Bosko the Doughboy

Last updated

Bosko the Doughboy
Directed byHugh Harman
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Starring Johnny Murray
Rudolf Ising
(both uncredited) [1]
Music by Frank Marsales
Animation by Rollin Hamilton
Max Maxwell
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • October 10, 1931 (1931-10-10)
(earliest known date)
Running time
6:58
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Bosko the Doughboy is the fourteenth title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko [2] It was released as early as October 10, 1931. [3] [a] It was directed by Hugh Harman, and the film score was composed by Frank Marsales. [4]

Contents

Plot

The cartoon opens with images of explosions, gunfire, and heavy artillery; one character even fires into the camera. It is World War I, and the ever-cheerful Bosko is a doughboy eating down in a trench. Enemy fire destroys his meal, and later a picture of his girlfriend, Honey. Bosko shows a rare moment of anger but is quickly cheered up by a fellow soldier. The two begin to dance, only to be interrupted by more gunfire. Bosko finally decides to fight back and downs an enemy bomber (actually a pelican) by using a fellow soldier as a cannon. A friendly hippopotamus is shot down by heavy artillery, which Bosko destroys with a pair of Longjohns-turned-catapult. He then saves the wounded soldier by unzipping his navel and retrieving the shell inside. The projectile explodes anyway, turning the already black-faced Bosko even blacker and prompting him to exclaim "Mammy!" à la Al Jolson.

Notes

Bosko the Doughboy is notable for its departure from the standard cartoon formula of its era. Bosko is usually infallibly happy and chipper; Doughboy forces him to drop this demeanor and fight back. Other Bosko shorts concentrate primarily on Bosko cavorting with other characters in a musical wonderland; in Doughboy, Bosko can't dance more than a few seconds before coming under enemy fire. Bosko's cartoons generally have little to no conflict; Doughboy is nothing but fighting. In short, Bosko the Doughboy is almost a total departure from other shorts in the series (and from those of other studios of the time). It is usually regarded as a high point of the character's cartoon career.

Home media

Bosko the Doughboy is available on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 and on Uncensored Bosko: Vol 1.

References

  1. ↑ Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, 1930-70. BearManor Media. p. 6. ISBN   979-8-88771-010-5.
  2. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 6. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  3. ↑ "Bosko the Doughboy - Earliest Known Date". The Charlotte Observer. October 11, 1931. p. 33. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  4. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 57–58. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.

Notes

  1. ↑ Archived from a October 11 article, this is based on the fact that new cartoon shorts would premiere in theaters on Saturdays. It like premiered on October 3, since the next cartoon (Bosko's Soda Fountain) would've premiered on October 10.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.