Release date: June 8th, 1933
Series: Looney Tunes
Director: Hugh Harman
Starring: Johnny Murray (Bosko), Rudy Ising (Black Knight), Delos Jewkes (Bass)
I wonder what this cartoon could possibly be about. As the title suggests, Bosko dreams that he’s a knight in medieval times, but quickly realizes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Bosko is reading a book by the fire, lounging in his rocking chair, whereas Bruno is asleep, waking up to scratch at a flea.
Bosko excitedly tells Bruno the story he’s reading about knights, but Bruno is asleep. Undeterred, Bosko continues his read until the radio signals that it’s 8pm. He turns the channel and enjoys “Knights are Bold”, but falls asleep. Listening to a song about knights and reading about knights, I wonder where this could possibly go.
You guessed it. Bosko dreams he’s a knight, perched on a gallant horse. He sings a few bars of “Knights are Bold”, later switching over to “Young and Healthy”. His faithful companion Bruno is right behind him, also iron clad.
Bosko approaches a castle, guarded by a moat. He does a yell and the drawbridge drops down for him. A Looney Tunes staple as various doors open to reveal the inside of the castle—and a trio of squires trumpeting a fanfare. Their helmets snap shut in the middle of their blaring noise, and thusly cutting their trumpets in half. Great gag of the squires playing on their broken trumpets, the sound tinny and high pitched.
Eagerly, Bosko and Bruno cross the bridge, each doing a little dance. Bosko slides out of his suit of armor to the tune of “Shave and a Haircut”, and barges in on the knights of the round table.
Here’s something your math teachers and history textbooks don’t teach you: the knights of the round table were actually the Marx brothers. Huh! Who’da thunk it? I love all of the anachronistic elements here—Bosko’s jazzy dancing and singing and the inclusion of the Marx brothers all in the medieval era. It makes the entire premise a lot funnier. The Marx brothers sing, and there’s a great visual of two knights clinking their beer glasses together, the beer rising up in the air and then catching them with the next clink. There’s a great dancing sequence with “42nd Street” blazing in the background. I love the overlay of Bosko dancing and the knights dancing in the background! The quality of these cartoons has improved drastically, and will continue to do so!
In my last review, I joked about how we were overdue for a kidnapping. I spoke too soon. Enter the villain, a dastardly knight singing “Knights are Bold” on his horse. He wants to woo a certain damsel, who happens to be Honey. She’s having none of it, pooh-poohing him and griping “I don’t like that old meanie!” "Old Meanie" is the last straw for the knight, and he breaks a padlock with his teeth and breaks into her tower.
Honey begs for help, and Bosko stops his shindig to run to the rescue (along with his suit of armor, which he dives into). There’s a great shot of the villain climbing the stairs of the tower, and tiny little Bosko squeezing in beneath his legs and beating him to Honey. I have utmost respect for any animator who has to draw stairs—my condolences!
Bosko tells the villain “Stop, you mug!”, but to no avail. The villain takes out a cigar and snaps Bosko’s helmet shut on the tip, cutting it off. He then flips Bosko’s helmet open like a lighter and lights it. That’s so creative and funny! Something about cigars makes them inherently funny to me, especially when you have cute characters or babies chuffing on a big fat cigar. They just look funny to me. A higher air of authority than a measly old cigarette. My ability to find humor in everything comes in handy. The villain blows smoke in Bosko’s face and puts him aside with ease.
Once more does Honey cry for help, but it’s too late. The villain snatches her up and jumps out of the window, aiming to land on his horse below. Technically he does, but he drags the horse’s ass with him a few feet in the ground. Nevertheless, the horse charges on, its now stretched out body carrying the kidnapper and his damsel in distress.
Bosko charges after them via donkey, but a lake blocks their path. The donkey bucks him into the water, where his suit of armor turns into a submarine (brilliant!). He follows the villain to his own castle, perched on top of a mountain with a winding, twisting road. The castle, like all things in '30s cartoons, is sentient, using its drawbridge tongue to throw Bosko inside. Another great, dizzying stair shot of Bosko chasing the villain up the stairs to his chamber.
In the safety of his own tower, the villain slams the door shut to keep Bosko out. Then, of course, Bosko pops out from beneath his bed and shoots him! I love unprecedented gags like these. The villain rolls up his sleeve (which is metal—great gag) and socks Bosko right in the face, knocking him unconscious. Honey begs for him to wake up, caressing his face.
Bosko DOES wake up, but to Bruno licking his face instead. Bosko bats him away and sleepily stumbles down the hallway in a fugue, stopped only by a suit of armor he just so happens to own. Not wanting a repeat of his dream, Bosko lets his grudge towards knights known as he uses the battle axe the knight is holding to smash it to pieces. Iris out as he happily jumps into the comfort of his own bed.
When I first read the title of this cartoon, I didn’t have high hopes. I’m not a big medieval damsel in distress hero swoops in to save her kind of gal, but I’m actually pleasantly surprised! Bosko was endearing as ever and the gags were creative and at their best. The animation was beautiful, from all the dancing scenes to chase scenes, and the music score only uplifts it further. I love the anachronisms in this cartoon (such as the Marx brothers), it made it funnier and certainly appealed to the lunacy of Looney Tunes. Overall, worth a watch! These Bosko cartoons have been getting better and better, and I’ll be interested to see how the remaining few turn out (10 more reviews 'til our buddy Buddy makes an appearance... the countdown begins).
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