Bonzolino or - Bonzo Broadcasted
Bonzo the dog hitches a ride on radio waves all the way to Hollywood to win back his girl in this silent cartoon comedy
The course of true love never did run smooth, not even for cartoon canines. Cheekee the Pekinese is so besotted with silent movie stars that she has no time for Bonzo, so he hitches a ride on the radio waves to Hollywood and, after a few mishaps, earns his own contract. The irony is that George Studdy's creation Bonzo was already a star of stage shows, merchandising and this 26-part animated series.
Born out of Studdy's weekly one-page illustration in The Sketch, the character of Bonzo had slowly transformed from a number of dog drawings into a much loved national character. The artist had experimented with short animated editorial cartoons during WWI, but this series marked a different scale of operation. One of the few British animated characters to compete with imports like Felix the Cat, any success in cinemas was sadly short-lived. Like many other silent animated characters, Bonzo enjoyed a longer life on home movie formats like 9.5mm film.
Creatures Great and Small
Fur, feathers, bugs or beaks: from the start animators have cast the whole natural world in their human comedies and dramas
Would you know Mickey was a mouse if you didn’t know his surname? Many of the most famous animated characters are drawn from the animal kingdom, but they rarely behave quite as nature intended. Anthropomorphism has a long history in storytelling - going back to Aesop and beyond - and animation has imported it into film. But whether it's Bonzo the Dog or Charley the Cat, these characters are really studies in human nature.
23 videos in this collection
Feline Fun
The Clown and His Donkey
Charley Says: Falling in the Water
Goodwill to All Dogs
Superted
The Fabulumperous Car
The Six-armed Image
The Elstree Erbs
Tale of a Tendril
Bonzo [No. 1]
Bonzolino or - Bonzo Broadcasted
Willie Comes to Life
Running a Cinema
A Cat Is a Cat
Teapot
Topical Bonzette
Steve's Cannon Crackers
Bee Boy
Apodemy
Moxie
The Obvious Child