17. Bosko the Doughboy (1931)

Release date: October 17th, 1931

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Hugh Harman

Starring: Johnny Murray (Bosko), Rudy Ising (Tank, Horse, Dog, Hippo)

Back to Bosko in Bosko the Doughboy, which is considered one of the best Bosko cartoons! Interesting thing to note, this is the first time a different variation of the theme song (“A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”) is used! As the title suggests, Bosko is a doughboy in the midst of the Great War.

Explosions rock the scene as our cartoon comes to an open. I love the use of silhouettes like above! It makes me think of Frank Tashlin who loved to use silhouettes (Little Beau Porky especially comes to mind). In a similar manner to Dumb Patrol (1931), the silhouette shooting a machine gun turns to the audience, grins, and shoots at them instead.

We get this great gag above: a brassy marching band blazing out a tune gets bombed, and thus the band downsizes to an old fashioned fife and drum march. Probably the funniest gag I’ve seen yet from a Bosko cartoon! It’s certainly on par with the humor of the late 30s cartoons, specifically around 1937-1939.

Enter Bosko, who is happily grazing away at some baked beans in a trench. Just as he’s about to stuff his gullet some more, a bomb strikes his meal and he’s left with nothing. Desperate for some sustenance, he forlornly eats a piece of cheese from a nearby mousetrap.

Bosko actually has a shred of personality here. It’s pretty obvious he’s not enjoying himself, wincing at the camera and sulking as the war ravages on. To lift his spirits, he pulls out a picture of Honey and sighs lovingly, looking around before giving the photo a kiss.

However, in the midst of his adoration, a bomb flies straight through the photo, tearing a hole in honey’s face. How cruel! Though I suppose it’s a sacrifice, because we get this great expression above. Bosko shakes his fist and vows “I’ll get you!”, marching up the trench on a ladder while sporting a harpoon gun.

Just as he’s about to head into battle, an array of bullets spray just above his head, ricocheting off his helmet and the impact sending him down into the trench. A horse laughs at the dazed Bosko, saying “Cheer up, buddy!” and whipping out a shiny harmonica to play some tunes on.

Though the focus of music would be primarily shifted to the Merrie Melodies cartoons, we still have a bit of a musical interlude here. After all, this cartoon IS about WWI in 1931, only 13 years after the fact. The impact was still relatively fresh (this is VERY much a reach, but sort of like a cartoon about 9/11 today. It’s 18 years later and still quite a touchy subject). War is depressing, so what better way to cheer up an audience in the midst of the depression than a chipper musical interlude? 

Bosko and the horse jive to some jaunty harmonica music while we cut to a sleeping soldier and a flea. The flea bites the soldier square on the ass (because where else would you bite? Butts are funny), prompting the soldier to jump up in pain and scratch himself.

In order to solve the dilemma, Bosko cleverly snatches the soldier’s hat off his head and holds it above the trench. On cue, the hat is ripped to shreds by bullets. With the mission accomplished, Bosko hands the bullet hole ridden hat back to the soldier to use as a scratcher. Genius! I can feel that sharp texture now! 

We have some more explosions and a shot of an armada of soldiers running amuck. One of the bombs strikes the trench, leaving just the ladder, Bosko, and the soldier. There’s a clever shot of a mouse utilizing a bird as a plane to drop ANOTHER bomb on the trench—again, although this sort of gag has become trite, it’s definitely something reminiscent of the late 30s cartoons, maybe even early 40s. That’s probably why this cartoon is so good for a Bosko cartoon, it feels ahead of its time, even if it’s so dated today.

The explosion sends the flea-ridden dog draped over a tree branch. Bosko plants a nearby bomb in the dog’s stomach, using the dog as a slingshot to fire back (above). I’ve said this a lot and I’ll say it many more times: a predictable gag that’s amusing nonetheless.

The bomb strikes the bird and it spirals towards the ground in flames and featherless, complete with a rapidly descending airplane sound effect. I love the sound effects in this cartoon—they’re very familiar and have been used in other cartoons. Bosko and the dog laugh at their feat, but their celebration is cut short when the dog’s midriff is shot in half with a spray of bullets. Especially gruesome, even for a cartoon, but that also brightens the impact of it all. The dog, now short and stout, waddles away to safety, leaving Bosko to his own devices.

Bosko charges into battle to avenge his friend, dodging various land mines and an endless stream of bullets. He finds a nearby trench to dive in, seeking refuge with a hippo. The hippo assures “I’ll get him, buddy!” and runs into battle the same way Bosko did.

As he charges forth, the hippo is stopped in his tracks as a cannonball is shot towards him and plummets into his stomach. We get some amusing animation (and amusing sound effects) as the ball bounces around the insides of the hippo.

Clutching his heart, the hippo moans (perhaps in imitation of Al Jolson? I say that because of the inflection of his voice, but also because Bosko would reference Jolson in a minute) “They got me, Bosko... they got me.” Bosko comes to the rescue, crying out “I’ll save you, pal!”

Thank god for cartoon physics! Bosko removes the cannonball with ease as he simply unzips the hippo’s stomach and zips it right back up. Everything is swell...

Except not. The cannonball turns out to be a bomb, that explodes in Bosko’s face. We’re then met with a redundant gag of Bosko in blackface (which I don’t really know how that’s possible. I know cartoons can make the impossible a reality as simple as that, but Bosko’s ALREADY a blackface caricature) who cries out “Mammy!” à la Al Jolson, and iris out.

Aside from the uncomfortable blackface gag, what a great cartoon! I certainly see why it’s considered one of the best Bosko cartoons. Granted, it’s still rather inferior to what would be the norm for cartoons 5-10 years on, but it feels like a cartoon out of the late 30s instead of early 30s. The pacing is just right, with interesting visuals all throughout and jokes that are actually funny and timed perfectly (like that great gag of the marching band turned fife and drum march. That’s great!). Bosko actually has a shred of personality, which is a nice surprise. Overall, I’d definitely recommend it. If you’re curious as to what the Bosko cartoons are like and want to watch one, make this one the one you watch (though heads up for the blackface gag at the end... and I guess Bosko’s entire existence really, but).