Bosko's Picture Show

Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising. Though considered somewhat dull in comparison to later Looney Tunes players, Bosko was the first recurring character in the Leon Schlesinger cartoon series, and was the star of over three dozen Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros.. This article is about the Irish childrens TV character. ... Bosco may refer to any of the following people: Saint John Bosco (Don Bosco), Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Salesian Society Henri Bosco, a French writer Bosco Hogan, an Irish actor Hieronymus Bosch, a Flemish painter known in Spanish as El Bosco. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ... For the band, see Cartoons (band). ... An animator is an artist who creates multiple images called frames that form an illusion of movement called animation when rapidly displayed. ... Hugh Harman (1908–1982) and Rudolf Rudy Ising (1903–1992) were animators best known for founding the Warner Bros. ... Hugh Harman (1908–1982) and Rudolf Rudy Ising (1903–1992) were animators best known for founding the Warner Bros. ... Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ... Leon Schlesinger (1884 - December 25, 1949) was a producer at the Warner Bros. ... Short subject is an American film industry term that historically has referred to any film in the format of two reels, or approximately 20 minutes running time, or less. ... “WB” redirects here. ...

Creation and first film

The origins of Bosko go back to 1927. In that year, Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising were still working for the Walt Disney Studios on a series of live-action/animated short subjects known as the Alice Comedies. Hugh Harman created Bosko in 1927 to capitalize on the new "talkie" craze that was sweeping the motion picture industry. Harman began thinking about making a sound cartoon with Bosko in 1927, before he even left Walt Disney.^[1] Hugh Harman made drawings of the new character and registered it with the copyright office on 3 January 1928.^[2] The character was registered as a "Negro boy" under the name of Bosko.^[3] After leaving Walt Disney in February of 1928, Harman and Ising went to work for Universal on the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons until April of 1929. After leaving Universal, Harman and Ising began to market their new cartoon character. In May of 1929, they produced a short pilot cartoon, Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid, that showcased their ability to animate soundtrack-synchronized speech and dancing. The short, plotless cartoon opens with live action footage of Ising at a drafting table. After he draws Bosko on the page, the character springs to life, talks, sings, and dances. Ising returns Bosko to the inkwell, and the short ends. The short is a landmark in animation history as being the first to include synchronized speech. This cartoon set Harman and Ising "apart from early Disney sound cartoons because it emphasized not music but dialogue."^[4] The short was marketed to various people by Harman and Ising until Leon Schlesinger offered them a contract to produce a series of cartoons for the Warner Bros. “Disney” redirects here. ... The Alice Comedies are a series of animated cartoons created by Walt Disney, in which a real little girl named Alice and an animated cat named Julius have adventures in an animated landscape. ... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... An Oswald the Lucky Rabbit movie poster from 1927. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... In film and video, live action refers to works that are acted out by flesh-and-blood actors, as opposed to animation. ...

In his book, Of Mice and Magic, Leonard Maltin states that this early version of Bosko "was in fact a cartoonized version of a young black boy... he spoke in a Southern Negro dialect... in subsequent films this characterization was eschewed, or perhaps forgotten. This could be called sloppiness on the part of Harman and Ising, but it also indicates the uncertain nature of the character itself." ^[5] Leonard Maltin (born December 18, 1950 in New York City) is a widely known and respected American film critic. ...

Bosko and Looney Tunes

Sinkin' in the Bathtub

Leon Schlesinger saw the Harman-Ising test film and signed the animators to produce cartoons at their studio for him to sell to Warner Bros.. Bosko became the star vehicle for the studio's new Looney Tunes cartoon series. Bosko wore long pants and a derby hat, and he had a girlfriend named Honey and a dog named Bruno. He was also sometimes accompanied by an orphan cat named Wilbur. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sinkin in the Bathtub is a landmark in animation history as it was the very first Looney Tunes cartoon produced, and launched the Warner Bros. ... Leon Schlesinger (1884 - December 25, 1949) was a producer at the Warner Bros. ... “WB” redirects here. ... Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ...

Hold Anything

Although Harman and Ising based Bosko's looks on Felix the Cat, Bosko, like Mickey, got his personality from the blackface characters of the minstrel and vaudeville shows popular in the 1930s. Whereas Disney masked Mickey by making him a mouse, Harman and Ising made Bosko a genuine black boy. Image File history File links Hold_Anything. ... Image File history File links Hold_Anything. ... Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ... The famous Felix pace as seen in Oceantics (1930) Felix the Cat is a cartoon character from the silent-film era. ... This reproduction of a 1900 minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Litho Co. ... Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843 The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the American Civil War, African Americans in blackface. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the World Depression. ...

Keeping with the stereotypes of the minstrel shows, Bosko is a natural at singing, dancing, and playing any instrument he encounters. In fact, Bosko has the ability to play virtually anything as an instrument, be it a wooden bridge-turned-xylophone or a Dachshund-turned-accordion. In early cartoons, Bosko (voiced by Carmen Maxwell) even speaks in an exaggerated version of black speech (later cartoons would give him a falsetto voice). Despite the parallels between Bosko and the blackface performers, Ising in later years would deny that the character was ever supposed to be a black caricature. For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ... Carmen Max Maxwell was an American animator and voice actor from Kansas City, Missouri. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Falsetto is a singing technique that produces sounds that are pitched higher than the singers normal range, in the treble range. ...

From his first Looney Tunes outing, Sinkin' in the Bathtub, Bosko would star in 39 musical films. His cartoons are notable for their generally weak plots and their abundance of music, singing, and dancing (though there were exceptions, such as Bosko the Doughboy, in 1931). These were the early days of sound cartoons, and audiences were enthralled simply to see characters talking and moving in step with the music. In terms of animation, the shorts are on-par with Disney's shorts of the same period. Harman and Ising were allowed production costs of up to $6000 per cartoon.^[6] During the same period, Disney was spending around $10,000 per cartoon.^[7] The smaller budgets forced Harman and Ising to recycle footage much more often than Disney did. In terms of music and sound recording, however, Harman and Ising had one up on Disney as the Warner Bros. provided access to a large musical library with all the popular tunes of the day, lavish orchestras (e.g. Abe Lyman) and sound recording equipment and staff all for free whereas Disney had to pay for all this himself.^[8] Disney also had another handicap, he had no access to a music library and was forced to rely, for the most part, on public domain music. In addition, Harman and Ising did not have to worry over details concerning the distribution of their cartoons as the Warner Bros. handled all this.^[9] Sinkin in the Bathtub is a landmark in animation history as it was the very first Looney Tunes cartoon produced, and launched the Warner Bros. ... Bosko the Doughboy is an animated film directed by Hugh Harman. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Vaudeville was the major entertainment of the time, and the cartoons of the era are better understood when compared to it rather than to animation of later decades. Though they might seem boring and rudimentary by today's standards, Bosko's films were quite popular in their day and he rivaled Mickey Mouse in popularity in the early 1930's.^[10]

Bosko at MGM

In 1933, Harman and Ising broke with Warner Bros. over budget disputes with Schlesinger. Having learned from Walt Disney's experiences with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, they had carefully kept all rights to the Bosko character, and they took him with them. The two found work with MGM where they launched the Happy Harmonies cartoon series. At first, Bosko appeared in his original design and some of the old animation from the Looney Tunes series was even reused in those Happy Harmonies that features Bosko. The character was later redesigned into an identifiable black boy with an overactive imagination. Bosko only starred in a handful of cartoons before Harman and Ising discontinued the character. Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An Oswald the Lucky Rabbit movie poster from 1927. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... Happy Harmonies Cartoon Featuring Bosko 1934 Happy Harmonies Cartoon Featuring Bosko 1934 Happy Harmonies were a serious of theatrical Technicolor cartoons produced by Hugh Harman & Rudolph Ising for Metro-Goldwyn Mayer from 1934 to 1938. ...

Bosko on television

Bosko's cartoons were largely forgotten until the advent of television. Since the films could be shown cheaply, programmers put them into constant rotation in the 1950s. Bosko's shorts were on the air up until the 1990s on both Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... This article is about the TV channel. ... For Cartoon Network outside of the United States, see Cartoon Network around the world. ...

Bosko made a surprise cameo in a 1990 episode of the television series Tiny Toon Adventures in which Babs Bunny, after being told by the Acme Looniversity's mysterious vaultkeeper about Honey, is led by a mysterious voice to build a theater that shows nothing but cartoons of Bosko's girlfriend, Honey. Babs does so, and the resulting audience laughter rejuvenates the ailing Honey and reveals the voice, as well as the vaultkeeper to be none other than Bosko himself. Curiously, the cartoon depicts Bosko and Honey as dog-like creatures reminiscent of the lead characters of the later TV show Animaniacs, presumably so as not to offend viewers with the original black-face characters. Another reason may be that this episode served as a "bridge" between Tiny Toons and Animaniacs. In an even briefer cameo, Bosko is seen in a portrait in the 1996 movie Space Jam, this time in his original form. Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures (also known as Tiny Toon Adventures or Tiny Toons) is an American animated television series created and produced as a collaborative effort between Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. ... Babs and Buster Bunny are cartoon characters from the Warner Bros. ... This article is about the television series. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the motion picture. ...

Today, the majority of the cartoons are available on VHS and DVD in the Uncensored Bosko series from Bosko Video. In 2003, Warner Home Video officially released the initial pilot film Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid as an extra on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 DVD box set. Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 (released in 2005) also includes the first Looney Tunes short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub (which originally introduced Bosko and Honey to audiences in 1930) as an extra. Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Looney Tunes Golden Collection is a yearly series of four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sinkin in the Bathtub is a landmark in animation history as it was the very first Looney Tunes cartoon produced, and launched the Warner Bros. ...

Notes

1. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 155.
2. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 155.
3. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 155.
4. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 155.
5. ^ Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic, pg. 225.
6. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 157.
7. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 158.
8. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 158.
9. ^ Michael Barrier Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 158.
10. ^ DEPRESSION WEATHERED NICELY: Bosco's Animated Nightmares in Celluloid, Where Plausible Plots Shorn of All Semblance of Sanity, Prove Unwavering Ability to Please by John Scott. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Dec 7, 1930. p. B11;
    CARTOON GANG GETS PAINTED PLAYMAT Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Jul 19, 1931. p. B11;
    A FEW OF THE INTRICACIES INVOLVED IN A LOONEY TUNE The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: Apr 5, 1931. p. A4;
    The LEE SIDE O'L-A by Lee Shippey, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Jan 26, 1932. p. A4

References

• Barrier, Michael (1999): Hollywood Cartoons. Oxford University Press.
• Maltin, Leonard (1987): Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Penguin Books.
• Schneider, Steve (1999): That's All Folks!: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Barnes and Noble Books.
• Beck, Jerry and Friedwald, Will (1989): Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Company.

External links

• Bosko at Toonzone.net
• Bosko's entry at Toonopedia.com

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