Congo Jazz
Congo Jazz
| 07 August 1930 (USA)
Congo Jazz Trailers

Bosko hunts in the jungle, but ends up playing music with the animals.

Reviews
CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Nicolas Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
slymusic "Congo Jazz" is one of the earliest Looney Tunes starring Bosko, a highly energetic character created by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko himself is quite elastic, able to stretch himself into unbelievable contortions. (Well, maybe not so unbelievable - it's a cartoon!) Musical accompaniment seems to be a big part of these early cartoons, too, particularly this one, as "music soothes the savage beast". Bosko is a hunter of wild game in this film, you see.There's one sequence in "Congo Jazz" that I especially admire. Bosko and an ape play strings of chewing gum like pizzicato strings, then a lot of other jungle inhabitants joyfully join in with their own instruments."Congo Jazz" is a cartoon that is likely to brighten your mood when you see it. Find it on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 Disc 3.
Mightyzebra I did not think I would enjoy this "Bosko" episode as much as the first official one (Sinkin' in the Bathtub), because the start was annoying and spooky in a arbitrary way. However, the episode became better as it went along and by the end I found little to criticise.What I like about this episode is the way Bosko is not so cruel a main character, he is very positive and tries to find ways of making angry people happy rather than making them more angry (this is not the case with the tiger, but the tiger was trying to eat Bosko, so it makes some sense that Bosko whacked him off a cliff after being relatively friendly to him). I also liked the music and the various ideas played into the episode. I've found with the cartoons, both by Disney and WB, that were made before around 1935, play with slapstick more cleverly and in a much more surreal manner than they really ever did later on. This is shown by the body shapes of the moving characters, the actions they make and the objects they use(not all the time, but this is when the slapstick playing is most noticeable).Things I can slightly criticize about the cartoon are the very beginning, the fact that it is slightly repetitive in places, the vaguely "innappropriate" scenes (like coconuts on a tree representing a woman's breasts) and the fact that Honey is not in it! :-( Honey was one of my favourite characters in "Sinkin' in the Bathtub," and she did not play a part in this episode.One thing that people may not realise and may dislike about all the Bosko cartoons, is that Bosko is meant to be a black person. In those days the makers would not have realised it was racist and would have thought it was perfectly OK. If you ignore that fact while watching this cartoon, I am sure you would enjoy it more (if you have problems with racism).I recommend this cartoon to people who like old black and white cartoons, to people who have watched SITB and enjoyed it and to people who like cartoons with "unusual" slapstick. Enjoy "Congo Jazz"! :-) 8 and a half out of ten.
tavm In Congo Jazz, Bosko is a hunter who is chased by a tiger. He shoots but the bullet comes out with a whimper instead of a bang. Eventually, Bosko pulls a flute out and serenades the tiger to the edge of a cliff before kicking him off. He then encounters a couple of young apes. One of them gets in trouble with Bosko so he opens the baby's butt-fur and attempts to spank him (this was obviously pre-Code). The father arrives. Feeling threatened, Bosko offers some gum. The father ape obliges. They then make beautiful music together when both play with their tongues. All the jungle animals join in. It all ends with two laughing hyenas laughing at Bosko's expense though Bosko himself does too...Another musical Bosko that has its own charm despite no real plot to speak of, just gags connected by music and setting. Pretty entertaining though a far cry from later Looney Tunes that became classics after Tex Avery and other "new blood" arrived in 1936...
Robert Reynolds This short is an early Warner Brothers that features a character named Bosko, who is in ill favor in certain politically correct quarters. My take on it all is that the few shorts I've seen in the series vary greatly in quality, some being very good and others not terribly interesting. This is one of the better ones I've seen. Warner Brothers almost always had excellent music throughout their run, up to the 1950s and this short has excellent music, if a limited plot. Well worth watching. Recommended.