User Reviews

"Box Car Blues" is the 6th Bosko cartoon and the 5th to be shown theatrically. It seems that the very first one was only made to show executives and distributors.

Like nearly all of the Harmon-Ising cartoons of the 1930s, this one sticks to a formula that incudes cutesy animals, anthropomorphic characters (such as the train with arms and legs), singing and dancing as well as minimal plots. This is typical of many 30s cartoons...which is why the 1940s offered such a huge advance over the 1930s when it came to animated shorts.

In this one, a train is struggling to go up amazingly impossible hills. Bosko is hitching a ride and when one of the cars becomes detached, he goes for a wild ride. This ride seems to go on forever and frequently reuses animation cels in order to save money.

All in all, this short seemed like a step back for the franchise and comes off as pretty cheap and plotless. The only outstanding thing about it is the music...which is actually quite nice when combined with the animation.

Bosko, who seems to be stereotypical (for the time) black man, starred in these early features. At times it becomes quite unsettling. In this one, he is a hobo in a box car. The train (which is really quite a clever animated character) loses the boxcar as it goes over a steep hill. The rest of the cartoon involves Bosko (and a cow) trying to save themselves as the train car zooms out of control. There are some interesting things, but most of them are repeats of previous cartoons. Overall, decent for the time.

Just watched this Bosco cartoon on YouTube. In this one, he's on a train with someone singing a song as that train goes up a really steep hill with some of the tracks missing. Then the train breaks apart with Bosco on the last one that disconnects and goes the other way. I'll stop there and just say there's quite a bit of unusual gags that you'll only find in these late silent/early talkie cartoons when animators were at their most cartoony, no matter how absurd they truly were. Like that "hill" becoming a person who pulls up his/her pants which causes the disconnected track to connect. Oh, and while Bosco adopts his "Mickey Mouse" falsetto here, when he says "Mammy!" in a dark place, you can bet some of his origins were in imitation of Al Jolson! So on that note, Box Car Blues is worth a look for anyone interested in these early animations.

This is a typical Bosko short: put him in a situation, some means of playing music, introduce a predicament or three for him to largely ignore blithely, usually singing as he does so and fill with sight gags. Here, Bosko has a partner in song, a pig rather than Honey. The use of music is the best thing here in an otherwise average cartoon. Worth watching. Recommended for fans of Harman and Ising and the old black and white cartoons.

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.

After an interesting if just slightly above average and not much more pilot cartoon 'The Talk-Ink Kid', the decent 'Sinkin' in the Bathtub' 'Congo Jazz' and 'Hold Anything' and the very average 'The Booze Hangs High', 'Box Car Blues' is a nice cartoon and one of the better Bosko cartoons at this particular point in the series, if not a cartoon masterpiece.

Unsurprisingly, the story is slight to the point of being plot-less, basically an excuse to string along music and gags, and the pacing is at times erratic, with parts just right, parts rushed and parts slightly draggy. It does feel very routine too, and Bosko has shown more personality before.

'Box Car Blues' animation is not bad at all. 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 is 'Box Car Blues' highlight component, its infectious energy, rousing merriment, lush orchestration and how well it fits with the animation is just a joy.

While never hilarious the gags are amusing at times and parts of the cartoon are cute and don't reach bizarre depths like 'The Booze Hangs High'. The sound is not too static either.

In summary, decent if not great Bosko cartoon. 7/10 Bethany Cox

One of the best of the Boscos, with the runaway freight car giving the animators the chance for all manner of dynamic movement and the repeats they use only adding to the rhythm.

Bosco shouting "Mammy" in close up on his third tunnel is about as funny as it gets.Our hero has lost his ethnic voice by now.

These early cartoons represent a transition between the Pat Sullivan era and the Loony Toons, whose Schlesinger titles they carry, but even apart from that historical novelty, their lively use of black and white makes them agreeable entertainment all this time later.