. . . for the Fat Cat One Per Centers--represented here by Honey's thoughtless cat, Wilbert--when their chickens finally come home to roost. Wilbert plays a Game of Chicken with giant, life-threatening waves at the title site in this prophetic Looney Tune from the early 1930s, BOSKO AT THE BEACH. Warner's Animated Shorts Seers obviously are foreseeing what a Dangerous and Deadly Game would-be American Oligarchs such as Secretary of State designate Rex "Exxon Valdez" Tillerson (aka, the "Rapist of Chad") are playing with the New American Czar, Red Commie Russian KGB Chief Vlad "Mad Dog" Putin, and his puppet, Rump. As it says in Our Holy Book, "The Love of Money is the Root of All Evil," and these High Treason Traitor U.S. Fat Cats have heard about how the top One Per Cent Russian Oligarchs sit like the HOBBIT dragon Smaug on mounds of gold comprising 75% of the Russian nation's wealth, and they're extremely jealous, because "only" 45% of America's Loot is currently in their counterpart Piles of Lucre. So while Lucifer's stand-in, Wilbert, flounders at sea, with Bosko making only a Half-Hearted attempt at a rescue, Wilbert's direct shout out to theater audiences is meant to fall upon deaf ears. Don't let the Bleeding Hearts convince you that Fat Cat Billionaires are people, too, or the next thing you know you'll be sharing your bed with Demons and Ghouls.
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There are many aspects of "Bosko at the Beach" that are annoying and have not aged well. This one features Bosko and Honey singing "La, La, La, La" repeatedly....which is positively godawful! There also is a bit with dancing hotdogs...something which was seen already in a previous installment. This is lazy, as there had been only a couple dozen Bosko shorts before this one.
For the most part, the film consists of Bosko, his dog Bruno, Honey and Honey's unnamed cat all cavorting about the beach. Later, the cat nearly drowns and Bruno comes to the rescue.
While this is not among the most sickly sweet Bosko shorts, it is pretty sweet...and hard to take because of this. There is nothing in the way of humor or edginess...and the cartoon would bore most kids. I only watched it because I am a masochist and because I love the history of animation...and even if I generally hate Bosko, he was the first Looney Tunes character and because of that, I don't mind watching these shorts. -
llltdesq1 October 2006This is a fairly good example (good and bad) of the Bosko series. I intend to discuss some details, so let this be a spoiler warning:
This short opens with Bosko selling hot dogs (again-this bit was used in an earlier short, as were many other bits throughout the series) and there are some cute gags with the very active hot dogs. Bruno gets a tack in his paw and Bosko pulls it out, only to toss it back on to the sand carelessly. There's a nice bit (again a repeat from other shorts) with an octopus making itself a carousel for some seahorses.
Honey brings Wilber to the beach and Wilber proceeds to repeatedly venture near the shore, only to run away at the approaching wave. Gags like that were often repeated, maybe because they thought repetition made them funny or maybe so they could just re-use the same drawings and save some work for themselves.
Bosko sees Honey silhouetted under a beach umbrella and they go off to play the ukulele and sing "Ain't We Got Fun?" together, while playing a game of "Fetch" with Bruno (one of the funniest bits in the short-watch the sticks Bruno brings back). Meanwhile, back at the beach, the predictable happens and Wilber gets caught by the tide and pulled out to sea. There are some really nice visual bits with Bosko trying to swim out to rescue Wilber and Wilber has one very good line of dialog, but there's a lot of recycled footage here.
Bruno saves the day by grabbing an electric fan (with a power cord), taking it out to the beach, climbing on a log and using the fan as an outboard motor (there must have been an outlet in the log).
Nice short in spots, with Wilber much more tolerable than he often is in other shorts. I hope this ultimately makes it onto a Looney Tunes Golden Collection. Worth watching at least once. -
boblipton11 August 2002The early Bosko series of early Looney Tunes are rarely seen. First, because they are in black and white, and most people don't have the patience for black and white. Second, because Bosko and Honey, his girlfriend, are supposed to be Black -- or Afro-Americans, depending on which term you prefer -- and are offensively drawn according to the standards of the era. Lastly, because their construction is not very good -- this is the third of perhaps two dozen in which I have seen the same "carousel" gag.
Nonetheless, there are small variations in quality, mostly in terms of the artwork. I think I see some superiority in the ones in which future director Friz Freleng -- here credited under his real name, Isadore, is one of the animators. The lines are a little cleaner, the detail done better and certain things, such as water, is drawn more interestingly.
I cannot seriously recommend this or, indeed, any of the Bosko cartoons to a casual watcher, nor any of the Looney Tunes of the era, but if you wish to study them for historical interest, the variations mentioned above are something to watch out for. -
Bosko at the Beach is another amusing Looney Tunes cartoon from Hugh Harmon-Rudolf Productions in association with Leon Schlesinger and distributed by Warner Bros. In this one, Bosko is selling hot dogs (some amusing animation involving those food goods dancing and jumping rope are done here) with pet Bruno. Honey is also here at the beach with her cat, Wilber. When they join together, they sing "Ain't We Got Fun" while Bruno keeps fetching bigger sticks from Bosko. Wilber stays near the shore and gets caught in the wave so Bosko swims to try to rescue him. Bruno gets his log with fan attached as an outboard motor (does the log have an outlet there?) and gets both Bosko and Wilber rescued as we iris out...Another pretty amusing early Warner Bros. cartoon short that should be entertaining enough for anyone interested in early vintage cartoons. I loved the side gag of an octopus giving eight sea horses a ride on each of his tentacles. Friz Freling (credited as Isadore here) is one of the animators. I saw this on YouTube.
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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.
'Bosko at the Beach' is enjoyable, though hit and miss. 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 material borders on the repetitive and the pacing is not always as tight as it could have been.
While he is decent and fun enough, Bosko is sort of limited as a character. His dog Bruno is a much funnier and more interesting character, as well as being more endearing. Wilber is tolerable, more so than usual.
As always, however, 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.
On the whole, enjoyable. 7/10 Bethany Cox