19. Bosko's Soda Fountain (1931)

Release date: November 14th, 1931

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Hugh Harman

Starring: Johnny Murray (Bosko, Wilbur, Mouse)

Bosko’s Soda Fountain marks the first appearance of Wilbur, Honey’s trouble making cat that would inevitably cause chaos for Bosko. As the title suggests, Bosko works at a soda fountain, and Honey asks if he can bring an ice cream cone over to Wilbur, who’s being unruly during his piano lesson.

Behind the bar is Bosko, whistling away while concocting a milkshake. The gags are musically timed (as was the norm) as Bosko slides across the floor like an xylophone, skillfully catching scoops of ice cream in the cup. He slides the shake to the end of the bar, where a mouse eagerly awaits.

Much like Bosko in Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid, the mouse twists himself around so the stool can be raised, thus granting him access to his treat. He slurps away and remarks “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” in an obnoxiously amusing delivery.

Meanwhile, the reoccurring hippo character from Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! and One More Time makes an appearance as she enters the soda fountain. I like that they staged this scene so we only see her reflection in the mirror as Bosko talks to her, great way to mix things up and make the audience look! Bosko remarks that she’s his old school teacher. She sits on a stool (or three of them for that matter) and places an order.

While Bosko prepares, the hippo turns on a nearby fan, sparking this predictable yet fun visual of the air making a parachute in her blouse.

Elsewhere, Bosko’s mixer bites the dust on him. The mouse from before laughs at him, so, as punishment, Bosko scoops him up and turns his tail as a crank, the mouse’s head spinning and thus mixing the shake together. Damn, talk about harsh! You laugh and you get milkshakeboarded! 

Bosko serves the milkshake to the hippo, which towers over him (complete with a nice little swivel as he sets it down). Unfortunately, the fan, which is still on, blows the milkshake right in the hippo’s face. She gets pissed (which... it’s her own fault) and curses at Bosko, leaving the establishment with a raspberry. The ever unflappable Bosko just laughs.

We have some more filler of Bosko hopping around on the xylophone paneled floor, playing glasses as chimes with some spoons. A comically elongated dog enters the facility, and right away spots a platter of sandwiches. He wastes no time swallowing them whole.

Bosko takes notice, and at first he’s rightfully angry, but realizes he can exploit the dog as a musical instrument, and thusly plays him like an accordion. Like all gags this has become overused and stereotypical, but it’s still fun to watch and amusing nonetheless. I have a soft spot for accordions gags.

Now we focus on Honey, who’s teaching a little cat (Wilbur) how to play the piano. Wilbur, however, proves himself to be rather uncooperative. He mocks Honey’s solfeggio and angrily smashes down on a few keys, protesting “I want an ice cream cone!” 

As annoying as he is, I too had to go through the trials and tribulations of taking piano lessons as an extremely inattentive kid, so I know his pain. It’s very real! Maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for him (it seems I’m the minority here. People find him to be annoying).

Honey gives in and rings up Bosko, reusing animation (and part of the dialogue verbatim) from Bosko’s Holiday. THANKFULLY they didn’t reuse the god awful voice acting in that scene. This one is faster paced and not as grueling to get through. Bosko assures he’ll be right there, whips up a vanilla ice cream cone and hops on his bike.

He rides on, occasionally hitting a bump and juggling the rogue scoop in the cone. I enjoy it! A particularly catchy music underscore with some amusing sound effects. Meanwhile, we cut to Honey, with Wilbur once again demanding for his ice cream cone.

Saved by the bell (knock), Honey lets Bosko in. He says “Here, Honey!”, thinking it’s for her since she didn’t specify otherwise. Wilbur takes no shit and runs up to Bosko insisting “HEY! THAT’S MINE!”.

He gives it a lick... And recoils, screaming “I DON’T LIKE VANILLY!” and blowing the ice cream in Bosko’s face. What a brat! I find him more funny than annoying. I love loud, obnoxious characters (I know that’s a startling revelation. You probably couldn’t tell with my undying love for zany Daffy), so I guess that says something about me, doesn’t it? 

Look at that angle! Very similar to Porky pointing the gun at the cats in Kitty Kornered. It’s dizzyingly beautiful! I respect that they mix up the monotony by experimenting with different camera angles. Bosko chases Wilbur up the stairs, who jumps on the pendulum of a grandfather clock, knocking Bosko down the staircase.

Another visual I love. The cat disassembles part of the banister, so the wood repeatedly hits Bosko painfully in the ass like spokes. He lands on a cart that sends him flying out the window.

Thankfully, a pair of pajamas is hanging on a clothesline, and Bosko lands safely in them. That is until Wilbur sticks his head out of the window and pulls the clothesline in, undoing the butt flap and sending Bosko tumbling into the washbasin. Iris out as he pops up with a pair of underwear on his head.

I think it was a good spot gag cartoon! Not much plot to it, but that doesn’t really bother me, because it’s filled with fun visuals and a good music score. The Bosko cartoons are slowly improving, one by one. I have a feeling this one wouldn’t have been as good if it were made in the 1930-1931 season (we’re now in the 1931-1932 season). I thought Wilbur was REALLY funny. Obnoxious? Absolutely. But “I DON’T LIKE VANILLY” is probably one of the funniest lines I’ve heard so far LOL. He reminds me a lot of Beans, particularly in I Haven’t Got a Hat when he sticks out his tongue to the audience. Possible relation maybe? ultimately, I’d give it a watch! It’s nothing outstanding, but it’s chipper and upbeat and pretty entertaining.