Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle

This is a great cartoon featuring Betty in all her glory. There is a phrase, "Anything can happen in a cartoon" and that describes the early Fleischers in general and the Betty Boop series in particular. These cartoons are animated insanity in some cases and are quite engaging for the viewer, because anything (well, almost anything) is likely to happen and the charm is trying to catch lots of little things. In print and available. Well worth watching. Recommended.

The Betty Boop cartoons -- or "Talkartoons" were always superior musically to the competition but Disney usually was better in terms of animation. The Fleischer Brothers, however, were always ahead technically, both with sound (in 1924) and here, were the dance numbers are clear animated using rotoscope.

Here's another Betty Boop "musical," this one featuring the Hawaiian music of "The Royal Samoans." You have to give the people responsible for these Boop cartoons - the Fleischer brothers, mainly - credit for giving musicians another forum to show their talents. They weren't biased, either, showing anybody from Louis Armstrong to classical violinist Rubinoff.

The music in here is excellent, too, especially some of the guitar work. They always have the characters in sync with the notes, too. Here, we see Betty doing her risqué hula dance and "Bimbo" imitating an island native singing a number, too.

You also get some the craziest visuals you'll ever seen. Betty's cartoons for good in that department. You just never know what absolutely crazy thing you'll see next. For instance, the motor of a small boat suddenly turns into dog, or the boat becomes a house that walks away - just insane stuff. Personally, I think it's all fascinating.

I know I said "Mask-A-Raid" is my only favorite Betty Boop cartoon featuring Bimbo that I love. I also adore "Minding the Baby" and "Betty Boop's Bamboo Island." I had watched it on YouTube, and now this cartoon has become another favorite of mine. The cartoon showcases island dances, including Betty's hula dance, which the animators rotoscoped, and a top-notch soundtrack by a group called The Royal Samoans. I was curious whether they had released any albums prior to this cartoon.

I like the scene where Bimbo pretends to be a native by painting his face and wearing a bone in his hair to impress the Samoans and become their king. However, it's important to note that there are offensive portrayals of black island natives in the cartoon. It's essential to acknowledge these inaccuracies and ensure political correctness. Rather than removing these cartoons entirely, it's valuable to discuss them with older relatives to gain insight into the historical context.

Overall, I still think it's another superb Betty Boop cartoon that co-stars Bimbo.

A cartoon for today. Live action of the Royal Samoans (whoever THEY are) and sexy politically incorrect Betty Boop sashaying her way across the Pacific.

She sports a dark hue in this one and is topless! We learn that her head is 50 times bigger than her bust. And some how a dog falls in love with her while the natives are restless.

The animation is great -- just a notch below Disney, but then Disney had the dough. And wan't so edgy.