AllMovie

Rudolf Ising and his partner Hugh Harman were pioneers of modern animation and were responsible for launching Warner Brother's classic Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies series. Ising got his start in 1922 as an inker with Disney's first cartoon studio, "Newman's Laugh-O-Grams" out of Kansas City, Missouri where he helped create brief animated advertisements. Harman came on board shortly thereafter. The two started their own studio in 1929 after Disney moved to California. Their first was a three-minute cartoon Bosko the Talkink Kid. Bosko was a young negro who spoke in a thick dialect and wore a derby. He bore more than a casual resemblance to Mickey Mouse as did his associates Honey (who looked like Minnie Mouse) and his dog Bruno (a relative of Pluto). The actual animation was done by Harman and Friz Freleng. Eventually the pilot short was picked by the president of Pacific Arts and Titles, Leon Schlesinger. He was closely affiliated with Warners and got the team a production contract to create more Bosko cartoons. Bosko made his big-screen debut in Sinkin' in the Bathtub. It was not only the first animated cartoon to feature synchronized sound dialogue but also the very first in the Looney Tunes series. Premiering in New York along with the Warners feature film Song of Flames, each of the early Bosko cartoons ended with the trademark "That's all folks!" Harman-Ising launched a second series, an early version of Merry Melodies, in 1931. Ising went on to become the series supervisor and director while Harman continued to focus on Looney Tunes and the Bosko series. This marked the unofficial split of Harman-Ising, though both of their names appeared on the cartoon credits. The two eventually left Warner's over money disputes and ended up working at MGM. There they attempted to bring back Bosko and also worked on a few new characters. While the cartoons they produced were lovely, they were nothing special. During this period, Ising created an important self-parody, Barney Bear, who later became the model for former MGM animators Hanna-Barbara's more famous Yogi Bear. Later Ising was involved with the very first Tom and Jerry cartoon.