Bosko Video

[rodney]

Does this company produce good quality videos? Do they have a website?

And.....

On another similar topic, does anyone know if the Facets Whole Toon catalog will be going back in print? I guess I should call them and ask that.....

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by rodney
Does this company produce good quality videos? Do they have a website?


Keeping in mind that they are, of necessity, limited to public domain titles, and that the most primo film elements of things like the WB "Bosko" and "Pvt. Snafu" cartoons are not available to them and they must therefore rely on what's out there (like 16mm TV prints, show-at-home prints and military surplus and discards), Bosko Video seems to me to be a pretty quality-conscious outfit, They don't screw around with the cartoons (a la Cartoon Crazies) and the film to tape transfers are generally pretty good, taking into account, of course, the variable condition of the originals they're forced to use.

Some people have excoriated them for placing their logos at several points in the "Pvt. Snafu" series; there's a particularly vociferous person's "review" on Amazon, in fact. I'm pretty stridently anti-logo, anti-bug myself, and I'd held off on the Bosko Snafus for some time because of it. When I finally relented, I found they weren't really that intrusive. In fact, they're generally only seen in the title sequences, and in only a couple cases in the cartoons themselves, then only for a few seconds.

So don't think of them as being in the same category as Cartoon Crazies or Madacy or any of the other crapola video outfits. I'd say they were one of the good guys.

As for their having a website, a quick Google search seems to indicate that the answer is no.

[Matthew Hunter]

I say they're great for having made the Bosko character available in any format. I've recieved several of their prints in trades, and they're the best they can be...the prints show their age, but pretty good considering they don't use official copies. The Sanfu cartoons are good quality too, the logo doesn't 'bug' me. (pun.)
-Matthew

[lislebartman]

I have the "Uncensored BOSKO - Volume 1" DVD and I think it's pretty good. The prints are old Sunset/Guild TV copies, but they are indeed watchable...

[simon]

I have a few of their "Inside Termite Terrace" series, which I bought years ago. I think they are some of the better unofficial compilations of WB cartoons that I have ever seen. I think Bosko deserves support over many other PD companies because they obviously cater to die-hard animation fans and not parents looking for something to babysit the kids.

On a related note (I asked this a long time ago, on the old board)... does anyone know what happened to Snappy Video? Are they still around in any capacity? I'd *really* like to get the four volume "Cultoons" series that they put out...

Simon

[Joe Tully]

I know that some people complain about the bugs (as Matthew mentioned) or dates that are listed very briefly on the Superman DVD, but I think that these minor faults can be ignored and, to most people, are only a small nuisance. Overall, they are a great deal, and make some rare cartoons available to animation fans. I have the Snafu, Superman and Felix DVDs and they are all great. I will probably get their Bosko DVDs at some point unless WB finally gets off of their butts and finally makes some releases.