''Battling Bosko'' is an American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

. It is a '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon, featuring Bosko, the original star of the series. Like most ''Looney Tunes'' of its day, it was directed by Hugh Harman;

Frank Marsales Frank Alfred Marsales (31 August 188614 August 1975) was a Canadian composer best known for his work scoring many classic animated films by Warner Bros. Cartoons in the 1930s. He also worked with Walter Lantz Studios in the mid to late 1930s. ...

provided musical direction. The film was released in 1932, though one sourceMaltin, Leonard. ''Of Mice and Magic: a History of American Animated Cartoons''. Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1980. p. 404 gives an ambiguous date of 1931–1932.

Summary

Pugilist Bosko stands on a chair, merrily boxing his punching bag; at her home, an admiring Honey reads that her sweetheart is going to fight the Champion and turns on the

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

to hear the same news, reacting with disdain when the

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narration ...

decries Bosko's chances of victory, kissing a small portrait of Bosko as she does so; the Champion, the gigantic Gas House Harry, trains to the delight of his tiny supporters. Bosko's training concludes when he is knocked off his seat by his bag; just then, our hero's telephone rings, Honey, to his delight, being on the other end. She has called to encourage him; he, in turn, reassures her of his chances and the two engage in a scatting duet, eventually joined by Honey's

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

. The screen fades. Battling Bosko

Outside the stadium,

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

s featuring tidings of the Big Fight are distributed. Stuffed trolleys bear myriads to fill the seats, deflating on the evacuation of their passengers. Honey still sits at home, lightly tickling her piano as the radio sounds:

Graham Cracker A graham cracker (pronounced or in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually ho ...

(a parody of

Graham McNamee Thomas Graham McNamee (July 10, 1888 – May 9, 1942) was an American radio broadcaster, the medium's most recognized national personality in its first international decade. He originated play-by-play sports broadcasting for which he was awa ...

) announces that the great opposites are entering the ring. We cut to each; Bosko silences his cheering fans to serenade them with a song, at last leaping happily upon the ropes before taking his seat. Gas House Harry laughs derisively at something his manager whispers to him. The names of the competitors are announced and the match begins when the referee, an

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

, rings the bell by means of a cat's tail. The Champion has the advantage, it seems, knocking the challenger back with a mighty slug. A dazed Bosko's manager rushes to his aid, fanning him and gently spraying him with water until, tickled, he playfully insists that his manager stop it. Back in the brawl, Bosko buffets the Champion such that the ship tattooed on his chest sinks. A

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

-spectator holding a

lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are ava ...

continually cheers for Bosko. The ostrich-referee is watching closely, occasionally coming between the competitors until they mutually punch him out of the arena after a dance-divertissement. Bosko dodges punch after punch; Honey nervously listens as the radio-announcer states that Bosko is up, then down, then up, then down: we return to the action to find that the Champion is standing upon poor Bosko's feet, punching him repeatedly such that he falls backward only to reascend again to meet the assailant's fist. At last, Bosko seems finished; the count begins. Honey knows what she must do: springing to action, Bruno by her side, she darts out of the house towards the stadium (briefly delayed when a yelping Bruno's tail is caught in the door.) She reaches Bosko's side as the count continues and calls out to him: rousing briefly, bleary-eyed Bosko turns to his sweetheart and then to us with a sleepy "Aw, hot dang!" Reaching for a corner, he draws up a layer of the arena as though it were a blanket, draping it over himself as he falls comfortably asleep.

References

External links

* *
''Battling Bosko'' on YouTube (unrestored)
{{Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies 1932 films 1932 animated films Films scored by Frank Marsales Films directed by Hugh Harman Bosko films Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films American black-and-white films 1930s Warner Bros. animated short films American boxing films