Bosko the Doughboy (Censorship is Hell)

 

(Please note: this is not to be confused with “Battling Bosko,” which is about Bosko being a boxer and hasn’t been edited for anything on a notable American TV channel or in unnamed syndication. Also, the video versions of this short may contain quick cuts and flashing lights that could cause issues with photosensitivity or trigger those who violence/war-based PTSD. Viewer discretion is strongly advised)

Director: Hugh Harman

Summary: In a shining example of how not every Bosko cartoon was inoffensive fluff, this outing sees out hero in WWI-style trench warfare. The juxtaposition of the horrors of war with the rubber hose humor and physical comedy that was common in animated shorts like this is what sells it.

The Channel(s): Nickelodeon

Part(s) Edited: Just because this short is a vast departure from your typical Bosko cartoon doesn’t mean it isn’t still a Bosko cartoon. Much like “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub,” “Box Car Blues,” and “Ups ‘n Downs,” the version shown on Nickelodeon’s Nick@Nite version of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon cut the ending where, after Bosko rescues the nameless hippo from swallowing a cannonball, the cannonball explodes on Bosko and he does the Al Jolson in blackface “Mammy” schtick.

I’m amazed the rest of the comedic war violence wasn’t edited, nor was the scene of the longjohns dumping the bomb on the cannon by opening up its back flap (I’m guessing this was an early example of scatological [“bathroom”] humor in the same vein as the duckling who had to go on “The Booze Hangs High”).

How It Plays With the Edit: Another sign that this is a Bosko cartoon at heart: the ending, while abrupt, doesn’t affect the rest of the short.

(original version)

(approximation of how the Nickelodeon edited version played out. Nickelodeon's edits were a lot nicer than what I came up with, so don't take this as actual footage)

Availability Uncut: And just like that, we have a trait that separates it from most other Bosko shorts. This one does have an official release. It’s on the sixth and final volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set (on the second disc, which features wartime cartoons. A lot are the World War II-era shorts that would otherwise be edited or banned from airing, but there are some that just take place in a wartime setting). It’s still a public domain short (and has been since 1960), so, if you don’t want to buy the Golden Collection DVD, you can easily watch it on YouTube or other video websites. I recommend the CCCartoons version, which actually has it uncut and in high quality.

Update: As of 2026, "Bosko the Doughboy" is also available (restored and in high-def) as a special feature on the Blu-ray version of the movie Possessed, starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford.

Bosko Shipwrecked (Cannibal Run)

 

Director: Hugh Harman (though the title card lists both Harman and Ising as directors, this was the first short where Harman does solo direction and the first time one person is credited for a Warner Bros cartoon)

Summary: After a terrible storm at sea, Bosko ends up shipwrecked on an island, where he must contend with the wildlife that stole his hat and the angry jungle natives who would love to have him for dinner…as the main course.

The Channel(s): Nickelodeon

Part(s) Edited: The angry jungle native part. All of it.

How It Plays With the Edit: I think it’s just better to show you the uncut version vs. the edited version (the latter of which I had to make myself, since I couldn’t find an actual clip), though this might be the first time a scene cut in a Bosko cartoon actually affects the story and not the flow of gags set to music:

(original uncut version)

Link to Edited Version

Availability Uncut: Another day, another public domain Bosko short that hasn’t been officially released on DVD, Blu-ray, or streaming as of this writing in 2024. However, it is on a lot of unofficial public domain DVDs (I remember having the Cartoon Craze DVD specifically titled, “Bosko Shipwrecked”) and, of course, YouTube and other video websites are an option.

Lady Play Your Mandolin ("...And Nothing of Value Was Lost")

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: When I say that the early black and white cartoons from Warner Bros had little to no plot, I mean it. The entire short is a flimsy excuse to show excessive drinking (which, considering that this was a pre-Code cartoon made before Prohibition in America was officially repealed, was rather daring in its day) and trippy animation set to the title song. What’s worse is that the Foxy character (who only starred in this short, “Smile, Darn Ya, Smile,” and “One More Time”) was such a blatant knock-off of Mickey Mouse that the character didn’t last long due to Walt Disney threatening to sue and the short itself saw no re-release or airing on television until Cartoon Network’s ToonHeads series did a special episode about the rare and obscure works of Warner Bros Studios. That being said, it is a fun short to watch and the title song is catchy.

The Channel(s): Cartoon Network (ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons)

Part(s) Edited: As mentioned in the summary, this cartoon was never re-released or shown on television until Cartoon Network’s animation history show ToonHeads did a special episode called ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons, which showcased the Warner Bros. Studio short films and live-action pieces that casual viewers wouldn’t know existed, such as gag reels showing what working at Termite Terrace was like, animated shorts made for military audiences (most notably Private Snafu and Mr. Hook), 1950s commercials using the Warner Bros characters, and a failed TV pilot called Philbert.

The ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons version trimmed the opening song to remove the duck playing the clarinet and dancing on the piano along to the title track; the gorilla waiter (who was also on “Goopy Geer”) walking through the bouncy party and coming in through the doorway laughing after the Joe E. Brown hippo wails like a police siren. The ToonHeads version also adds an iris effect transition when the gorilla waiter knocks on his head and we go to the scene of Foxy riding to the bar on his horse.

How It Plays With the Edit: I don’t know why any of this was done, except because of time and pacing. I do know the edited version on ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons kind of ruined the fun and bouncy tone of the music. As always, here’s a video comparison:

(original version)

(ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons version [starts at 6:14])

Availability Uncut: Since this is a public domain short (and has been since 1960), you can find the uncut version on YouTube and other video sites, as well as on some official releases. “Lady, Play Your Mandolin!” is available as a special feature on the 2013 Blu-ray release of the Edward G. Robinson/Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. gangster film Little Caesar and the 2023 Blu-ray release of the Richard Dix (yes, that really was his name) and Irene Dunne Western saga, Cimarron. A high-definition version is available on the streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery RIDE (and is the same high-def version on the Cimarron Blu-ray) and aired on MeTV+ (MeTV’s sister channel). You can also find the edited-for-time version as part of ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons on the first volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set and the second volume of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Blu-ray.

Update: “Lady, Play Your Mandolin” is no longer on Warner Media RIDE and, as of 2025, is streaming on Tubi.

Ups 'n Downs (Hot Dog Day Afternoon, or *This* Is The End?!)

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko, working as a hot vendor at an amusement park, ditches his post to compete in a horse race at a nearby track.

The Channel(s): Nickelodeon, syndication (Astra TV)

Part(s) Edited:

l Nickelodeon’s version cut a very bizarre scene (in a cartoon that’s already filled with the kind of rubberhose surrealism you’d see in 1930s animation that wasn’t Disney) where a dog buys a hot dog from Bosko and, just as the dog is about to eat it, the hot dog comes to life in and does the Al Jolson “Mammy” schtick from The Jazz Singer (which was a recurring pop culture reference in the older WB shorts) to beg the dog not to eat him and the dog immediately falls in love with the hot dog and the two skip away happily.

l Astra TV (a television station in Greece) aired a version of this short that, not only was redrawn and colorized, but also went under the title, “Off to the Races” and had an alternate ending to cover up the fact that Radio & Television Packagers, Inc. used an incomplete copy of the original as their source.

How It Plays With the Edit:

l Nickelodeon version: We’ve been through this before: we’re still in the era of the WB shorts having little-to-no plot, so whatever gags get cut for whatever reason probably won’t be missed, unless they’re the highlight of the short. Outside of an abrupt change in audio, there’s no effect.

l The Astra TV redrawn version: I’ll let the video comparison do the talking, but, if you want my opinion, the Astra TV version’s ending feels like the kind of corny comedy that plagued children’s cartoons before the rise of Nickelodeon and Western animation in general at least trying to elevate itself by making its children’s cartoons more creator-controlled and expanding animation to appeal to older viewers (whether it’s intense, dramatic HBO fare, like Spawn and Spicy City or the crude, irreverent comedies like The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, and Adult Swim’s early works):

(original version)

(redrawn Astra TV version)

Availability Uncut: No official release as of 2024 on streaming or home media. However, you can easily see the original black and white version and the Astra TV redrawn version on YouTube and other online video websites without worrying over copyright issues, as “Ups ‘n Downs” has been in the public domain since 1959.

The Booze Hangs High (Gross Hypocrisy)

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko dances and sings with farm animals and deals with a pig family getting drunk on discarded booze. That and a brief scene of a duckling interrupting a dance to use the bathroom are the highlights of this short. It’s not much, but, given how much the Warner Bros cartoons were trying to be like Disney, those scenes show that this won’t last.

Part(s) Edited: Here’s something: a Bosko cartoon that hasn’t been edited on Nickelodeon to remove a character doing the Al Jolson “Mammy!” schtick. Instead, Nickelodeon cut the part where the father pig’s drunken solo is interrupted when he belches up an eaten corncob, dusts it off, flicks off a kernel, and puts it back in a trap door in his stomach. This wouldn’t be a problem, except:

a) The scene isn’t as gross as described.

b) Nickelodeon back in the late 1980s into the 1990s was all about crude and gross humor. If they weren’t, Ren and Stimpy, all variations of Double Dare, and the whole idea of dumping slime on kids and adults (which originated from the Canadian sketch show You Can’t Do That on Television) wouldn’t exist.

c) No cuts were made to the scene of the duckling squirming in desperation and whispering to his mom that he needs to use the bathroom or the piglets getting drunk and their father catching them and joining in on the drunken antics. Hypocrisy in censorship will be a running theme as this series continues.

How It Plays With the Edit: As with the “Big Man from the North” example, I have access to both the uncut and edited on Nickelodeon version for you to see how both versions play:

Edited Version: 

Uncut Version: 

Availability Uncut: This is a public domain cartoon (having been one since 1959) and you can easily find it online or on bargain bin home media. However, this one does have an official release by Warner Bros. You can find it on the sixth and final volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set (it’s on the third disc dedicated to the early black and white shorts) or on the Blu-ray version of the Greta Garbo movie, Anna Christie. That version is an HD restored version, which is better quality than the DVD version.

Box Car Blues (Throw Mammy From the Car...Again!)

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko and a pig traveling as hobos in a boxcar.

Part(s) Edited: As the blog title implies, this post is more-or-less a sequel to the one for “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub”, as both that cartoon and this one were edited on Nickelodeon to remove Bosko yelling, “MAMMY!” during a perilous moment (in this case, it’s during the three times he goes through a tunnel on top of a boxcar). And, as I said in the first one, for more information about how and why this would be considered offensive, look up “Al Jolson” and the 1927 film, The Jazz Singer. Surprisingly, the train pulling the hill’s “pants” down, revealing polka-dot underwear and the hill coming to life and being embarrassed over it wasn’t cut. You’d think Nickelodeon’s censors at the time would have caught that. Then again, knowing what we know now about how the kid actors were treated on most Nickelodeon shows, maybe they looked the other way.

How It Plays With the Edit: We’re still in “edits that make no difference since the cartoon is thinly-plotted anyway” territory. There might be a slight jump in the music track, but nothing too jarring.

Availability Uncut: No physical media or streaming release as of 2024, but it is a public domain cartoon, so you can easily find it online, in bargain bin DVD releases, or right here:

Ain't Nature Grand? (Spit-Bit)

 

Director: Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Summary: Bosko’s fishing trip turns into a string of scenes where he cavorts with nature.

Part(s) Edited: Another light one from the days of Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon being a Nick at Night show. Bosko petting the fish until it spits in his face was cut. The Looney Tunes wiki says that there was a scene where Bosko gets bitten by the fish he pets, but I’ve scoured every uncut copy I could find and the biting scene doesn’t exist; only the spitting. If you care anything about people having access to correct information, please fix it. On top of that, there’s nothing overly-violent about spitting in someone’s face. Yes, it’s kinda rude and disgusting (especially since this premiered around the time when the Hays Code was written up as a guideline to proper movie content, but wouldn’t be fully enforced until 1934 and spitting back then was considered crude and disgusting enough to be a problem with the censors), but not violent. This is why I conclude that this was done either because Nickelodeon’s censors were really strict back in the late 1980s or it was just a cut made because the network needed that time for commercials.

How It Plays With the Edit: Since I can’t find evidence that this was edited, I like to imagine that the scene went from Bosko saying, “Ain’t that cute?” to the audience about the fish to the fish jumping out of his hands and back in the water. The cut doesn’t make or break the cartoon, since we’re still in the era of cartoons having thin plots and thinner characterization and only being a vehicle for visual gags set to music.

Availability Uncut: No official release as of 2024, but this is a public domain short, so your best bet is either on online video sites or bargain bin videotapes and DVDs that have compilations of old cartoons (and maybe a forgotten short film or live-action movie) that aren’t under copyright. Here’s the whole cartoon below for those who don’t want to go on YouTube:

There's also a redrawn colorized version of this short that exists, but, as far as I can tell, I never saw it on television. Here's a video showing the differences between the black and white and redrawn-colorized version: