Congo Jazz
Encyclopedia
Congo Jazz is a Looney Tunes
cartoon starring Warner Bros.
' first cartoon
star, Bosko
. The cartoon was released on September 1930. It was distributed by Warner Brothers 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 stereotypical Negro dialect).
, 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, ostrich
es, kangaroo
s, 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 a trio of hyenas laugh.
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...
cartoon starring Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' first cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
star, 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...
. The cartoon was released on September 1930. It was distributed by Warner Brothers 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
Sinkin' in the Bathtub
Sinkin' in the Bathtub was the very first Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon short as well as the very first of the Looney Tunes series.The short was produced and directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, with animation by a very young Friz Freleng...
, had used a stereotypical Negro dialect).
Credits
- Supervision-Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising
- Musical Score by Frank MarsalesFrank MarsalesFrank Alfred Marsales was a Canadian-born musician and composer best known for his work scoring many classic Warner Brothers cartoons in the 1930s...
- Animated by Max Maxwell and Paul Smith
Synopsis
As Bosko is hunting in the jungleJungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
, a tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
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
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
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
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
. 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, ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
es, kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s, 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 a trio of hyenas laugh.