Happy You and Merry Me

This is certainly not up to the standard of quality that other Betty Boop cartoons achieve. Neither the story nor the animation are imaginative. However, the song is good and the piano playing is great. I gave it a 10 for that reason alone. Here are the lyrics.

Who's young and healthy? Cross your heart and confess, happy you and merry me.

Oh who's bought a ticket for the Joytown Express? Happy you and merry me.

Though Mr. Gloom may chase us, we'll dodge him every day. Say

Who's feeling fine and dandy? Say can't you see? Happy you and merry me.

Pudgy finds a kitten and Betty Boop is worried because it's behaving so sluggishly. So, she sends Pudgy to the store to buy a box of catnip. On the way home, the box leaks and the kittens mother becomes intoxicated with the herb and follows Pudgy. There the mother and kitten are reunited and leave to go wherever they live. On the way, the box of catnip continues to leak and all the neighborhood cats follow---acting VERY high as a result.

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of plot to this one—and no laughs unless you consider watching drugged cats to be funny. Fortunately, although the film is poor and not especially entertaining, at least the animation quality is high---as it is in all these Fleischer Brothers cartoons. Easy to skip unless you are a die-hard Betty Boop fan.

A kitten is chasing a bee all around, eventually landing in Betty Boop's house and eating a bunch of candy. Betty is nearby playing the piano and singing. Her pet dog Pudgy is turning the pages of the music with his tail and bobbing his head to the tune.

After the song, they notice the little kitten on the table, lying upside down and ailing. Betty takes his temperature (puts an thermometer in the cat's mouth), then puts on ice bag on its head and a pillow underneath him. Pudgy is going along with it, but looks a little suspicious. However, he obeys when a tearful Betty gives him a note to take over to the drug store.

Meanwhile, the kitten's wakes up, notices her baby is missing and starts wailing, "Clarence, Clarence (or whatever he name is)!"

The humor in the cartoon doesn't appear until right after that point when the mom smells the catnip that Pudgy went and got at the store. The reaction of the mom, child and other cats as they all sniff the stuff is funny. These felines are stoned out of their minds on this catnip.

Overall, a cute but not that funny animated Betty Boop short.

Happy You and Merry Me (1936)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Here we have another Betty Boop short that is high on cuteness but low on laughs. In the short, a kitten is chasing a fly (or bee) and winds up in the home of Betty where it eats too much candy and gets a belly ache. Betty asks her dog Pudgy to go to the store and get some medicine but on its way back home he's chased by the kitten's mother. HAPPY YOU AND MERRY ME isn't a very funny film and in fact I don't recall laughing a single time. It does feature Betty singing a song but even this isn't nearly as good as some of the more memorable ones from previous movies. What keeps this film moving and making it worth watching is the cuteness that it displays. We can start with the cute black kitten, which does several cute things throughout the film. This includes playing around but also towards the end when it's sick. Yes, it's still cute even when it's sick. We also have a cute looking puppy willing to help out the cat. Then, of course, there's Betty who always comes across as being cute here. So, needless to say, the cute level is quite high and makes this one worth viewing.

A good deal of the pre-Production Code Betty Boop cartoons are daring and creative, with content that makes one amazed at what's gotten away with. While the later Betty Boop cartoons made after the Code was enforced are still watchable and exceptionally well-made, they are so toned down that they feel bland.

Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style was often stunning and some of the most imaginative and ahead of its time in animation. The character of Betty Boop, one of their most famous and prolific characters, may not be for all tastes and sadly not as popular now, but her sex appeal was quite daring for the time and to me there is an adorable sensual charm about her. The good news is that she has not lost her charm, she is still cute and her comic timing is good.

Less good is that, thanks to the production code her sensuality is heavily muted, and it was like she had lost a large part of what made her such a unique character back then and what made her popular.

'Happy You and Merry Me' is a nice cartoon and is very high in the appealingly cute factor, but apart from the ending it is lacking in laughs and the story is thin and at times over-stretched making parts occasionally drag. The risqué and surreal edge that made the pre-Code Betty Boop cartoons so intriguing is also missing, giving a tameness and blandness.

On the other hand, the animation is as exceptional as can be, it's beautifully drawn, crisp and meticulously rich in detail, the backgrounds are especially impressive. The music is infectious and dynamic.

Pudgy is adorable once again and so is the cat. The voice acting is strong and the ending is amusing. The cute factor is high and appealing in it, and never does it get too saccharine.

In conclusion, nice enough if lacking. 6/10 Bethany Cox