Mammy Two-Shoes, cannibalism and blackface - Tom and Jerry gets racism warning

Subscribers of Amazon Prime will be greeted with an ethnic and racial prejudice warning before watching classic "Tom and Jerry" cartoons which contain a black maid called Mammy Two-Shoes, and blackface.

Mammy Two-Shoes was a recurring character in the original Tom and Jerry shorts. (Warner Home Video)

The classic cat and mouse shorts, some made more than 70 years ago, include a stereotypical African-American maid whose house is typically the scene of Tom and Jerry's mayhem.

Other depictions involve gags such as characters suffering burns or mud splatters that turn them into black caricatures. In the past Tom and Jerry cartoons have been pulled up on their portrayal of women, smoking and cannibalism.

Amazon's streaming subscription service includes the shorts in its comedy collection.

But "Tom and Jerry: The Complete Second Volume" includes the caution: "Tom and Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today."

The Apple-owned iTunes store and the Amazon Prime Instant Video streaming service are both carrying racism warnings on the cartoons.

The wording is similar to disclaimers on DVD releases.

Tom and Jerry was first produced by MGM in 1940.

Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby, they ran until 1957.