Box Car Blues
Encyclopedia
Box Car Blues, released in 1930, is the fifth title in the Looney Tunes
series. It features Bosko
and a pig
travelling as hobos in a boxcar
.
is seen chugging down the tracks, whistling ever so often. The front wheels turn into a pair of hands, that manually squeeze the whistle in order to make a distinct honking sound. The scene then moves to a boxcar
at the back of the train, where Bosko
is singing and dancing, accompanied by a banjo
playing pig
. They are quite jolly until Bosko starts a mournful rendition of Cryin' for the Carolines, at which the pig starts to cry. Suddenly Bosko and the pig are thrown towards the back of the boxcar. The pig seems to be out cold whilst Bosko looks around, trying to understand what is going on. Bosko tries to revive the pig but is unsuccessful. The scene pans to show that the train is climbing a hill, which explains the tilted boxcar.
The train straightens itself at the top of the hill but then goes over a bridge
, which bends exaggeratedly to accommodate its weight. Through a tunnel and then uphill again at almost a ninety degree angle, the train is now exhausted and starts panting as it begins to slow down. It then starts crawling like a giant caterpillar
, curling and uncurling itself as it moves up the hill. Just a few feet from the summit, the train reaches out its wheels cum hands in an attempt to get a handhold but as it grabs the mountain, we see a part of the hillside peeling away and displaying spotted underwear. The mountain, using tree trunks as hands, reaches back and pulls up its pseudo
-pants, looking quite angry as it does so. The train now begins to haul itself up using the railroad as a rope, manages to reach the top and goes over. However, the last boxcar breaks free and races back down the steep slope.
Bosko lifts a small hatch
in the roof and looks out frantically. His head gets knocked off by an overhanging sign and is left bouncing by itself on the roof. His headless body then climbs onto the roof and manages to reattach his head. Next the boxcar splits in two and Bosko is left with one foot on each side, balancing precariously over the speeding vehicle. Oddly enough, we do not see any sign of the banjo playing pig inside the split boxcar, which eventually comes back together. The boxcar continues to split and come together in this fashion several times. At one point, Bosko lengthens his neck, twists it into a winch
of sorts and uses it to haul the boxcar pieces back together. The next tunnel is so low that Bosko gets thrown off the roof and tumbles down the outside of the tunnel, falling astride a cow at the other end.
The cow starts galloping down the railtrack and Bosko gets thrown off as they enter another tunnel. He tumbles over it and ends up back on the roof of the boxcar which is now speeding along just behind the running cow. The boxcar goes over a bump and Bosko gets thrown off again, only to grab the edge of a pipe attached to the roof, which detaches from the side of the boxcar and drags Bosko along, bumping him hard against the ground. Bosko is then dragged through several trees and electricity pole
s when he eventually hits a bump in the road and gets thrown back onto the roof of the boxcar, which breaks and drops him inside.
The cow sees a tree and comes to halt, causing the boxcar to flatten it against the tree. The cow then unravels itself, in the manner of an accordion
and walks away, whilst pieces of the shattered boxcar rain down including Bosko and the pig, who fall onto a flat, open wagon. The pig opens an umbrella
to shield them from the falling debris. When the pig finally puts his umbrella away, assuming that the debris has stopped falling, one last piece falls directly on his head. This gives him a large bump and he starts to cry. Bosko dries his tears and pushes off down the track on the little wagon. He starts playing the banjo and singing as the pig cheers up and starts to sing along with him. They disappear into a tunnel as we see the closing credits.
The gag involving a cow getting smashed against a tree and turning into an accordion is later reused in Bosko and Bruno (1932).
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series. It features Bosko
Bosko
Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko is the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series, and is the star of over three dozen Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros...
and a pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
travelling as hobos in a boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
.
Plot
The film opens with a "toot-toot" and a trainTrain
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
is seen chugging down the tracks, whistling ever so often. The front wheels turn into a pair of hands, that manually squeeze the whistle in order to make a distinct honking sound. The scene then moves to a boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
at the back of the train, where Bosko
Bosko
Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko is the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series, and is the star of over three dozen Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros...
is singing and dancing, accompanied by a banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
playing pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
. They are quite jolly until Bosko starts a mournful rendition of Cryin' for the Carolines, at which the pig starts to cry. Suddenly Bosko and the pig are thrown towards the back of the boxcar. The pig seems to be out cold whilst Bosko looks around, trying to understand what is going on. Bosko tries to revive the pig but is unsuccessful. The scene pans to show that the train is climbing a hill, which explains the tilted boxcar.
The train straightens itself at the top of the hill but then goes over a bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
, which bends exaggeratedly to accommodate its weight. Through a tunnel and then uphill again at almost a ninety degree angle, the train is now exhausted and starts panting as it begins to slow down. It then starts crawling like a giant caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
, curling and uncurling itself as it moves up the hill. Just a few feet from the summit, the train reaches out its wheels cum hands in an attempt to get a handhold but as it grabs the mountain, we see a part of the hillside peeling away and displaying spotted underwear. The mountain, using tree trunks as hands, reaches back and pulls up its pseudo
Pseudo
The prefix pseudo- is used to mark something as false, fraudulent, or pretending to be something it is not.-See also:*Falsehood*Pseudorealism*Deception*Mimicry*Pseudo.com*Pseudo: Blood of Our Own...
-pants, looking quite angry as it does so. The train now begins to haul itself up using the railroad as a rope, manages to reach the top and goes over. However, the last boxcar breaks free and races back down the steep slope.
Bosko lifts a small hatch
Hatch
Hatch may refer to:* Hatching, also called "cross-hatching", an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects using closely spaced parallel lines* Hatching, the emergence of a young animal from an egg...
in the roof and looks out frantically. His head gets knocked off by an overhanging sign and is left bouncing by itself on the roof. His headless body then climbs onto the roof and manages to reattach his head. Next the boxcar splits in two and Bosko is left with one foot on each side, balancing precariously over the speeding vehicle. Oddly enough, we do not see any sign of the banjo playing pig inside the split boxcar, which eventually comes back together. The boxcar continues to split and come together in this fashion several times. At one point, Bosko lengthens his neck, twists it into a winch
Winch
A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...
of sorts and uses it to haul the boxcar pieces back together. The next tunnel is so low that Bosko gets thrown off the roof and tumbles down the outside of the tunnel, falling astride a cow at the other end.
The cow starts galloping down the railtrack and Bosko gets thrown off as they enter another tunnel. He tumbles over it and ends up back on the roof of the boxcar which is now speeding along just behind the running cow. The boxcar goes over a bump and Bosko gets thrown off again, only to grab the edge of a pipe attached to the roof, which detaches from the side of the boxcar and drags Bosko along, bumping him hard against the ground. Bosko is then dragged through several trees and electricity pole
Utility pole
A utility pole is a pole used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as cable, fibre optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers and street lights. It can be referred to as a telephone pole, power pole, hydro pole, telegraph pole, or telegraph post,...
s when he eventually hits a bump in the road and gets thrown back onto the roof of the boxcar, which breaks and drops him inside.
The cow sees a tree and comes to halt, causing the boxcar to flatten it against the tree. The cow then unravels itself, in the manner of an accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and walks away, whilst pieces of the shattered boxcar rain down including Bosko and the pig, who fall onto a flat, open wagon. The pig opens an umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
to shield them from the falling debris. When the pig finally puts his umbrella away, assuming that the debris has stopped falling, one last piece falls directly on his head. This gives him a large bump and he starts to cry. Bosko dries his tears and pushes off down the track on the little wagon. He starts playing the banjo and singing as the pig cheers up and starts to sing along with him. They disappear into a tunnel as we see the closing credits.
Censorship
- When this cartoon aired on Nickelodeon, the part where Bosko goes through three tunnels was edited to remove the part where Bosko yells, "Mammy!" as he's going through the third tunnel.
Other
This short is said to feature only rudimentary backgrounds although most other titles in the series include more complex backgrounds.The gag involving a cow getting smashed against a tree and turning into an accordion is later reused in Bosko and Bruno (1932).
External links
- Box Car Blues at the Big Cartoon DatabaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....