Big Man from the North (1931)

Very well executed

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

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.'Big Man from the North' generally is one of Bosko's better cartoons. Up to this particular point in the series most of the cartoons were decent if hit and miss, with the only cartoon falling below that being the strange though not awful 'The Booze Hangs High'. 'Big Man from the North' doesn't reach above decent level on the whole but has a good deal to recommend.While showing more signs of a story than the previous cartoons, which were basically plot-less mostly but while still on the thin side signs of a story are here, it's very predictable with not much new. There are occasional slow parts and there are a couple of repetitive gags by Bosko standards.The animation is not bad at all. 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 is 'Big Man from the North's' highlight component, its infectious energy, rousing merriment, lush orchestration and how well it fits with the animation is just a joy.While never hilarious the gags are amusing, especially with the dogs and in the saloon. Parts are cute without being too schmaltzy, it's never static and synchronisation is remarkably good.All in all, decent cartoon and one of Bosko's better ones generally. 7/10 Bethany Cox

. . . "Rape me once, shame on you; rape me twice, shame on me." That's pretty much the theme of this Sadomasochistic 1931 Looney Tune, BIG MAN FROM THE NORTH. Its inclusion on Passport Video's 2005 RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER AND FRIENDS disc just goes to prove the Hell-on-Earth and possible Human Extinction Event we're all in for now that "Mad Dog" Putin has installed his Russian KGB Rump Puppet as Leader of the Free World to its slaughter. The fraudulent Corrupt Capitalist Rump Disciples at Passport Video stuck this Looney Tune on their DVD sight unseen because they ASSUMED any BIG MAN FROM THE NORTH just HAD to be Santa Claus (rather than, say Satan, or his wide-bodied Earthly Potentate, aka bankrupt New York Values Casino Owner Rump). In Reality, the FIRST "big man" shown here is a Canadian Mountie sergeant, who chews tobacco as he also smokes a pipe. A minute into this cartoon, his deputy Bosko rips off the seat of his pants, exposing his butt crack. Six minutes later Bosko blows off all the clothes of the other "big man" shown here--an outlaw into whose Buttopical Center Opening he's just rammed a very long, fully phallic broad sword! Hardly children's "Christmas fare," you Passport bozos. No doubt such spectacular Wrong-Headedness has landed some of the Passporters high-ranking cabinet positions in the Putin-Rump Administration.

I was shocked in a few places watching this old cartoon as a several scenes had guys with their pants down (from the rear, with a crack showing) and, in one instance had a sabre jammed between his cheeks! Ouch!!Anyway, it shows you even some of the cartoons were a bit edgy in this pre-Code era but otherwise it was a simple story of a little Canadian Mountie, "Bosko," being assigned to capture a big, tough crook and how he went about it. He wasn't given any name, but if you've seen a number of 1930s cartoons, you know the little man is "Bosko." What I didn't know, until submitting this review, was that pretty actress Rochelle Hudson did the voice of the female singer in the saloon. There were some decent sight gags in here, several of them duplicated in the first half of this animated short. Sight gags are what cartoons are usually all about anyway. Here, for instance, we saw gags with the three dogs who drove the little guy over hilly terrain to the saloon where the bad man was hanging out. The saloon had a clever scene in which Bosko tried to impress a woman (Hudson's character) with his piano playing. This guy was good: a Jerry Lee Lewis-type who banged those keys!Overall, a pretty entertaining cartoon that was a bonus feature on the "Smart Money" feature film DVD.

A lot of people will be quick to discard this cartoon in favor of another cartoon set in the north, made by Disney a year later called "The Klondike Kid." And even more people will be quick to discard all Bosko cartoons in favor of Mickey Mouse. While Mickey Mouse has more personality in an index finger than Bosko, this has to be one of the best cartoons made by Warner Brothers before 1935. Synchronization is uniformly superb, and this one actually has a little plot, though nothing major. If you want an old 1930s cartoon, and you have a little patience, watch this one. This film runs about seven minutes, it was Drawn by future animation director Isadore 'Friz' Freleng, and Robert Edmunds, and the musical score is provided by Frank Marsales. The print available on the DVD compilation 'Uncensored Bosko Volume One' is a little scratchy, and a re-issue, but is ten times better than any Chaplin Keystone comedy in the public domain, take my word for it.