Dick Tracy Cartoon Furor

The Walt Disney Co.'s new Dick Tracy movie has spawned many spinoff products. The most controversial is almost 30 years old.

In 1961, the UPA animation studio (better known for Mr. Magoo) made 130 Dick Tracy cartoon shorts for TV syndication. This summer, they were re-released to TV stations and promptly garnered controversy. The cartoons feature only cameo appearances by Tracy, who starts each episode by turning a new criminal investigation over to one of several slapstick cops. Two of these characters. Go Go Gomez and Joe Jitsu, aroused the ire of Hispanic and Asian-American advocates. KCAL, the Disney-owned station in Los Angeles, quickly dropped the cartoons; WNYW in New York responded by removing the Gomez and Jitsu segments from its rotation of episodes.