Hugh and Rudy's Cow

Some familiar gags adorn the first Warner Bros. cartoon, “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub” (1930). It shouldn’t be a surprise because the artists who created and worked on it (Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising) were the same ones who animated the Oswald cartoons for Walt Disney.

One example is the munching cow, recalcitrantly blocking the route of travel. Here’s a crudely drawn one in Oswald’s “Trolley Troubles” (1927).



And here’s the one Bosko encountered.



Both our heroes in cartoons get around the cows. Both cows indignantly walk away with their noses and tails up.



And the same cow routine got used again in “Smile, Darn Ya, Smile” (1931) with Foxy. In fact, the same animation was used.