The Bosko cartoons may not be animation masterpieces, but they are fascinating as examples of Looney Tunes in their early days before the creation of more compelling characters and funnier and more creative cartoons. There are some good cartoons, as well as some average or less ones.'Bosko the Drawback' is agreed a pretty forgettable effort for Bosko and one of his weakest. Not a terrible cartoon, none of the weakest efforts are and all of them have enough to make it mediocre at worst, but didn't do much for me.As always for a Bosko cartoon the animation is good. Not exactly refined but fluid and crisp enough with some nice detail, it is especially good in the meticulous backgrounds and some remarkably flexible yet natural movements for Bosko. The music doesn't disappoint either, its infectious energy, rousing merriment, lush orchestration and how well it fits with the animation is just a joy.Sound quality has clarity and the synchronisation isn't sloppy and has imagination. The way Bosko is animated is well done and remarkably natural. There are a couple of amusing and cute gags in the first half.Regarding Bosko himself, he is not the most interesting of characters and is not particularly fun or likable. Too many of the gags are pretty limp and are lacking in wit, memorability and sharper timing, which is enough to bring. The football match is less than exciting.To say that the story is dull and thin is an understatement in itself even for a Bosko cartoon.In summary, forgettable but not terrible. 5/10 Bethany Cox

. . . BOSKO THE DRAWBACK illustrates. Relying on much of the archival gridiron action from an animated short released by Warner Bros. earlier in the year--FREDDY THE FRESHMAN--BOSKO THE DRAWBACK brings few fresh gags of its own to the table. The one-dog Blocking Vee (courtesy of a limber dachshund) may get a chuckle the first time it's used in a cartoon, but it's a sign of laziness and disrespect for one's ticket buyers to bring this device back in another short THE VERY SAME YEAR. (Possibly Warner's "Cel Washers"--minimum wage earners who were kind of like blackboard cleaners in the Olden Days of Antiquity--went on strike to up their wages to a nickel an hour, and Warner producer Leon Schlesinger--later Court-Martialed by the U.S. Army for padding his expense account while using American Taxpayer funds to churn out boot camp training films during World War Two--decided to throw in the backlog of Unwashed Cels into the next Toon due out on his production schedule.) As always, Warner's title character in BOSKO THE DRAWBACK is starring in a home game for Southern Cal, against one of Notre Dame's "Four Horseman" Era teams in this case.

There's not much to this short apart from one running gag and a few sight gags. You get a general feeling about the whole, but very little stands out and makes a lasting impression. I will discuss one or two things here, so this is a spoiler warning: The cartoon has some cute gags in the first couple of minutes, with the marching band and what looks like a moose doubling as a turnstile. Intercut in here are scenes of Bosko being tortured under the guise of being given a "massage" (ouch!).The football game is really not very interesting in and of itself. There are one or two good gags and some horrible puns that pop up. Most of the funny stuff is off the field antics (a reporter pounding away at his typewriter until the typewriter pounds back, a face appearing in the crowd watching the game in obvious disapproval, etc.).Toward the end, they periodically cut away to an eagle perched upon a flagpole. This running bit is far more interesting than the rest of the short and the ending is quite good. I won't spoil it here.Though this cartoon is not all that special, I hope it is released on a Looney Tunes Golden Collection at some point. Worth watching once.