The Story of Bosko, the First Looney Tune | THE MERRIE HISTORY OF LOONEY TUNES 

So, you’re telling me that two guys started an animation studio that specialised in cartoons specifically based around music, and their names were Harman and Ising, and they DIDN’T call themselves Harmonising studios?

I love how Ising thought the best way to get rid of Foxy and Roxy was to have a random character pop up from the ground and shoot them to death.

me: why have i never heard of this character before? bosko: **talks** me: oh

"Smile, Darn Ya, Smile"... Suddenly, I understand why they used that song for the ending of Who Framed Roger Rabbit... That is a DEEP CUT on their part.

I like how the thumbnail is from "Bosko's Picture Show" which is the episode where Bosko clearly says the F word

Bosko makes a surprise appearance in a 1990 episode, "Fields of Honey", of the television series Tiny Toon Adventures, in which Babs Bunny, after being told by the Acme Looniversity's mysterious vaultkeeper about Honey (voiced by B. J. Ward), is led by a mysterious voice to build a theater that shows nothing but cartoons of Bosko's girlfriend, Honey. Babs does so, and the resulting audience laughter rejuvenates the ailing Honey and reveals the voice, as well as the vaultkeeper to be none other than Bosko (voiced by Don Messick) himself. Curiously, the cartoon depicts Bosko and Honey as dog-like creatures similar to the lead characters of the later TV show Animaniacs, presumably so as not to offend viewers with the original black-face characterizations. Another reason may be that this episode served as a "bridge" between Tiny Toons Adventures and Animaniacs. Not only are Honey and Bosko redesigned to be dog-like characters, but Honey is funnier and has more personality.

Really glad to have had this documentary recommended to me. It is well put-together and talks about one of my favorite unknown cartoon characters. I remember watching Bosko cartoons as a kid. Really great animation history lesson! :)

For years I assumed Harman and Ising were stage names specifically chosen because together they sound like "harmonizing" and that there was no way those could be their REAL names because the real world is never that neat and tidy. And yet here we are.

Wish I had this during history of animation class, beautifully edited and wonderfully engaging. Its almost criminal that someone who does work this good doesn't have more subscribers

Harmon: We may animate Shakespeare stories one day! 1994: LION KING

Also the main villain of the Alice shorts has remained with us from then up until today antagonizing Oswald and his friends and later on Mickey and his friends It’s Pete the bear/cat/rabbit/dog (they’ve flip flopped on that quite a bit they might as well make him a mutant hybrid of all of those things)

Sometimes I feel alone in being an anime lover while also being a fan of western animation too. Western animation fans always rag on how "badly animated" anime is, and anime fans always riff on western animation for being like "noodle arms and dancing flowers". Is it so strange to like both but for very different reasons?? Anyway, looking forward to seeing more from this series! :D I'm so excited!

I remember I was watching that Bosko cartoon he first appeared in with my grandpa and as soon as the animator drew Bosko on that paper I was like “aww, a monkey with clothes” and my grandpa had the most pissed off look on his face as soon as I said that 😂 I was 8 and didn’t know much about stereotypes.

I'm really glad you're doing this series. I loved the Looney Tunes growing up, and this is shaping up to be a great series. Also, if you need some booze to get you through the mid-to-late 60s WB Cartoons, I'll be happy to provide.

Its kind of funny that this historic time in animation was akin to an OC war. (Oswald led to Mickey, Foxy/Roxy and Bosko/Honey shared similarities to Mickey and Minnie, as well as Goofy with Goopy Geer, etc.) I guess some things never change lol.

I won't lie, I'm super impressed with the idea that the first ever piece of animation was done alongside live action.

Harman-Ising Harmonizing That pun is too perfect to be a coincidence.

After all of this, they end up making a sequel to Space Jam.

This is like Defunctland Meet's the Toonheads Block from Cartoon Network.

Already expressed how much I enjoyed this on Twitter, but for the sake of the algorithm, this is really great stuff and you got yourself a new subscriber :)

This mini-series is outstanding. I never learned so much about the beginnings of cartoons. Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for your research.

It really is a shame that Bosko has been effectively shelved from broadcast or reintroduction into modern Looney Tunes renditions aside from brief cameos. Sure he was really an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Mickey Mouse, but I honestly believe to this day watching both the Bosko Cartoons and the old B&W Mickey Cartoons that Bosko was funnier most of the time and would show more emotion like sadness or anger making him just a bit more relatable. Disney decided about halfway through Mickey's B&W era to gear the cartoons more towards younger kids and he stayed that way for all the rest of his animated shorts. Bosko and all the Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies in general have almost always geared more towards older kids and especially adults. They have always been edgier and more willing to step up or even over the line (at least until recent projects). Bosko did start off as a stereotype and that unfortunately can never be denied, but he was quickly made less and less obvious a stereotype through a voice change and how he was drawn. If the character had been retained you probably would have seen him become more of an anthropomorphic creature of some sort and definitely in many color short films at Warner. The worst thing that could have happened unfortunately did, when his character rights were lost and Harman and Ising (his owners and creators) decided to move to MGM and do a more blatantly racist stereotype voice, hair, and all. His character was completely done away with after only nine shorts and only seven after they completely changed his and honey's appearance and voice. So sad an end to Bosko. There are still some of us that genuinely love and enjoy the character. The original Looney Tune Bosko look and sound of course. I did like what they did for Bosko and Honey's last appearance though, in the Tiny Toons show, to further him and Honey from that stereotype but still retain the overall appearance and personality of the characters. Too bad things are so bad now that no one at Warner Brother's would ever want to take another chance on the character making a new appearance. I honestly think modern kids would absolutely love Bosko and Honey.

Harman and Ising used that "open mouth lunging toward the camera" gag for a surprisingly long time--as far forward as 1937.

Could you cover the rest of Bosko’s history His episodes in happy harmonies including the dreadful MGM redesign, and of course whatever deal lead to Warner Bros getting him back for his very brief cameos in tiny tunes, space jam and animaniacs

Hello. I just saw this video for the first time, and I appreciate your reference to Jack Zander's letter to me. Thank you so much for including it. Good job on the video!

12:42 glad to know that animators treating each other like crap is a tradition that goes back to the dawn of times.

Roxy was officially named in tiny toon adventures. Like how Oswald's girlfriend ortensia wasn't named until 2010's epic mickey video game.

You got great taste in animation! Old anime and golden age western animation!

It all started with a dinosaur! *NOT A MOUSE!!!*

Genuinely a well made video. I never knew the much behind the scenes issues in the early days of animation industry, especially concerning Disney and Harmam. It's always cool to get some in-depth knowledge on how early Looney Tunes began.

The moment Bosko spoke. Oooo noooooooo

A huge thank you for putting in the effort to share the love and enthusiasm for animation history. It's a good way for people to get a much-needed deeper dive into animation appreciation. Keep up the good work.

When I saw that demo reel of Bosko on one of my Looney Tunes Gold Collection DVDs, I said to myself, "What brand of ink pen is that? I want one of those." I was a practicing artist at the time.

Huh, I watched Some tiny toons awhile back and they referenced Bosco and Honey and I thought they were made up for the cartoon. Neat to know they were real.

Bosko was like “imagine washing dishes 🤣 #CouldntBeMe”

There's something so surreal in finding out how connected all these old animation studios were in one way or another, hearing all these names you would have never imagined shared the same roof with one another at various points

Bosko shouting, "That dirty fuck!" just kinda makes me like him more. The balls that had to take at the time. I prefer the 1990's Tiny Toons redesign though.

Awesome! this is like Defunctland for LooneyTunes. Hope for more Looney Tunes Warner Bros goodness to come. My faves are Bugs Bunny cartoons. Bosko is a very interesting early Looney Tunes star.

Thank you so much for making a full comprehensive guide to the Looney Tunes! This makes alot of us fans real happy! Seeing the birth of our favourites is a real treat! I love Bosko and the ground work he laid for future stars. He maybe controversial but he built the foundations for what would be an international success!

Can’t wait for Space Jam 3: Bosko’s Revenge (2038)

Growing up in the 1950s our local, small-market TV station ran old cartoons all day Saturday with some Laurel & Hardy movies and old westerns in the afternoons. I think I have seen every Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies 'tune a hundred times!

This is so well put together, thank you. I can't wait to see more! Definitely deserves more views! With Animaniacs returning soon this has really shed some light on some of their visual and historical inspirations and references like Bosko and Buddy. The history of Warner Bros animation in general is fascinating.

I wonder what it would have been like if Harman and Ising DID get those bigger budgets they asked of Schlesinger... what would both series be like? Would they follow suit of Disney, with more Silly Symphonies-like directions, or would they eventually develop their more insane humor-driven directions? Or would they just spin-off into completley different directions? What would Bosko look like; would he keep his inkblot look or evolve into the design he eventually got during his time at MGM? It's one of life's greatest mysteries...

Friz Feleng Was The Longest Looney Tunes Director Since 1929-1994 before his passing in 1995.

Bosko and Mickey and popeye Might have been the inspiration for super Mario and felix and mickey might have been the inspiration for sonic the hedgehog.

There's an interesting gag at the end of "Bosko the Doughboy" which indicates that Harman and Ising's idea of what Bosko *was* had changed somewhat since they created him. :-)

Classic Cartoon. then Porky Pig came after Bosko to put Loony Tunes on the map with the help of Warner Brothers. then Duffy Duck came after Porky pig then Bugs Bunny came around after Daffy Duck. so this is not all folks yet it's only the beging with the cartoon History. see you for the next one soon.

If it weren't for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Bosko, Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat, we wouldn't have Cuphead.

Stumbled on this by accident thanks to the RU-vid recommendations....fantastic job. And yet depresses me in a way at how 2D hand drawn animation has more or less be kicked to the curb since day 1 and gets no respect beyond oh that's just for kiddies or can only be done as anime or gross out comedy for adults.

Nickelodeon started airing Looney Tunes sometime in the late 80's. It was my first exposure to Bosko & Honey. I remember thinking they weren't bad. They weren't Bugs Bunny, but they were decent. (What made it more fun was when Tiny Toons had a Honey & Bosko episode several years later because I had the context.) Then Nick would air a Buddy cartoon. Let's just say I got a lot of my assigned chores done while Buddy was playing. Buddy cartoons were as exciting as dry dog food.

Everyone going "Oh My GoOdNeSs tHiS KiDs sHoW hAs GuNs AnD sAyS bAd WoRdS" when they don't realise that Loony tunes actually wasn't for kids originally. It only became directed at kids in the 60s and Loony tunes started in the 30s. There are episodes encouraging men to join the army because the war was still going on!

This video is amazing. You not only did your research, you are teaching animation history the right way! (Animation History should be told through the eyes of the artists that worked on the films.)

I love the use of Cuphead music in this video.

Goofy being a joke/parody to Goopy Gear and becoming one of Disney's most beloved characters isn't talked about enough

This is the most underrated documentary series I have ever seen on RU-vid. It is well made and I hope someone can give you more recognition for this.

5:47 This scene escalated quickly O_O

I've always hated the accusations of "racism" or "blackface" for early Bosko. For one thing, visually he looked exactly like most major cartoon characters of that black & white era, mostly-black body with a partially white face, so that you could see his features and expressions better. Secondly, while I know early on he had a "stereotypically black" accent, for one thing, he was initially conceived as a non-human character, just a cartoon creature. Secondly, even as a "little black boy", he, as well as Honey, for their era were actually very balanced and positive depictions of blacks in media. Bosko certainly isn't as iconic or classic as WB's stars that would follow him, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. But he deserves love and recognition. He was still a key part of animation history, and for a few years in the 30s, Bosko cartoons were almost as popular as Mickey Mouse cartoons.

First impression of Bosko: Awww what a cute.....ohhhhhhh that voice....

The 90th Anniversary Of The First Looney Tunes Short is a couple weeks away!

this is incredible, seriously, these guys were in real life like b-movie caricatures of themselves, and all of the names I remember from childhood. amazing job.

24:45 Somewhat a correction “Inkspot” as its itself was a racial slur for black person at that time an example being the silent Paul Terry cartoon Farmer Al Falfa’s Revenge where the black character gets called that

Nice to know about Disney's early days.

Tiny Toon Adventures did a wonderful homage to Bosco and Honey.

They should’ve called him Rosko the chimp. They had a monkey like appearance, I don’t know why they went the racist route.

Unfortunately, Hugh Harmon's dislike of bosses and control would...be one of many things apart of his downfall. Reading on Hugh Harmon's story Post Cartoon work is fucking depressing.

I've just come back to this for the second time in about a month, and this documentary is just terrific. Only now do I notice it's gonna be an 8 part doc. Goodness knows how long that'll take, but I'll be waiting, right here for it. (Looks at watch)

Dude, this is amazing. I'm a historian on the side and you've explained this beautifully

Damn Bosko" is terrifying I was enjoying this video until Bosko" started talking and it made me cringe.

"TO BE CONTINUED" I am grateful that you produced this great film. Just asking what is the next video? You mentioned 8 parts but I only see three. Cheers!

I think it makes sense that one of the first talking cartoons had to have a bit of a funny voice for animators to have something to latch onto, and practices like making the character all-black to speed up animation and keeping the face white for expressions had already been established, so there's kind of an inevitability to his design

*the creators supposedly didn't know what Bosko was supposed to be* Me: "Well, he kind of looks like a monkey or something to me." *find out Bosko was supposed to be a caricature of a black person* Me: "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT."

I've had Bosko in my head since the Toonheads episode about him and Foxy from long, long ago, and I could never quite find the whole story all in one place. Glad to finally get it all these years later, this is great!

I love this, reminds me of Kevin Perjurer's Defunctland, or PopArena's Nick Knacks. I would like to see more of these.

I always thought that Foxy and Roxy looked too similar to Mickey and Minnie!

I remember Bosco and Honey in a Tiny Toon Adventures episode where Babs was trying to find her heroine! Buster had Bugs, Plucky had Daffy, and so on. Good episode covering the origins Loony Tunes!

He's basically a minstrel show character

genuinely shocked at the professional delivery of this! well-edited, informative and engaging VERY well done!

You know I never put the connection of Silly Symphonies and Looney Tunes together until now

This was so good! I can see this being shown during animation history class

When I first saw Bosko as an fourth grader, I thought he was a monkey but now watching it as senior in high school is really different because of the stereotypes.

The first animators was big inspirations on me.

Mickey The Mouse Felix The Cat Bosko... The Talk-Ink Kid!

"It was obviously a character for a gag, I mean, when were they gonna use him again?" Lmao that ended well.

Dude I remember Bosko shorts being on Nickelodeon and instantly lovin' him! I know he's considered a racist character but I still enjoy him!

these History of videos are so well made and I can't wait to see how far it will go. I wonder if, in the future, you'll cover Disney and maybe even some other studios that did animation such as Don Bluth or Universal's animation studios. You're doing great KB!

Nice video! Kaiser. You taught me some stuff that I didn’t even know about! Also, a note: In late 1929. After his stint in KC (again) and working for the jerk known as George Winkler, moved to NYC (the animation capital of the time) to work for the Harrison-Gould studio. in which Charles Mintz, M.J. Winkler, and Columbia Pictures. Were distributing at the time. Freleng didn’t like his time working for the studio and only took the job so that he can support family back home in the Midwest. In early 1930, Once Harman and Ising wrote to Friz that their Bosko cartoon got accepted by Schlesinger. Moved back to LA to work for his friends back in the sunshine state. Speaking of Harrison-Gould. The two, alongside the rest of his staff (animators Art Davis, Al Rose, and Harry Love and musical director. Joe DeNat) moved to a building also in LA while animating one of their Krazy Kat shorts on a private Railcar whilst traveling on train. Manny Gould would later be one of the more wackier animators who also used the old NY method of Straight-Ahead as opposed to having breakdown artists, inbetweeners. And clean-up/assistants. and on another note, Ben Clopton. A Montana Cowpoke who got in controversy with his relationship with the body double of Hedy LaMarr. Also worked for Disney, Harrison-Gould, Iwerks, and Leon Schlesinger Productions alongside other studios

my man, can you imagine the experience of watching the dinosaur film in the 40's? damn

Me: Invested on the long, detailed history of these animators and is refreshed to hear of Disney’s flaws after he’s been deified for so long. At the 15:15 mark “His name, was Bosco.” I get even more excited because I remember that’s what I clicked this video for. Been loving these. Reminds me of the Defunct Land channel in the best possible way.

This is great! Thank you for this video! I cant wait to watch the others. I grew up on older cartoon like this. So nostalgic for me💕 I very much enjoy knowing more about movies and cartoons of this time. It's my favorite era by far! ETA: Its so awesome to see more behind the names I grew up reading in the credits of all these cartoons that filled my mornings and afternoons in the 80s💕

Aside the AWFULLY dated design... Bosko is one of the most fascinating characters to me 🤔

See, this is the quality of documentaries that ought to be on the History Channel! Well done!! Very enjoyable!

8:37 - 9:14/ Barely 2 decades would pass before Disney would take Harmon up on his word and helped create FANTASIA. So much for having a hole in his head....📽🇵🇷🇺🇸😎🦂🗽

I first saw Bosko in one of those VHS cassettes with like 100 cartoons on it. I love those old cartoons.

Brilliant pioneers of the arty cartoons of long ago. Thanks for uploading.

Well, Bosko explains the Animaniacs' heritage. Half Bosko, Half fox.

26:22 is a printed ad for a Brunswick radio with Panatrope phonograph in which Brunswick inked the deal with WB where they manufactured Panotrope phonographs like Victor did with the Victrola phonographs, and then later put out records by many artists. Unfortunately, Brunswick ended the WB deal by the early 1930’s and went independent, and by the 1940’s, Brunswick made a distribution deal with Decca where it remained until the late 1960’s when Decca ended the deal, and Brunswick went back as an independent label again into the 1970’s and 1980’s. Brunswick started as a jazz, and then later became a R&B label with such great artists including Jackie Wilson, Barbara Acklin, Young Holt Unlimited, and the Chi-Lites.

One of the things I liked about Warner Brothers was that they brought Bosko and Honey back as a cameo in an episode of Tiny Tunes. I also think for a while during their Looney Tunes block Nickelodeon showed a few of the Bosko cartoons if I remember right.

I've watched this series all the way through several times and my favorite part is STILL the clip of the "one shot character who's definitely never going to be used again" who obviously became Goofy. XD

If there is ever a Bosko Blu Ray set, I hope you get to make the documentary. I can't believe how much I am learning.

I get the feeling the next few episodes will cover these topics: Part 2: Buddy, Porky Pig, Egghead, Daffy Duck, and cartoon depictions of celebrities. Part 3: Elmer Fudd, Sniffles, Bugs Bunny, Tweety, and World War II. Part 4: Pepe Le Pew, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, and the Censored Eleven. So how close am I?