Car Bites Car

Hugh Harman’s writers were no doubt sitting around, pondering. They had put Bosko in an auto race cartoon against a Pegleg Pete-style, cheating villain. It’s the climax scene. Bosko’s little car can’t get past the Champion’s. What to do? How is Bosko going to win the race?

The solution? Bosko’s putt-putt model develops a face and bites the villain’s car, which also develops a face, in the trunk.



The villain’s car leaps into the air in pain. Bosko’s car scoots under it for the win and Bosko is crowned Speed King.



Hmm. If this is a Bosko cartoon, there must be a piano somewhere, right?



Why, yes there is!

I can’t believe the only versions available on-line of some of these Bosko (and Buddy) cartoons are overly-pixilated ones that come from a poorly-tracked VHS recording of a TV cable channel. Granted, this isn’t a great cartoon, but Bosko deserves a lot better.

Frank Marsales’ soundtrack include Warren-Dubin’s “Young and Healthy,” the old Billy Murray favourite “In My Merry Oldsmobile,” and Mel Kaufman’s cat-drowning song “Me-Ow” that Carl Stalling was putting in Warners’ cartoon scores into the 1950s. Listen to a pie-anny version below.



Friz Freleng and Paul J. Smith are the credited animators.