The film has been criticized by some for its handling of race. "The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films" (2018) notes that "All of the circus laborers are African American, the only time that blacks are seen in any great number in the entire movie." The lead crow, voiced by white actor Cliff Edwards in an imitation of Southern African American dialect, was named "Jim Crow", after the pre-Civil-War minstrel character. The term had become a pejorative term for African Americans, and commonly referred to racial segregation laws, and the character's name was changed in the 1950s to "Dandy Crow" in attempt to avoid controversy.