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5.2/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Bosko at the Zoo remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you are a total nerd for early animation history. If you like stuff that feels like it was put together by someone on a sugar rush, you might enjoy this. Everyone else? Probably going to find it a bit grating. It doesn't have the polish of later cartoons, that's for sure.
It’s barely a story. Bosko and Honey walk into a zoo, and then the chaos just happens. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Camping Out, but way more unhinged. There’s no real buildup.
Watching these old cartoons is like looking at a rough draft of the world. Everything stretches. Everything bounces. When the lion gets angry, it looks less like a predator and more like a pile of ink that’s trying to swallow the screen. It’s genuinely unsettling.
There’s this moment where Bosko is just dancing around, and the physics of his body are just… wrong. He’s liquid. It’s the kind of visual gag that makes you wonder what the animators were eating for lunch back in the day. 🎨
You can tell they were just trying to see how many things they could make bounce before the frame ended. It’s not trying to teach a lesson or be art. It’s just weird stuff happening in a cage.
Why is the zoo so empty? It feels like the whole world stopped existing outside of these few enclosures. It’s almost as lonely as some of the scenes in Unter der Laterne, but, you know, with more singing animals.
The pacing is all over the place. One second they’re looking at a bird, the next everything is a disaster. It doesn't give you time to breathe. Maybe that’s the point? It’s like a toddler describing their day to you at top speed.
I caught myself staring at the background art. It’s super basic, just lines and scribbles. But then a character walks by and suddenly the floor looks like it’s made of jelly. Very strange.
If you need something to put on while you fold laundry or just want to see how far we've come since the early 30s, give it a whirl. Just don't expect it to make sense when you wake up the next morning.
