Minding the Baby

This is a very early Betty Boop cartoon. You can easily tell because Betty was originally very dog-like and evolved into the sex kitten we all know and love. Here, she sports long doggy ears and jowls that are a bit dog-like. However, by late 1931, these canine features would disappear completely and a year or two later, so would her boyfriend, Bimbo the dog—probably because having a lady dating a dog is just super-creepy!

In this installment, Bimbo has been told by Mom to stay home and watch his bratty (and very adult-like) baby brother. However, Bimbo would much rather hang out with Betty (and who wouldn't)—leaving the baby to get into all sorts of trouble and nearly kill himself on several occasions. All in all, a violent but funny cartoon with the usual insane sensibilities and great Fleischer animation that made Betty Boop's early films classics.

By the way, when Bimbo goes over to meet Betty, he casually mentions that Dad is angry because Mom has been spending time with the ice man—and they have an electric refrigerator. This is the sort of adult humor that makes you laugh but was pretty much eliminated when the new Production Code was enacted in mid-1934. As a result, her cartoons became a lot less interesting!

Bimbo is left to babysit his horrible little brother. But Betty (still sporting dog ears and features) lives across the alley and her mother is away. She makes all kinds of suggestive moves on our little dog buddy. He is drooling and wants to get over there, but duty calls. This is a bit racy at times. Betty may be a dog, but she is quite the figure. There are lots of interesting things that go on.

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. That charm, sensuality and adorable factor is not lost anywhere here, nor her comic timing and she is very well supported by the ever fun if not quite as interesting Bimbo. Bimbo's baby brother is cute and not a brat.

'Minding the Baby' is not one of the best Betty Boop cartoons by all means, but certainly not among the worst, her lesser efforts all being when the Production Code was enforced, things became tame and what made the early pre-Code cartoons so good was somewhat lost. This said, it has all the elements that make her pre-Code cartoons so worthwhile and does do so much, almost everything, right and little wrong. The weak link is the story, which is basically events strung together.

However, the animation is outstanding, everything is beautifully and meticulously drawn and the whole cartoon is rich in visual detail and imagination. Every bit as good is the music score, which delivers on the energy, lusciousness and infectiousness, great for putting anybody in a good mood.

As hoped, the fun is ceaseless, and delivers on the creativity as well as the cuteness and the ahead of its time adult humour that makes one surprised and impressed at what is gotten away with. It's violent but never sadistic.

Overall, very good and enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox