Bosko Shipwrecked! (1931) User Reviews

The shipwrecking of Bosko

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 25 April 2017]

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.

'Bosko Shipwrecked' generally to me is one of the better Bosko cartoons. Not a great cartoon, but a decent one. As ever with a Bosko cartoon, the story is slight, would actually agree that it's even more slight and more generic than usual. There are mostly inventive gags here, but not as a consistent whole, with a couple of others forgettable and tired in timing. The stereotypical character of the Cannibal King won't bode for all taste buds, from personal view he was unappealingly drawn and not remotely amusing at all.

On the other hand, 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.

As aforementioned, most of the gags are quite inventive, Bosko while not a great character is more compelling than usual and the pacing is lively enough.

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

"Come on in--the water's fine!" . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 28 December 2016]

. . . calls the cannibalized skeleton emerging from the boiling iron pot to Captain Bosko, who's been miraculously transported (albeit bereft of his crew) from a foundering vessel caught in a squall to awaken face up on a tropical beach as BOSKO SHIPWRECKED! begins. Chased by a lion who's in turn eaten by a crocodile, taken for a ride on a runaway hippo, and almost munched upon by a Racist Cannibal King with some sort of speech impediment before being rescued by a rhino, Warner Bros.' always prophetic Looney Tuners obviously are warning We People of America's Far Future in the 21st Century of an upcoming Calamity, Catastrophe, Cataclysm, and Apocalypse rolled into one: namely, the Rump White House Residency. U.S. Attorney General designate Jeff Sessions, an Imperial Wizard in the KKK, surely is the Cannibal King waiting to consume the Leaders of Black Lives Matter. Exxon's Rapist of Chad--prospective Secretary of State Rex Tillerson--is represented here as the threatening lion, who may soon become just desserts for White House Grand Poobah Steve Bannon of Breitbart's "All Lies, All the Time" Film Studio. For-profit school charter shack mogul Betsy DeVos (named to head U.S. Dept. of Education) pops up as the hippo from a swamp Rump fibbed about draining, while National Security Adviser\Fox "News'" lead Flat-Earther Michael Flynn wallows around as the rhino stuck in another quagmire. The rest of Rump's inner circle make guest appearances (with Bosko being found on the beach by the entire Rump Clan)--check out America's Upcoming Hijinks for yourself on UNCLE SAM SHIPWRECKED!

Meh...

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 11 May 2021]

This episode finds Bosko shipwrecked and instead of being on death's door, he finds lot of cute friends...and they sing and dance. Apart from some nice animation in the opening shots of the sea and ship, there just isn't much to recommend this short from Looney Tunes. Much of this is because these early shorts from Looney Tunes had a formula that worked in the early 1930s but which would bore folks to tears these days. Instead of the funny, sarcastic films the studio would be known for in the 1940s and 50s, these early ones emphasized cuteness and are usually filled with adorable animals singing and dancing...yuck!! Additionally, the overuse of repetitive scenes (used to reduce cost) is pretty obvious.

Entertaining, unremarkable short featuring an all but forgotten character

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 2 May 2002]

Bosko is largely a forgotten character by most people, if they ever knew of him in the first place. The fact that the cartoons are rarely seen accounts for this and he is rarely seen in part because of a perception that black and white shorts are of little interest and in part because of a feeling that the character is stereotypical in nature and thus offensive. So shorts that are entertaining, if unspectacular, are effectively buried when they shouldn't be. Well worth seeking out. Recommended.