The previous two Bosko films, "Bosko's Soda Fountain" and "Bosko's Fox Hunt", were very good cartoons. This is because they abandoned the previous formula for the Bosko films. Gone were all the ultra-cutesy characters as well as the insipid singing and dancing. Sadly, when "Bosco at the Zoo" began, I could see it was a return to form...as it starts with Bosko and Honey singing a "La, La, La" song and skipping and dancing....stuff that no one could possibly find funny. Now I am not saying it's all bad...but that certainly WAS a bad start.
Once at the zoo, Bosko wanders about and is a bit of a jerk towards the ostrich. I liked this. But then Bosko felt sorry for the animal and began singing and dancing...oh, good grief, not more singing and dancing! Then, the rest of the animals in the zoo all start dancing and itching and moving about in what substitutes for fun and humor. There is a sequence where Bosko decides to start spanking the monkey (literally, not figuratively) and its BIG momma comes along...something Bosko did already in "Congo Jazz" in 1930. What follows is a lion attack but, sadly, Bosko survives.
To say I dislike most of the Bosko films is definitely an understatement. Looney Tunes' earliest films were mostly insipid...with little humor and a heavy dose of saccharine. Fortunately, when the Harmon-Ising production team left the studio in 1934, things did slowly improve. But you simply cannot compare these early cartoons to the output of the studio in the late 30s through the 1950s when their cartoon shorts were simply the best you could find...thanks to great humor, timing and characters...none of which you find in a Bosko cartoon.