Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B Review

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B is a 1941 animated short film from Walter Lantz. It is an unexpectedly strong cartoon.

Yes, this short took me by surprise how good and especially how entertaining it truly is. It follows a black man who gets drafted to the army, then they all burst to song while they play instruments. The black characters are stereotypically drawn for sure with the huge lips being particularly offensive. I also found the characterization rather slight.

But the action on screen is great and perfectly accompanied by the music itself. The titular song is so incredibly catchy and the movie has a kind of infectious energy to it and even a sense of innocence that it’s hard not to love it. The animation is pretty good, albeit not great. The humorous highlights include the very dark deaths in the movie with the alligator scene being particularly amusing.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B is a pretty good Oscar nominee with great music and an undeniable sense of fun.