Bosko's Mechanical Man

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's Mechanical Man' is neither among the best or worst Bosko cartoons, a middling and slightly above average one if you will. The premise is an interesting one, not used to full potential but has its moments.

Admittedly, as expected, the story is thin often and more an excuse to string the gags a lot. Pacing could have been tighter, at times it's a bit draggy, and Bosko is still a bit limited as a character and not exactly funny or interesting. His dog is funnier and more interesting, as is charming Honey but it's the robot that steals the show.

As always for a Bosko cartoon 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. Bosko's rendition of "Sweet Georgia" is fun.

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 have their moments of fun and invention, but that quality doesn't come consistently, some of them needed to be far sharper and less predictable.

In conclusion, middling and above average but inconsistent. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Bosko's Mechanical Man (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Early Looney Tunes short from Warner has Bosko at his girlfriend's house and he's not too happy to be having to do all sorts of chores. He then reads that robots can do whatever you want so he gathers up various parts lying around the house and builds one but, like Frankenstein, learns not to build things from the dead. This is a fair short that manages to keep you entertained throughout the running time but in the end there aren't enough laughs to make it anything overly special. The highlight, of course, is the robot coming to life and causing all sorts of damage but it's the dog that gets most of the pain as the robot electrocutes him! The animation is pretty good if you like this early form and Bosko is as lively as ever.