 "Unwinnable" writer Yussef Cole wrote an essay titled "Cuphead and the Racist Spectre of Fleischer Animation," in which he argued that by using the rubber hose animation style, Studio MDHR also brought up the "bigotry and prejudice" that had a strong influence on early animation, claiming that Studio MDHR ignored the context and history of the aesthetic it "so faithfully" replicated.Cole identifies that much of the imagery that Studio MDHR took from the Fleischer style effectively carried the racial stereotypes of the 1930s Harlem and minstrel shows that the animation style was built on.Chad and Jared Moldenhauer had stated prior to release that they wanted to make an animation style that harkened back to 1930s cartoons without getting ties to racism or minstrel shows in them.