Congo Jazz
| Congo Jazz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising |
| Produced by | Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising Leon Schlesinger (associate producer) |
| Starring | Bernard B. Brown (unc.) |
| Music by | Frank Marsales |
| Animation by | Carman Maxwell Paul Smith |
| Color process | Black and White |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6:22 |
| Language | English |
Congo Jazz is a Looney Tunes cartoon starring Warner Bros.' first cartoon star, Bosko.[1] The cartoon was released on August 9, 1930.[2] It was distributed by Warner Bros. and The Vitaphone Corporation. Congo Jazz was the first cartoon to feature Bosko's falsetto voice that he would use for the bulk of the series' run (the previous Bosko short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub, had used a derisive African-American dialect). It has the earliest instance of a "trombone gobble" in animation.
Plot
[edit]As Bosko is hunting in the jungle, a tiger creeps up behind him and gives him a lick. Finding his gun useless, Bosko tries to flee. After being chased and having his body stretched and his head slapped off, Bosko pulls out a flute and begins playing music, which greatly entertains the tiger. Bosko and the tiger play patty cake, dance, and Bosko plays the tiger's whiskers and tail like guitar strings. Now that the tiger has been rendered thoroughly harmless, Bosko kicks it off a cliff. Bosko then spots two little monkeys playing leap frog. He picks one of them up, but the monkey spits in his eye. Bosko begins spanking the monkey's behind, until he notices the monkey's father looming above him. Acting nonchalant, Bosko offers the ape some chewing gum. The ape accepts, and seems to enjoy the gum very much. They both stretch the gum out of their mouths and begin plucking a tune. The rest of the jungle animals join in: monkeys, ostriches, kangaroos, and more. They play music on themselves, on each other, or with the jungle scenery. A kangaroo plays a tree, monkeys play a giraffe, and an elephant plays its trunk. A tree does a provocative fanny-slapping dance, gyrating its coconut bosoms, until one flies off and hits Bosko in the head. Bosko and three hyenas laugh.
Credits
[edit]- Supervision by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising
- Musical Score by Frank Marsales
- Animated by Max Maxwell and Paul Smith
Cast
[edit]Carman Maxwell: Bosko
Song
[edit]"When the Little Red Roses Get the Blues for You" arr. Frank Marsales.
References
[edit]- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 1. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Simmons, LaKisha Michelle (May 4, 2015), "Introduction", Crescent City Girls, University of North Carolina Press, pp. 1–24, doi:10.5149/northcarolina/9781469622804.003.0001, ISBN 978-1-4696-2280-4, retrieved August 9, 2023
- Schneider, Steve (1990). That's All Folks!: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt & Co.
External links
[edit]- Congo Jazz at IMDb
- Congo Jazz on YouTube
- 1930 films
- 1930 short films
- 1930 animated films
- 1930s American animated films
- 1930s animated short films
- Looney Tunes shorts
- Animated films about music and musicians
- Films about hunters
- Animated films set in jungles
- Films directed by Hugh Harman
- Films directed by Rudolf Ising
- Films set in Belgian Congo
- Films set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Films set in the Republic of the Congo
- Bosko films
- Films scored by Frank Marsales
- African-American animated films
- Animated films about birds
- 1930s English-language films
- American animated short films
- Animated films set in Africa
- Animated films about tigers
- Animated films about monkeys
- Animated films about kangaroos and wallabies
- Animated films about elephants
- Animated films about hyenas
- Animated films about giraffes
- English-language short films
- American animated black-and-white films
- Looney Tunes stubs