Battling Bosko (1932) User Reviews (3)

Decent early Bosko short with Bosko as an over-matched boxer

[llltdesq · 7/10 · 27 September 2006]

This short has some good moments and some rather interesting animation in spots, though there's a fair amount of repetition here. I want to cover some of the action, so here is a spoiler warning:

The short starts with a rather nice visual bit (possibly the best one in the short) tied to Bosko working a speed bag. Ultimately, the speed bag emerges victorious. Bosko likely would have been better off sending his shadow out to fight "Gas-House Harry", a hulking brute seen punching an anvil.

For a short nominally about a boxing match, very little which takes place in the ring is itself noteworthy. Most of the short covers events outside the ring. There's a very nice sequence revolving around streetcars full of fans headed to the fight. It looks like they just re-used the same drawing twice to repeat a gag. The same seems to be the case for a sequence in the ring where the champ gets groggy and also a repetitive shot featuring a loud hippo fan of Bosko's, which is not only repeated several times in this short, but was used in at least one other Bosko short, if I recall correctly.

There are two really funny bits inside the ring-Bosko being revived by his trainer after the first round and Bosko and the champ exchanging blows, only to simultaneously knock the referee out of the ring! Bosko doesn't fare too well in the end, even with a long count by the referee. The ending is cute, though. I hope this will eventually be released as part of a future Looney Tunes Golden Collection. Recommended.

Boxing Bosko

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 29 May 2017]

The Bosko cartoons may not be animation masterpieces, but they are fascinating as examples of Looney Tunes in their early days before the creation of more compelling characters and funnier and more creative cartoons. There are some good cartoons, as well as some average or less ones.

'Battling Bosko' has good enjoyment value and as far as Bosko cartoons go it's generally one of the better ones. It has been well established by now that the Bosko cartoons should not be seen for their stories, which was never a strong suit (quite the opposite), and the story here is very thin and predictable. Some of the cartoon is very repetitive and despite a nice setting the premise has been done to death since and has been executed more consistently and imaginatively.

With Bosko himself, he is a limited character and not particularly interesting, but he is likable enough and doesn't behave as idiotically as he did in his previous cartoon. His opponent is imposing and amusing enough.

As always, the animation is good. Not exactly refined but fluid and crisp enough with some nice detail, it is especially good in the meticulous backgrounds and some remarkably flexible yet natural movements for Bosko. The music doesn't disappoint either, its infectious energy, rousing merriment, lush orchestration and how well it fits with the animation is just a joy.

Sound quality has clarity and the synchronisation isn't sloppy and has imagination. The way Bosko is animated is well done and remarkably natural. The gags are mostly very nicely done, with two especially fun ones. The ending is indeed cute.

On the whole, decent and worth watching definitely. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Bosko boxing?!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 12 May 2021]

While few folks would consider the Bosko films materpieces, or even good to many, they are historically important in that they were the first cartoons by Looney Tunes. And, in making bad films with insipid characters like Bosko they learned through trial and error that the public preferred edgier, funny cartoon characters, such as Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. In other words, the Bosko cartoons were a learning opportunity for the young animators to experiment...but they certainly don't hold up very well today. Why? Because instead of begin edgy and funny, these cartoons tended to be saccharinely sweet and are usually filled with singing and dancing. However, in those where they abandoned this formula, which wasn't often, the cartoons were much more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, "Battling Bosko" begins with Bosko singing to his girlfriend, Honey, over the phone. Fortunately, this didn't last long and cute was pretty much tossed out the window, as Bosko began a boxing match against the Champ...a huge and scary looking guy! Does tiny Bosko stand a chance?!

This cartoon, oddly enough, worked for me...especially the ending, which came as a complete surprise! Cute, but in a good way, and worth seeing...this is what Bosko SHOULD have been like...but generally wasn't.