Harman-Ising Productions

Battling Bosko is a 1932 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Hugh Harman for Harman-Ising Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Bosko tries his hand at boxing, with the usual slapstick results. The short is part of the early Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko, the first recurring character of the franchise. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Comedy

Bosko and Honey enjoy a day at the zoo until the animals break loose and chase them through the park in a barrage of gags. An early Looney Tunes short directed by Hugh Harman. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy

Bosko endures the mud, shells, and absurdities of the First World War trenches, keeping spirits up with music until the bees and bullets prove too much. An early Looney Tunes short directed by Hugh Harman. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · War

Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid is a 1929 pilot short animated by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. It was never released to theaters but was used as a demonstration reel to sell the Looney Tunes concept to Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. In the short, animator Rudolf Ising draws Bosko on a pad of paper; the character comes to life, talks, sings, and plays the piano before being sucked back into the inkwell. This is the first appearance of Bosko and the founding document of the Looney Tunes franchise. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Comedy

Bosko joins a fox hunt that goes hilariously wrong as the fox outwits the hounds, the horses, and the hunters themselves. A Looney Tunes short directed by Hugh Harman. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy

A college freshman goat arrives on campus and becomes the life of the party, leading a musical parade through a surreal academic world. A Harman-Ising Merrie Melodies short. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

A Merrie Melodies short directed by Rudolf Ising, and the first appearance of Goopy Geer, a tall, lanky piano-playing dog who entertains patrons at a nightclub. The cartoon is built around the Herman Hupfeld title song, with gags involving a gorilla waiter, a drunk horse seeing hallucinations in a mirror, and a chicken swimming in soup before it is served. Goopy Geer appeared in only three shorts before fading into obscurity, but the character remains a charming artifact of the early Merrie Melodies era when each cartoon was built around a song. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Short · Comedy · Music

Piggy and his girlfriend journey to a caricatured minstrel-show "Hallelujah Land" in this early Merrie Melodies short, the final theatrical appearance of the character Piggy. A Rudolf Ising-directed Harman-Ising production. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

Bosko works on a construction site, finding musical inspiration in every girder and rivet, in this early Looney Tunes short. A Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising-directed cartoon, the third in the Looney Tunes series. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

A circus parade springs to life with a procession of animals and performers, building to a series of musical sight gags. A Rudolf Ising-directed Merrie Melodies short. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

A band of mice throws a jazz party in a writer's office at night, until the family cat crashes the celebration. A Rudolf Ising-directed Merrie Melodies short that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

Pagan Moon is a 1932 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising for Harman-Ising Productions and Leon Schlesinger. The seventh entry in the Merrie Melodies series, the short features a tropical island setting with musical numbers and animated performances. As a 1932 work, the film is in the public domain.

Animation · Musical · Comedy

Seaman Tarfu in the Navy is a 1945 Private Snafu cartoon directed by George Gordon for Harman-Ising Productions, produced for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. This is the only Snafu cartoon not produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons — it was instead produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising's independent studio. The short follows Snafu's misadvent ures in the Navy, with the usual bumbling behavior that gives the character his name (Situation Normal: All Fouled Up). As a U.S. government work, the film is in the public domain.

Animation · War · Comedy

The very first Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising for Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. Bosko, a cheerful, rubber-limbed character, sings the title song in his bathtub before a series of gags involving his car, his girlfriend Honey, and a goat. The short established the formula for the early Looney Tunes: a song-based cartoon built around Bosko, animated in the round, fluid style that Harman and Ising had developed at Disney. The title tune, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub," was the first of many popular songs the series would showcase. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Short · Comedy · Music

Bosko revels on the farm, dancing with a cow, playing a horse's tail like a violin, and getting tipsy with three pigs in this early Looney Tunes short. A Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising-directed cartoon. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

Underground gnomes must wake Old Man Winter and coax Spring to arrive, painting the landscape with flowers and greenery in a vibrant Technicolor musical. A Happy Harmonies short and the directorial debut of William Hanna, co-directed with Paul Fennell. One of only three MGM cartoons in the public domain. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Animation · Comedy · Music

A Merrie Melodies short directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising for Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. A crowd of animals and humans gathers at a carnival, where gags pile up around a merry-go-round, a sideshow, and a fireworks finale. The title song, like all early Merrie Melodies, is the real point of the cartoon, with the animation built around showcasing the tune. The short is a time capsule of early sound animation, made when Warner Bros. was still finding its footing in the cartoon business. The film is in the public domain.

Animation · Short · Comedy