01. Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930)

Release date: April 19th, 1930 

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising 

Starring: Carman Maxwell (Bosko), Rochelle Hudson (Honey) 

The first official Looney Tunes short! The title (and entire short) is an ode to the 1929 song “Singin’ in the Bathtub”, which would be used by Carl Stalling in quite a few Looney Tunes shorts. In it, Bosko gets ready for a date with his girlfriend, Honey, but various obstacles (such as a goat eating flowers, a cow blocking the road, a dying car uphill and thusly an out of control car going downhill) deter them from their date.

The cartoon opens with Bosko whistling “Singin’ in the Bathtub” and playing the water coming out of the showerhead like a harp. Not much is to be said, in typical 30s fashion the bathtub comes to life and joins in on the festivities.

(I feel obligated to include this picture, just because I love it so much. The happiest bathtub you’ll ever see in your lifetime.)

Freshened up, Bosko gets into his car. We see him playing harmonica for awhile, before stopping to pick some tulips, indicating that he’s getting ready for a date.

We see Bosko’s girlfriend, Honey, who is also singin’ in the bathtub. She spots Bosko, excuses herself to put on some clothes, and croons down to him from the window. Bosko holds a bunch of tulips behind his back, but a goat comes in just in time to eat the bouquet.

Bosko, visibly upset, begins to cry, but Honey assures him that she still loves him, and to celebrate, Bosko rips off the horn of his car and turns it into a saxophone. Honey finds it annoying (though it sounds fine to me) and pours bubbles and water into the makeshift saxophone and frolics on the bubbles emitted from it.

The happy couple then get into the car and go along their merry way, until a cow blocks their path. Bosko pushes the cow flat onto the ground and crosses over it like a bridge.

More gags ensue, such as this one above, which I LOVE. I often forget how fun and inventive the 30s cartoons are! Low budget, yes, but the fact that this is so fun and amusing to me now... I can only imagine seeing it for the first time nearly 90 years ago! 

Essentially more disasters strike: the car’s engine dies and Bosko pushes it uphill (with Honey in the car), but the hill peaks and Honey barrels down in the car, which is now out of control. There’s a gag where Honey drives through the house (with Bosko running in front, trying not to get run over) and the car then turns into a bathtub. A cliff approaches and Bosko, Honey, and the bathtub jump and land in a lake.

The unlucky couple is unscathed, and they go back to singing (in the bathtub mind you!) and there’s an iris out as they embrace.

Overall, an interesting cartoon for Looney Tunes’ first! It’s certainly fun and very musical and catchy. Friz Freleng’s (who did some animation, as you can tell by the credit on the title card) knack for musical timing is evident, particularly when Honey is dancing on the bubbles. There are a lot of creative gags (like Bosko crashing to the ground and multiplying into a bunch of mini Boskos) and the entire cartoon has a very musical feel to it. Bosko still talks in a stereotypical voice, and Honey’s voice is... intriguing, to say the least, though they don’t have much to say—Honey has more lines than Bosko does.

Ultimately, a very catchy and fun cartoon that is undoubtedly primitive, but remains entertaining and odd, which adds to its charm. And it’s the first ever Looney Tunes short, so it’s certainly historical.