Bosko's Parlor Pranks is a 1934 Happy Harmonies cartoon directed by Hugh Harman.
Plot[]
The cartoon begins with Bosko plucking petals off of a flower as he walks toward his girlfriend Honey's house, accompanied by his dog, Bruno. Meanwhile, Honey is at her home, struggling to teach her cat-like son, Wilber, how to play the piano, as he keeps insisting that he wants an ice cream cone. As a whistling Bosko walks up to Honey's doorstep and polishes his Derby hat, Bruno nosily sniffs the front porch until he is scolded by his owner, causing him to blush. Bosko then proceeds to slide-step to Honey's door and ring her doorbell.
Honey is still dealing with Wilber when she hears the doorbell ring. She skips to the door and finds Bosko at her entrance. After he greets her, Wilber walks up to him and asks if he has an ice cream cone, but he replies by patting him on the head. Bosko then walks to Honey's piano whilst clicking his fingers, and plays it. Honey starts dancing to his music, and they greet each other in song. After performing a dance simultaneously, Wilber complains yet again that he wants an ice cream cone. Honey then decides to go to the store to buy Wilber an ice cream cone, and she requests Bosko to babysit him while she is away, to which he reluctantly accepts to do. She and Bosko then bid farewell to each other.
To entertain Wilber, Bosko sings about his love for Honey (which is repeatedly interrupted by Bruno), to the child's chagrin. After the dog leaves, Bosko picks up a book about the Knights of the Round Table, which he shows to Wilber, attracting his attention. When Wilber points to a picture of Sir Galahad, Bosko claims that he was a courageous knight himself, which Wilber does not believe. Bosko then falsely claims that he was a boxer who defeated the world's boxing champion in a heated bout. However, the child still not believes on these remarkable feats. Bosko then walks to the piano, takes a balloon from his pants pocket, blows it, and sets it on his nose, making him resemble Jimmy Durante. He then impersonates Durante as he plays the piano, which irritates Wilber, to his disgust. He then sings a song about how he rescued Honey from a runaway vehicle as a cowboy, but Wilber's constant complaints about his ice cream cone finally start getting to his nerves.
As Honey skips home carrying Wilber's ice cream cone, Bosko tells the story about his experiences as a musketeer. When Honey finally heads into the room with Wilber's ice cream cone, Bosko is still pretending to be a musketeer, and he accidentally knocks the cone out of Honey's hand with an umbrella, and it falls on his head. The cartoon ends with Wilber sarcastically remarking about the incident, Bruno sprinting into the room and licking Bosko, and Honey laughing at the sight.
Availability[]
Forbidden Hollywood Collection Midnight Mary, Disc 2 (USA 1995 Turner print)
Notes[]
- This is the first appearance of Bosko, Honey and Bruno in a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon, following their tenure in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes series. It is the first of only two such cartoons in which they retain their original designs.
- This is also the last appearance of Honey's original design, as her next appearance in The Old House introduced her redesign.
- This is also the first and only appearance of Wilber in a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon.
- Animation is recycled from some Looney Tunes Bosko shorts. The cartoons are Bosko's Soda Fountain, Battling Bosko, Ride Him, Bosko!, Bosko In Person, Bosko's Knight-Mare, Bosko the Musketeer and Bosko's Picture Show.