30. Bosko's Party (1932)

Warner cartoon no. 29.
Release date: April 2, 1932.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Directed by: Hugh Harman.
Producers: Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising and Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Johnny Murray?
Animation: Isadore "Friz" Freleng and Larry Martin.
Musical Score by: Frank Marsales.

 The short starts off with Bosko in the rain with his umbrella on and he appears to be holding a gift for his sweetheart, Honey. While Bosko is crossing the road, he uses his umbrella to paddle through the heavy rain as it is flooding. That of course, doesn't make sense to me, because he's crossing the road, and yet he uses his umbrella to cross it, but the pavement doesn't look flooded!

Meanwhile, Honey is at home as it's her birthday and is probably dressing up for later, while she's mascaraing her eyelashes, with her spit. She decides to get back changed into her normal dress, and she doesn't realize that the audience is looking at her about to get changed. She stands behind a transom where she privately gets changed, but not realizing that there is a mirror, and that we can see her undress. Hah, I think that's kind of a funny gag, in terms of humiliation.

 Bosko walks to Honey's house, and the rain has already appeared to stop (with a puddle on the pavement to Honey's house). Bosko opens the door where there is a pig guest, who tells Bosko to be quiet as a surprise party for Honey - organized by Bosko and her friends. As soon as Bosko enters the door, Honey's dog comes by and constantly licks Bosko, until all the guests tell her to be quiet. Honey begins to slowly go down the stairs humming to London Bridge is Falling Down.

 

Bosko remarks to everyone, "It's Honey, quick hide! Scram!", so everyone else scrambles away from the front room, and hide throughout the first floor rooms. Bosko slams the door, but Honey's dog yelps as his tail is caught stuck on the door, Bosko nearly panics and quickly opens the door so the dog can run off and stop barking. There is even a pig who tries to hide under a bed, but since he can't even fit under the bed, Bosko walks along and brings out a pin to burst the fat pig, until he's slim enough to fit under the bed.

Meanwhile, Honey's spoilt cat Wilbur is trying to find other places to hide, but all the other closet doors were taken, and the draws. Wilbur is running in circles thinking where to hide, until Bosko pops along and empties a flower pot, and places Wilbur inside.

As Honey gets closer in walking down the stairs, everyone else in the living room hide in every nook and cranny. Bosko tells the message on everyone to "duck" as Honey is about to enter the living room. As soon as Honey enters the living room, she's greeted with a surprise from all of her birthday guests (except Bosko). They all go around in a circle, with Honey in the middle - and they go around and sing "Happy Birthday to you!" Oh, I should point out that there also shots of Wilbur inside the flower pot throughout the rest of the short, as he shouts "Lemme out!"

Bosko whispers Honey to come on over, as he has a birthday present for her, "I've got a present for you Honey?" says Bosko, and Honey goes into excitement, "Ohh, what is it Bosko?" Bosko opens the present and it already reveals Honey's dog inside her present. Ladies and gentlemen, this is another moment of DOGS RUINING THE SHOW. Bosko is furious of the dog, and starts to chase after him.

Honey's dog is running away, until he slides on a rug that leads him onto an armchair and flies into a fish tank, and is stuck under there. The dog doesn't seem to be drowning at the moment, but someone should REALLY do something to that dog, so it doesn't drown. As the dog barks, there are bubbles coming out, and as the bubbles touch the surface of the water, it has the sounds of the dog barking. Bosko finally grabs the dog out of the fish tank with everyone watching; the dog rinses himself off and walks away disgusted from Bosko.

Bosko finally returns to Honey, and he gives her the present that she wanted, "Here you go, Honey!", and it's a ukulele which is just what Honey wanted. Bosko asks her birthday girl for a song to sing for her birthday, and she appears to be singing her version of "Sugar" in a ukulele version. Bosko and Honey start their singing duet in the song. Gee, for a long time I thought the singing and dancing in Bosko stopped, but I was wrong. 

Honey's cat, Wilbur is still stuck in the flowerpot, constantly yelling "Lemme out", and the fact that no-one is listening to him. While Bosko and Honey continue singing in Honey's new ukulele, Wilbur is in danger; not only can he not see where he's going but he's standing right near a mouse trap. Wilbur finally knocks the flower pot on the ground, and Wilbur is free. Suddenly, his tail is caught on a mousetrap, and he runs around screaming in pain.

Ever since I saw Wilbur in Bosko's Soda Fountain and I thought that Wilbur was such a brat, and I didn't like him. I felt that this is what he deserves after the way he treated Bosko in Bosko's Soda Fountain.

As the singing has finished, Bosko starts to bring out Honey's birthday cake to Honey, and lights the candles. Bosko places the cake on top of a stool so that Honey can blow the candles. Meanwhile, Wilbur is hanging on top of the stair banister with his tail stuck on the mousetrap. His tail is finally loose, he falls down on top of the cake, some of the cake splats on Bosko, and Wilbur pops out of the cake in a "Ta-da" attitude. Bosko smiles, until he blows the candle out - and that's all folks.

Now to my personal opinions: I must say, that I actually thought that cartoon was not very bad at all, compared to the regular standards of Harman-Ising cartoons. There was a good tight plot, in which Wilbur trapped in a flowerpot, and the audience wouldn't think it would be a major part of the story. The character personalities in there were quite good, and I always quite like it when the dogs ruin the show, because it's so true.

I must say that I always quite like reviewing the Bosko cartoons because they're easier to review, and I prefer them to the Merrie Melodies cartoons that were made in that era.