Here we go. Th demo reel that lead to Looney Tunes. Harman and Ising created this "non-discriptive inkblot" for Leon Schlesinger who was looking for a cartoon star for Warner Bros. Since I wasn't around in the 30s, I don't know if Bosko was really "a star", but I do know he was WB's principal cartoon (their only one at the time). This demo reel involves Rudolph Ising at the drawing board trying to think up a new cartoon (and smoking away to top it off! Yeah that'll get your brain thinking). He then out-of-the-blue draws a human-like character who abruptly comes to life and names himself Bosko, nobody else except Bosko. Ising asks what he can do. Bosko does a tap dance and an Irish jig. He notices the audience and Ising asks if he can make them laugh. Bosko asks for a piano. He plays "Danny Boy". A few piano gags occur here until Ising gets tired of Bosko's "rotten" singing. He sucks Bosko back into the pen and squirts his "ink" anatomy into the ink case, and then Ising leaves the scene. Bosko sticks his head out to tell the audience "So long folks, see you all later!" A foreshadowing of the "That's all Folks" tagline that would be added to the Looney Tunes cartoons. I kinda like this short. For a demo short, it ain't bad. It was rightly added to the Looney Tunes Golden collection volume 1, and I'm hoping that more Bosko shorts appear in future volumes. Bosko may not have been the greatest cartoon character (no real personality), but if it weren't for him, we would never have gotten the Looney Tunes. And holy freak, what a world this would NOT have been without Looney Tunes.
14 Reviews
A short cartoon film that set off Looney Tunes
Mightyzebra28 November 2008
As long as we remember that this cartoon is racist (because Bosko is a black man) and that when the makers made it they would not have realized that it would be as insulting as it is, we can enjoy this cartoon as much as we can. I personally found this a bit boring, but then of course I remembered that the jokes and the portrayal of cartoon and human man were amazing in 1929. I preferred Bosko in his next appearance, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub", because it is more funny and has a storyline to it. As he is, I find Bosko a sweet character and I cannot help disliking him slightly when I remember he is actually a black man. I thought the way they combined animation and the human hand back then amazing - this was when my grandparents were babies or not yet born! I watched this cartoon because it was the first thing that lead up to Looney Tunes - so we must be grateful for it.
In this cartoon, we first see a man (who is Rudolph Ising) drawing something. We watch his pen movements and find he has created a character called Bosko. Bosko comes to life on the pad and goes up to all sorts of antics...
I recommend this cartoon to people who are interested in Looney Tunes history and to people who do not mind rasiscm in cartoons too much. Enjoy "Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid"! :-)
7 and a half out of ten.
In this cartoon, we first see a man (who is Rudolph Ising) drawing something. We watch his pen movements and find he has created a character called Bosko. Bosko comes to life on the pad and goes up to all sorts of antics...
I recommend this cartoon to people who are interested in Looney Tunes history and to people who do not mind rasiscm in cartoons too much. Enjoy "Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid"! :-)
7 and a half out of ten.
Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid is interesting pilot for Warner Bros. cartoon series
tavm15 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid is Hugh Harmon and Rudy Ising's pilot film for an animated series they were shopping to various studios after working on the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts for Disney and Mintz. Independent producer Leon Schlesinger accepted the pilot and commissioned a series of Bosko Looney Tunes shorts for distribution by Warner Bros. In this initial entry, Ising is at the drawing board drawing a little black figure. This figure's first line is, "Well, I'm glad to be free now that I'm out of the pen." He then whistles and tap dances. He then asks for a piano which Ising obliges. Bosko plays and sings "Sonny Boy" but awfully! Having covered his ears, Rudy can't stand it anymore and sends Bosko back into his pen with the piano and stool. After putting the ink back in the inkwell, Bosko comes back out and says, "So long, folks!" The end title also says what Bosko just said starting the Warner Bros. tradition of ending the shorts with something other than The End. Amusing pilot for the Bosko series and an interesting start for the Warner Bros. cartoon studio. While the title character has something of a Negro dialect, there's nothing really offensive about him unless you consider a young black boy tap dancing as such. Certainly a nice tribute to Max Fleischer's Koko the Clown series. Worth seeing for animation buffs especially those of Warner Bros. cartoons.
You can almost smell the desperation...
jbacks31 October 2005
Everything the previous commenter said was correct with the exception that Harman-Ising did not produce this specifically for Leon Schlesinger. They created it to showcase their ability to synchronize speech on their own dime and shopped it around--- Leon was the guy that took the bait. You have to understand that Leon Schlesinger saw his title card business going down the drain in 1929 thanks to talkies. And it must be remembered that while the cartoon contains bad acting, racial stereotypes (not exactly a rare occurrence in pre-1949 cartoons from any studio, not just WB), you have to look at this from the context of both the time and purpose: the damn thing was never meant to be released at all! It's simply a plot-less 3 minute demo reel made to show off synchronized speech. Disney didn't accomplish this with Steamboat Willie! Leon Schlesinger was a hard-nosed businessman without an ounce of artistic creativity... which he made up for by arrogance. The cheap SOB fought continually with the guys over production costs, color, etc.--- all Leon cared about was the net profit, and not one whit about art. To his credit, he seldom interfered with the creative process--- unless it cost him money. It should also be pointed out that Leon was overjoyed when Harman & Ising finally left him--- artists were cheap and he had learned the business end of the cartoon business. Like it or not, this is a monumentally important cartoon from a purely technical perspective--- but you were never meant to see it! As a result, I would argue this is one of those rare instances where ratings shouldn't apply.
Bosko looks like a minstrel character
lee_eisenberg31 January 2007
Aside from the fact that "Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid" has little plot - other than cartoonist Rudolf Ising creating the title character - it should make us cringe in the 21st century, as Bosko looks and sounds like a black-face character. This cartoon is worth watching as a reference point (and I guess that it gets justified by the fact that it indirectly led to the creation of Bugs, Daffy, Porky, etc.), but it's not worth much otherwise. There's a reason that Bosko didn't become as prominent as the most famous Looney Tunes; producer Leon Schlesinger knew the better ideas when he saw them later. Available on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1.
The Premier Looney Tunes Character
Dawalk-125 September 2017
My first exposure to Bosko and his girlfriend, Honey, was through the Tiny Toon Adventures episode, "Fields of Honey". I didn't watch any of the Bosko cartoons growing up and I wouldn't until years later, after I got the sixth volume DVD box set of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection. I also wasn't aware that Bosko and Honey had previously different character designs from their appearance on Tiny Toons (although I'm aware of why this was done, some members of the crew at WB Animation wanted something done with them again, but didn't know how to go about it in their original forms without being offensive to a certain minority group and not being unable to bypass that). I would check out this short on Youtube.
I wouldn't have thought that there are several people who have beef with Bosko and his filmography, finding them boring or non-entertaining. He may not have been the best or even the most perfect Looney Tunes character, but he's still better, if somewhat slightly, than his bland, white-washed counterpart, Buddy. This and Bosko's other cartoons may have been a slow start, but they serve as something of a, for lack of a better word I can think of to use, preview of what was to come later. Before Bugs, Daffy, Porky, and others, there was Bosko, as none of the others I mentioned were even thoughts yet.
Similar to the openings of the Fleischer brothers' Koko The Clown cartoons, Rudolf Ising, as the cartoonist, is seen striving to think up a new cartoon character when suddenly the idea comes to him and he comes up with Bosko. It's somewhat confusing and inconsistent when it comes to describing what Bosko is: As it's mentioned in the title, he's a talk-ink kid, but other instances mention that he's supposed to be a caricature of a black person. I'll just presume he's both then. When I first heard him speak in this, I, too, found it surprising in how different his voice sounded from the one heard in his other 'toons. His original voice is grating and hard on the ears, and I can see why it was dropped, and replaced. His singing voice is no better, as he doesn't sing as well as he plays the piano. He's a better dancer as well as a pianist though. He demonstrates all of these as he's brought to life for the viewers (even if the demo short was never intended to be released for public viewing). After no longer being able to take his off-key singing, Ising sucks Bosko into his pen and places him in the inkwell. After Ising leaves, Bosko emerges from the inkwell and vows to the audience that he'll return and bids them "so long, folks", which was used as a bidding at the end of many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts before being replaced with the similar "that's all, folks", which would be used at the end of the the majority of shorts prior to the DePatie-Freleng era. This was created basically as a possibility for a new animated short series to be pitched and sold to Warner Bros.
After a few years of Bosko cartoons at WB, Ising and partner, Hugh Harman, would take the rights to the character with them to MGM, following a dispute with producer Leon Schlesinger. Bosko and Honey cartoons would continue being made, this time as part of the Happy Harmonies series at MGM. But eventually, Bosko would be redesigned into a somewhat, more realistically-looking black boy who appeared in a few shorts (although it's denied that they're one and the same, and despite sharing the name, they're considered two completely different characters).
This may had been considered slightly great for it's time, due to the novelty factor. But there isn't much else to it. The only great things about it are the interactions Bosko has with Ising, Bosko breaking the fourth wall, and pioneering a then-new series. It's only good for watching for historical purposes, really. Check it out for that reason to watch it, at least once. There are later WB cartoon featurettes I'm more into than this one. This may be average, but it's still an alright effort. But the staff at Termite Terrace/WB Cartoons would eventually find their niche and once they did, things truly took off from there. It's only recommended if anyone can pay no attention to the ethnic stereotype (as I can think of a short that's even more racist than Bosko).
I wouldn't have thought that there are several people who have beef with Bosko and his filmography, finding them boring or non-entertaining. He may not have been the best or even the most perfect Looney Tunes character, but he's still better, if somewhat slightly, than his bland, white-washed counterpart, Buddy. This and Bosko's other cartoons may have been a slow start, but they serve as something of a, for lack of a better word I can think of to use, preview of what was to come later. Before Bugs, Daffy, Porky, and others, there was Bosko, as none of the others I mentioned were even thoughts yet.
Similar to the openings of the Fleischer brothers' Koko The Clown cartoons, Rudolf Ising, as the cartoonist, is seen striving to think up a new cartoon character when suddenly the idea comes to him and he comes up with Bosko. It's somewhat confusing and inconsistent when it comes to describing what Bosko is: As it's mentioned in the title, he's a talk-ink kid, but other instances mention that he's supposed to be a caricature of a black person. I'll just presume he's both then. When I first heard him speak in this, I, too, found it surprising in how different his voice sounded from the one heard in his other 'toons. His original voice is grating and hard on the ears, and I can see why it was dropped, and replaced. His singing voice is no better, as he doesn't sing as well as he plays the piano. He's a better dancer as well as a pianist though. He demonstrates all of these as he's brought to life for the viewers (even if the demo short was never intended to be released for public viewing). After no longer being able to take his off-key singing, Ising sucks Bosko into his pen and places him in the inkwell. After Ising leaves, Bosko emerges from the inkwell and vows to the audience that he'll return and bids them "so long, folks", which was used as a bidding at the end of many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts before being replaced with the similar "that's all, folks", which would be used at the end of the the majority of shorts prior to the DePatie-Freleng era. This was created basically as a possibility for a new animated short series to be pitched and sold to Warner Bros.
After a few years of Bosko cartoons at WB, Ising and partner, Hugh Harman, would take the rights to the character with them to MGM, following a dispute with producer Leon Schlesinger. Bosko and Honey cartoons would continue being made, this time as part of the Happy Harmonies series at MGM. But eventually, Bosko would be redesigned into a somewhat, more realistically-looking black boy who appeared in a few shorts (although it's denied that they're one and the same, and despite sharing the name, they're considered two completely different characters).
This may had been considered slightly great for it's time, due to the novelty factor. But there isn't much else to it. The only great things about it are the interactions Bosko has with Ising, Bosko breaking the fourth wall, and pioneering a then-new series. It's only good for watching for historical purposes, really. Check it out for that reason to watch it, at least once. There are later WB cartoon featurettes I'm more into than this one. This may be average, but it's still an alright effort. But the staff at Termite Terrace/WB Cartoons would eventually find their niche and once they did, things truly took off from there. It's only recommended if anyone can pay no attention to the ethnic stereotype (as I can think of a short that's even more racist than Bosko).
only watch as a curiosity
movieman_kev2 November 2005
The first Looney Tunes short ever features a blank ink spot that talks in an uneducated way and this is very fortunately NOT a barometer of how that rest of the animated shorts would be. This is painful to watch at times and lacks the humor or wit of later cartoon shorts by the studio, but this is where it all started and I guess one has to give it props for that if nothing else. I don't really recommend this on anything but prosperity's sake. This animated short can be found as an extra in the "From the Vaults" section on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1.
My Grade: D
My Grade: D
Some film buffs consider this the best Looney Tune of the 1920s . . .
oscaralbert28 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
. . . but I'm not so sure. There's no Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, or Porky Pig here. There's not so much as a Yosemite Sam. Speaking of Red, there's also a complete lack of color. And the sound quality is not much better than that achieved by Edison studios in the 1890s. In broaching the possibility of being the world's first generation to sound poorer than that of their grandparents, Bosko's cartoonists try to make him sing. The resulting fingernails-on-a-balloon screeching is so insufferable that they have to quickly suck Bosko back into the ink pen from which he came. When Bosko talks in his normal voice, it's in a racist AMOS AND ANDY idiom (and fairly inconsistent, to boot, as Bosco lays this on the thickest at first, before getting slightly less Uncle Tomish). If the future of cartoons had been put up to some sort of plebiscite vote on BOSCO, THE TALK-INK KID, it's hard to imagine that this creature would have carried any day. But, as they say, when you start at the bottom, you shouldn't look a silver filling in the mouth!
Amazing What People Laughed At Back Then
Seamus282922 October 2008
This rarely seen (and for good reasons)short was originally a test reel for the Warner Brothers upper brass to see Warner's new animation department. Pity 'ol Leon S. didn't have anything better for them. This pathetic exercise in on screen racism lacks any thing resembling humour (at least for these times). It's obvious that Bosko made an impact with the big wheels at Warners (although Bosko would be re-vamped from a shuffling big eyed stereotype to a monkey/boy (take that,creationists). This unfunny short clocks in at a mere 3 minutes,but still seems like 3 hours (or more). Thankfully,Warner Bros. would get a lot better than this as the years went by.
Bosko debuts
TheLittleSongbird12 March 2017
'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid' is fascinating from a historical stand-point, being Bosko's debuting cartoon. It is also interesting as an example of 20s animation before more interesting characters and more creative and funnier cartoons were made.
It is not a great cartoon, nor is it an awful one. This said, it is easy to see why 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid' has divided viewers here. The story isn't exactly new and actually is so thin on the ground that one can be forgiven for mistaking the cartoon as plot-less. It does have its slow spots too, and Bosko is not too endearing a character yet, a stereotype that is not for all tastes with a voice that can grate and the Jewish imitation is questionable at best.
However, the animation is not bad at all, not exactly refined but fluid and crisp enough with some nice detail. The music is suitably bubbly and lush, though like with some Bosko cartoons the sound quality lacks resonance and sounds static in places.
Loved the involvement of Rudolf Ising, and his charming and amusing interplay with Bosko is one of 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid's' selling points. While not perfect the lip-synchronisation is remarkably impressive with some very natural expressions from Bosko, and the dialogue is surprisingly sophisticated in places. Some of 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid' is amusing while never being hilarious.
In conclusion, interesting though not great Bosko debut that is worth seeing for historical significance. 6/10 Bethany Cox
It is not a great cartoon, nor is it an awful one. This said, it is easy to see why 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid' has divided viewers here. The story isn't exactly new and actually is so thin on the ground that one can be forgiven for mistaking the cartoon as plot-less. It does have its slow spots too, and Bosko is not too endearing a character yet, a stereotype that is not for all tastes with a voice that can grate and the Jewish imitation is questionable at best.
However, the animation is not bad at all, not exactly refined but fluid and crisp enough with some nice detail. The music is suitably bubbly and lush, though like with some Bosko cartoons the sound quality lacks resonance and sounds static in places.
Loved the involvement of Rudolf Ising, and his charming and amusing interplay with Bosko is one of 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid's' selling points. While not perfect the lip-synchronisation is remarkably impressive with some very natural expressions from Bosko, and the dialogue is surprisingly sophisticated in places. Some of 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid' is amusing while never being hilarious.
In conclusion, interesting though not great Bosko debut that is worth seeing for historical significance. 6/10 Bethany Cox
My how times have changed!
planktonrules15 February 2014
"Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid" is a rarely seen demo reel that pitched a new character, Bosko and ended up being the basis for Looney Tunes. Considering how wonderful the Looney Tunes films were in the 1940s and 50s with the likes of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Pepe le Pew, it's amazing how rotten their original star, Bosko, was.
The film begins with an unidentified man (Rudolf Ising) sitting at an easel. He draws Bosko and then interacts with him--a style used often before, such as with the Fleischer Brothers Ko-Ko the Clown cartoons. However, when Bosko talked, I was shocked. Instead of the cute voice you'd later hear in the rather saccharine cartoons, he has a VERY stereotypical black voice--and it's NOT a particularly nice one. Today such a voice would probably offend most people and it's obvious that THE joke was that he was a black person. Not a whole lot to base your character on for a series of cartoons! Pretty lame and unfunny to boot.
The film begins with an unidentified man (Rudolf Ising) sitting at an easel. He draws Bosko and then interacts with him--a style used often before, such as with the Fleischer Brothers Ko-Ko the Clown cartoons. However, when Bosko talked, I was shocked. Instead of the cute voice you'd later hear in the rather saccharine cartoons, he has a VERY stereotypical black voice--and it's NOT a particularly nice one. Today such a voice would probably offend most people and it's obvious that THE joke was that he was a black person. Not a whole lot to base your character on for a series of cartoons! Pretty lame and unfunny to boot.
Harman/Ising Demo Reel After leaving Mintz Studios
larryloc25 July 2001
How the mighty are fallen, Harman / Ising did not last long at Mintz Studio after he talked them into leaving Disney when he took Oswald away.
This was their demo reel and it owes more to the Out of the Inkwell Koko shorts then it does to Disney. Racial stereo types, awful sound, and very bad acting by Rudy Ising, the human cartoonist trying to play the Max Fleischer part.
It is very hard to believe that they got a job on the weight of this reel. But Schlesinger must have seen something in it or more likely knew their work at Disney.
This was their demo reel and it owes more to the Out of the Inkwell Koko shorts then it does to Disney. Racial stereo types, awful sound, and very bad acting by Rudy Ising, the human cartoonist trying to play the Max Fleischer part.
It is very hard to believe that they got a job on the weight of this reel. But Schlesinger must have seen something in it or more likely knew their work at Disney.
Lol
neutredlum3 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Bosko the talking ink kid is good for that time but for now it's not very good yes it's Hoskins debut but the noises on the background were irritating I know that was normal for that time but still didn't really like it maybe that's because I'm not the biggest fan of shorts still great for that time.
The art of animation
Horst_In_Translation27 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid" is a 4-minute black-and-white cartoon from 1929, so this one is almost 90 years old already and from the very early days of animation. In this sound film, we see animator Rudolf Ising how he brings his cartoon character Bosko to life and it is among the most known Bosko films, probably because you see Ising and because of the mix of live action and animation, which was not too uncommon during that time. Bosko was a fairly famous character in American cartoons in the early 1930s when color was not yet a factor. There is nothing really about the story here. Bosko, who is admittedly not the most interesting character, plays some piano, sings a bit (well really only shouts) and gets caught by Ising afterward. You really need to love animation to see something of quality in here, but it's a fine achievement I guess in terms of shaping the course for future (much better) animation as the Golden Age of Animation was not too far away anymore by the late 1920s.
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