Minnie the Moocher

Betty Boop has some right to feel a bit persecuted by her parents. They nag and assault her verbally, causing her to run away with Bimbo. Obviously, the cartoonist sided with the parents because once the two get into unfamiliar territory, they are bombarded by ghosts and demons. Horrible visages accost them. The interesting thing is that this film has nothing to do with the character of Minnie the Moocher from the Cab Calloway song. It becomes dance music for the wraiths that inhabit the forbidden place. All of that said, the animation is superb, the characters terrifying, and everything is great fun. One question. Why is this sexy little thing with the garter and the revealing costume living at home with her parents. Running away and being so inexperienced seems the action of a seven year old.

Minnie the Moocher is essentially a music video for Cab Calloway's titular song, the '30s equivalent of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a featurette with a story to go with the song. It begins with live action footage of Calloway strutting his stuff in front of his Cotton Club Orchestra, but quickly turns into an animated tale featuring sexy cartoon babe Betty Boop, who runs away from home with her lover Bimbo, only to be haunted by singing ghosts in a spooky forest.

While perhaps not quite as demented as Bimbo's Initiation (1931), this cartoon still features its fair share of freaky visuals, from Betty's father's head turning into a gramophone, to Max Fleischer's regular character Koko the clown emerging from an inkwell, to the walrus ghost who mimics Calloway's dance moves, to the bizarre skeleton cat and its kittens, and so much more in-between. The animation is top notch for the day, with lots of lovely detail (check out the backgrounds, which feature fang like stalactites and skulls), while the music, it goes without saying, is superb. If you love animation, then you simply must check this out (and Bimbo's Initiation, which I think is even better).

The Betty Boop cartoon 'Minnie the Moocher' has an advantage: at least the second half is entertaining whether you like the cartoon itself or not since Cab Calloway's famous song with the same name plays there. Before the cartoon starts we see the real Calloway doing one of his dance moves, another little thing to make sure you probably will enjoy this. The story deals with Betty's parents being mad at her causing her to run away with Bimbo. After they have left they enter a forest where ghosts and other scary creatures all dance on "Minnie the Moocher".

This cartoon is very nice. The Calloway part is terrific with some inventive animation that fits the music perfectly. I also liked the last moments when Betty and Bimbo have escaped the scary forest where the happy ending is found in quite a funny way. If you like Betty Boop cartoons this one is not to be missed. If you normally don't, this could be a nice surprise.

Everything works here-the song, "Minnie the Moocher" goes hand in glove with the character of Betty Boop, the music and the animation are a wonderful fit, Cab Calloway has just the right flair to pull it all together, it all works splendidly and gives the viewer a treat for both eyes and ears. Betty Boop was animation's answer to Clara Bow, the "It" Girl and the early shorts were more risque and playful than the later ones, after The Code took effect. An excellent short, in print and available. Well worth seeing. Most highly recommended.

This is a Betty Boop cartoon, though it starts with a bit of footage of Cab Calloway and his orchestra. Calloway's song "Minnie the Moocher" is set to life using Betty, her friend Bimbo and an odd assortment of ghosts, though I really would have much preferred to actually just watch and listen to Calloway sing this song live--since it is very easy to like and quite funny (and a bit radical with its reference to cocaine). However, as a cartoon, it's a very strange thing indeed as I really don't know who the audience for this Pre-Code nightmare would be! After all, it is really scary and so younger kids would be terrified by it and the drug references, if the parents noticed, would really turn them off as well, as it's NOT good child fare! Interesting, well animated but too bizarre, this one is great for adults who want to see just how subversive Betty could be in her wild Pre-Code days.