagandapiece, with Bugs doing a Jolson impression
- What's Cookin' Doc? - Featuring an extended clip from "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt"
- Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips - One of the most infamous Bugs Bunny cartoons, with Bugs heckling a troop of Japanese soldiers
- Herr Meets Hare - With a caricature of Goering hunting Bugs down and bringing him to Hitler
- Mississippi Hare - Bugs winding up in a riverboat shipping cotton, with various black stereotypes throughout
- Which is Witch? - With a stereotypical witch doctor trying to capture Bugs
- A Feather In His Hare - A different stereotypical Injun trying to catch Bugs
- Frigid Hare - Bugs trying to rescue that cute penguin in the top hat from a stereotypical Eskimo
- Bushy Hare - The stereotypical Australian Nature Boy, trying to kill Bugs
- Horse Hare - Yosemite Sam and a bunch of stereotypical Injuns trying to invade Bugs' fort

For those of you who still plan to watch the marathon, it will air from Friday, June 1 at 11 PM to Sunday, June 3 at 12 AM on Cartoon Network. For those of you who plan to boycott the marathon in a futile last-ditch effort of protestation to express how sickeningly despicable you find this entire situation, it will air from Friday, June 1 at 11 PM to Sunday, June 3 at 12 AM on Cartoon Network.