Release Date:

May 17, 1947

Main Character(s):

Bobo the Elephant

Summary:

In India, a little gray elephant named Bobo is fed up with carrying logs and dreams of being a baseball star at the circus like his Uncle Jumbo. Bobo’s attempts to board a ship for New York, all fail until the Minah Bird (from the Inki cartoons) comes along and advises Bobo to paint himself pink, because no one will admit to seeing a pink elephant. This trick does indeed work and gets him into New York, but is arrested after a street cleaner wagon accidentally washes his paint off. Bobo is given a life sentence to be in the circus, and while he does make the baseball team, he is unhappy about it because he ends up as the team’s bat boy!

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1022 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. When the cartoon was originally restored for HBO Max in 2020, it was restored with the Blue Ribbon reissue titles. However, when this cartoon was put on the Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 3 Blu-ray set in 2024, the original titles were put back in. The one trade-off to this, however, was using opening rings from a different cartoon, in this case, “Hollywood Daffy”, complete with that cartoon’s production number. The reason why is because this cartoon’s original opening rings were in poor condition, and in order to make the original titles presentable on this release, the titles had to be reconstructed. Considering the alternative would be to not see the original titles and not hear the music over the opening credits at all, this is absolutely NOT an issue.

The original titles were also taken from a vault print that looks softer than the rest of the cartoon. However, from the scene of Bobo looking through his mail up until the end, the remainder is taken from the HBO Max restoration, where the color is significantly more vibrant and beautiful.

Bobo would appear seven years later in “Gone Batty” (1954), also directed by McKimson. Interestingly, he actually DOES become a baseball hero in that cartoon.

This is the last cartoon until “Strife with Father” (1950) to have animation by Rod Scribner. Scribner was forced to take a nearly three-year hiatus due to being diagnosed with tuberculosis. Upon his return, Scribner animated solely for McKimson up until he left in 1955, often getting to do some very wild animation like he did for Tex Avery and Bob Clampett (Scribner particularly stole the show when he animated for the latter).

The cartoon bears a few similarities to “Dumbo” (1941) as both center around a baby elephant, involve a circus at some point, centers around the idea of pink elephants being a sign of drunkenness (though here it’s used as a joke since Bobo is gray and painted himself pink to get free reign of the ship), and involve a black bird who solves the protagonist’s problem.

Despite being a McKimson cartoon, the animator draft for this cartoon has yet to surface online.

The Minah Bird who appears in Jones’ cartoons with Inki, makes a cameo appearance in this cartoon, and makes his only appearance outside of a non-Jones cartoon.

This is the last cartoon to use the 1946-1947 blue rings with the red background.

This cartoon is a rare instance from this period where Mel Blanc does not voice any of the characters. The entire dialogue in this cartoon is given to the narrator (Robert Bruce, who was also the narrator in most of the spot gag cartoons from the late 1930’s and early 1940’s), apart from Bobo’s sole line of dialogue at the end (voiced by Stan Freberg).

What I Like About This One:

Being the exception to elephants never complaining, Bobo believes his future (shown in a crystal ball) looks very dark. The narrator says it’s much darker than that, to which the black 8 ball appears in the crystal ball (animated by Fred Abranz).

“When he thought of the rut he was in, Bobo would get very mad and would trumpet angrily”. After Bobo makes a trumpet-like noise from his trunk, the narrator tells him, “Oh, Bobo, you’re madder than that”, so he blows two angry trumpet-like noises (animated by Abranz).

After reading Uncle Jumbo’s letters (animated by Rod Scribner), Bobo imagines himself pitching, and then hitting a home run (animated by Izzy Ellis).

Bobo decides to go to New York on the first ship out but learns that the boat does not solicit elephant patronage as he is immediately kicked out after going up the gangplank. “Bobo felt very hurt when he fell down on his… first attempt” (animated by Richard Bickenbach).

Other attempts include Bobo trying to tightrope walk with a tiny umbrella across the rope holding the lifeboat only to fall into the sea (animated by Scribner), hiding in a crate only to be discovered and brought back out on to the dock, and attempting to ski off the warehouse’s metal roof only to smash through the dock, and a catapult that also causes has the same result as the skiing attempt (animated by Ellis).

Dejected, Bobo is about to give up when the Minah Bird shows up. The narrator describes him as being about four inches tall before the Minah Bird corrects him by holding up a card with the number 5 on it. Bobo is advised by the Minah Bird to paint himself pink if he wants to get on board as no one will admit that they saw a pink elephant (animated by Bickenbach). Although Bobo is somewhat skeptical about the idea, he runs off (animated by Ellis) paints himself anyway, which works as the guard at the gangplank believes he is hallucinating and disposes of an alcohol bottle he hid (animated by Bickenbach).

Thanks to his new color, Bobo is given free reign of the ship (animated by Kirsanoff). He has a turn at the wheel (animated by Scribner), is given a passengers’ food by said passenger (animated by Ellis), and sleeps in another passenger’s bed, with this passenger shivering on a chair (animated by Bickenbach).

Finally arriving in New York, Bobo finds out the disadvantage of the disguise as everyone desperately tries to ignore him out of fear. His trunk is the only one the customs officers won’t inspect or even touch, and when he rests in an area that says to “Keep Off the Grass Do Not Pick Flowers”, the cop there walks away in fright (animated by Scribner). A construction worker drills himself into the ground upon seeing Bobo (animated by Ellis).

Even the babies are cautious of him. Bobo dejectedly sits on the sidewalk when a street cleaner wagon suddenly comes by and accidentally washes his disguise off. Bobo feels insulted at this (animated by Abranz), but he now has something bigger to worry about as everyone is in a panic at seeing an actual elephant (animated by Bickenbach).

Bobo is arrested (animated by Bickenbach) and is brought to the judge who gives him a life sentence- to be in the circus, which is what Bobo was looking for in the first place! (animated by Scribner)

Bobo is put on the baseball team but he is very unhappy about his position as he is now the team’s official bat boy. Getting in his only line of dialogue, Bobo complains, “Bat boy, schmat boy! I’m STILL carrying logs!” (animated by Abranz)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕