Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid

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.

'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

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.

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.

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.