Bronco Buster: Oswald, Hair Tonic, and Weird Cowboy Music

You should probably watch this if you have seven minutes to kill and you like old-school slapstick. It is basically for anyone who enjoys seeing a cartoon rabbit get bullied by a farm animal. If you want a deep plot or something that makes sense, you will probably hate it. 🐎

It is one of those early Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts. This is the Walter Lantz version, so Oswald looks a bit different than the Disney one. He is rounder. More rubbery.

The whole thing starts with Oswald selling hair tonic. Why does a rabbit sell hair tonic? He doesn't even have hair, just fur. He is driving this little cart and shouting about how great the tonic is. It feels like a very specific 1930s joke that we don't really get anymore.

He pulls up to a ranch. The Sons of the Pioneers are there. Yes, the actual singing group. They are drawn as these generic cowboy characters, but they start singing. It is actually the best part of the movie. The harmony is really tight even if the animation is just them swaying back and forth.

I noticed one of the cowboys in the background just keeps looping the same three-frame animation. It is kind of distracting once you see it. He just keeps nodding. Over and over. It makes him look like he is having a medical emergency while singing about the prairie.

Anyway, Oswald wants to show off. He wants to be a cowboy. There is this bronco. It looks mean. Like, actually angry. The horse has these heavy eyelids and a permanent scowl that makes you think it has seen some things.

The Tonic Incident

Oswald tries to ride it and fails. Obviously. He gets kicked into a fence. The fence doesn't break, he just sort of molds around the wood. That classic squash and stretch stuff that Lantz loved so much.

Then the horse drinks the hair tonic by mistake. This is where the movie gets fast. The tonic isn't just for hair, I guess? It acts like a massive dose of caffeine. Or something stronger. The horse starts vibrating. Its eyes get huge. 😵‍💫

The way the horse moves after drinking the tonic is honestly impressive for 1933. It is just a blur of legs. Oswald manages to stay on, but not because he is a good rider. He is just stuck. He is basically a passenger on a meat-missile.

There is a shot where the horse's tail spins like a propeller. It is a bit lazy as a gag, but it works. I laughed a little bit. It reminded me of some of the weirder moments in Boop-Oop-A-Doop, though not quite as surreal as that one.

The backgrounds are pretty thin. Just some lines for mountains and a few rocks. It feels like they spent the whole budget on the horse's animation and forgot to draw the ground. But that is okay. It gives it this empty feeling that actually fits the desert setting.

I kept thinking about how different this is from Secret of the Blue Room. That one is so dark and moody. This is just a rabbit and a caffeinated horse. It is a weird double feature if you ever tried to watch them back-to-back. Don't do that.

One thing that bugged me was the sound. The hoofbeats don't always match the horse's feet. It is off by a fraction of a second. It makes the horse feel like it is floating sometimes. Maybe it was just the copy I watched. Or maybe they just didn't care back then.

Is it better than Fifty Candles? Probably. At least this has a horse that turns into a helicopter. That is more entertainment than most mystery movies from that decade provide. 🚁

The ending is very abrupt. Oswald wins, I guess? He conquers the horse because the horse just gives up. Or the tonic wears off. It isn't really clear. He just stands there looking proud while the horse looks exhausted.

I wish there was more of the Sons of the Pioneers. They just kind of vanish toward the end. You hear them, but they aren't the focus. Their voices are so much more sophisticated than the actual cartoon drawing. It is a weird contrast.

It is worth a look if you are into animation history. Or if you just like seeing 1930s ideas of what 'energy' looks like. It is fast, it is loud, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Just don't expect it to change your life. It is just a cartoon about a rabbit and some hair tonic. Sometimes that is all you need on a Tuesday afternoon.

• The horse's teeth are weirdly human.
• Oswald's hat stays on way too long.
• The music is 10/10, the animation is a 6/10.

If you want more of this era but with a bit more story, maybe try Murder in Trinidad. It has nothing to do with rabbits, but it feels like it belongs in the same dusty corner of a film archive.

Final thought: I wonder if that hair tonic actually worked? Oswald's ears look pretty smooth. Maybe he should have used it himself. Anyway, that's Bronco Buster. It's fine. It's short. Go watch it.