Bosko the Drawback: A Weird Little Football Cartoon

Is it worth your time?

Look, if you have a soft spot for 1930s animation and don’t mind your cartoons being a bit rough around the edges, you’ll probably get a kick out of Bosko the Drawback. If you want a cohesive story or something that makes a lick of sense, you’ll probably want to skip this one entirely. It’s short, it’s loud, and it’s very, very silly.

The whole thing is basically just Bosko playing a football game where the rules of physics are treated more like gentle suggestions. Everything stretches. Everything bounces. It feels like the animators were just throwing ideas at the wall to see what would stick.

There’s this one sequence where a player gets flattened, and instead of just staying down, he turns into an accordion. It’s the kind of absurdist humor that you either love or find completely grating. Personally, I found it weirdly charming.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Bosko the Drawback (1932) through its definitive frames.

Notes from the screen

• The sound design is frantic. My ears are still ringing slightly from the whistles.
• I’m pretty sure the football moves faster than the players. It has a mind of its own.
• The crowd scenes are just loops of people yelling, which gives it this oddly hollow feeling.
• Bosko’s design is just so incredibly bendy. It’s mesmerizing.

Comparing this to something like The Younger Generation feels like comparing apples to a literal cartoon explosion. It’s not trying to be a drama. It’s just trying to be a cartoon.

The pacing is non-existent, really. It just starts, stays at maximum intensity for six minutes, and then stops. It’s like being trapped in a blender full of ink. 🏈

There isn’t much else to say about it. You either dig the chaos or you don't. I suppose it’s a decent watch if you’re bored and want to see how they did things back then. Or if you really, really like football but want it to be as unrealistic as humanly possible.

Anyway, I think I need a nap after watching all those squiggly lines. Don't overthink it.