34. Bosko's Dog Race (1932)

Release date: June 25th, 1932

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Hugh Harman

Starring: Johnny Murray (Bosko)

Man, Bruno’s really making a name for himself, isn’t he? Another Bosko and Bruno short has Bosko enlisting Bruno in the local dog race for a $5,000 prize ($93,871.53 today. Damn, I’d enter, too!).

Chipper as always, Bosko’s frying an egg over a campfire with his faithful companion, Bruno. He pauses his whistling of “Are You From Dixie?” to tell Bruno “Oh boy, am I hungry!”, greeted with an affirmative bark.

It seems Bosko isn’t the only one with a hankering for some hen fruit. A squirrel happily eats up the egg that Bosko’s flipping in one contended gulp, prompting Bosko to whip out a rifle, shoot a few times, and send Bruno after the squirrel (“Sic ‘im, Bruno!”). The pacing is just right, nice and snappy. We’re lulled into a sense of security as we watch Bosko prepare the egg, Bruno licking his lips in anticipation. All at once, the squirrel eats the egg, and before you know it you’re hearing gunshots and barking. Great setup! 

Interesting to note, as we focus on Bruno chasing after the squirrel, the musical underscore is “Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away”, which would become the next theme song for the Looney Tunes shorts in the 1932-1933 season.

Bosko shoots once more at the squirrel, determined to teach it a lesson. The impact of the shot sends him hurtling (well, rolling) backwards, right into the sizzling pan where he burns himself. The chase comes to a halt as Bruno follows the squirrel through a log, falling into a pond and receiving ridicule from Bosko, who calls him to his side.

A sign advertising “$5000 PRIZE TO WINNER, WHIPPET RACE” catches the eye of Bosko, who proudly shows the sign to his companion. There’s a hilarious scene where Bruno frowns at the audience, the whippet in the advertisement transforming into a galloping Bruno. Juxtaposition between the cheery expression on advertisement Bruno and the miserable expression on real Bruno make the gag hit, at least for me. Good staging! 

Ever greedy Bosko insists that Bruno’s going to run in the race and win. Mortified at the thought, Bruno slinks away and howls “NOOOOOO!”, but Bosko won’t take NOOOOOO! for an answer. Again, the incongruity between facial expressions makes this. The plight of the optimist versus the realist. Bosko’s total ignorance to his pup’s suffering is even funnier, and Bruno’s resistance is absolutely believable. Believability is such an important trait to any media, and unfortunately, a good number of Bosko cartoons lack believability. However, the cartoons that DO have moments of believability (such as here) really hit hard, so that’s something to be thankful for. I always like to give the benefit of the doubt—I don’t like to completely slam a cartoon or a director, no matter how bad the cartoon may be. (though Buddy’s Day Out may test my unflappable optimism.) 

Honey makes an appearance, poking her head over the fence to watch Bosko train Bruno. She asks if they’re training, and Bosko opts to showboat and show off how manly his dog is and how great of a trainer he is.

How very Looney Tunes. I love seeing glimpses of gags that would continue to be used time and time again in future cartoons! Honey points and laughs to the embarrassment of Bosko and Bruno.

Finally, the big day arrives. The seats are packed as bets are placed and flyers are strewn about. Again, some good juxtapositional comedy: we see part of the competition, a sleek, confident whippet with its head held high, gingerly taking its steps with a swagger... and then everyman Bosko, lugging Bruno around with a rope around his neck.

We see honey, who’s clapping and eagerly listening to the announcer dictate the start of the race. That’s a cute way to include her, exposing her endearing excitement towards Bosko.

The hounds are released and Bosko joins Honey’s side in a hurry. Dog after dog races by, but no sign of Bruno...

Bruno comes moseying along, sniffing the ground carefully and taking his time. Once again, great setup! I love that this cartoon in particular really takes advantage of the humorous effects that contrast and juxtaposition possess. Bosko and Honey yell at Bruno to get snappy, and the pooch scrambles off in a hurry.

All of the dogs are faring better than Bruno, who’s literally slowed in time, practically floating in the air as he pants in exhaustion. Bosko runs on the track, shouting his name to keep him going. Eventually, Bruno perks up, but not because of Bosko. He leaps over a fence and chases something offscreen, Bosko close behind.

It turns out that “something” is the squirrel from the beginning of the cartoon. Bruno chases it into a log, where the squirrel climbs up a tree and knocks a beehive down on Bruno.

Predictably, the bees aren’t too happy about this. They sting Bruno and send him on a wild goose chase, with Bosko booking it in front of him so as not to get stung himself. They run into someone’s yard and slip through a wringer, into a laundry basket. We get a great visual of anthropomorphized clothes (including a girdle that flies away like a butterfly) pouring out of the laundry basket, running towards the screen.

Once again, a crude joke has me wondering if Bob Clampett had any sort of involvement. Bruno gets a pair of underwear stuck on his head and runs away, back onto the racetrack, bees uncomfortably close behind. The stings received by the nuisances prove to be a good motivator, as Bruno runs faster and faster, passing all of the dogs, until he wins! 

He crosses the finish line...almost. He doesn’t break the ribbon, but instead it propels him backwards and sends him crashing to the ground, where he explodes into multiple tiny puppies of himself, regrouping just in time for Bosko and Honey to admire him as we iris out.

Quite the enjoyable cartoon! I think it’s tied for favorite with Battling Bosko. The pacing is just right and only feels stretched in a few spots. Bruno is VERY believable, which is rather amusing considering he should be the least believable character there as an animal. Bosko and Honey are endearing as always, and their motives are admirable. Bosko wants to win, Honey wants to see Bosko win. Great music score, great visuals, great gags, great cartoon! Harman and Ising definitely showed us what they’re capable of doing in this cartoon. Like all of the Bosko cartoons, it’s no masterpiece, but considering its time and comparing other shorts, it’s definitely one of the gems. I certainly recommend a watch!