Bobby Bumps Caught in the Jam

Bobby Bumps is a mischievous little boy who spots a jar of jam and decides he wants a taste. He enlists his loyal dog Fido and a sly mouse, and a simple snack run quickly turns into a chain of physical jokes and chaotic chases. Doors slam, props collapse, and the three trade one gag for the next in a largely wordless peel of sight humor. The short keeps a brisk tempo, relying on expressive drawing and timing to sell each pratfall, so the setup and a series of escalating mishaps take center stage rather than any detailed backstory.

Released in 1918, the short was directed by Earl Hurd and belongs to the Bobby Bumps series of animated comedies, which Hurd created and produced in the silent era. It showcases early cel animation methods associated with Hurd's work too.

Commercial tallies for 1918 animated shorts are scarce, and no reliable box office figures survive for this title, so its contemporary earnings aren't documented, and distribution records are fragmentary across surviving trade sources. Records from the period remain incomplete today.

Though it never became a household name like later cartoon characters, 'Bobby Bumps Caught in the Jam' demonstrates the early cinema appetite for sight gag comedy and recurring kid-and-pet dynamics, and it documents techniques that helped normalize cel-based animation in American studio practice during the 1910s for commercial short films.

Modern viewers rate it modestly, reflected by a 5.0/10 user score based on limited votes. The short leans on slapstick, mischievous childhood antics and animal hijinks, favoring visual surprise over narrative depth, and it remains of interest to historians studying early animated techniques and period exhibition practices in film history.