Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle

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.

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.

If you can put up with the modest racism, you can enjoy the Polynesian Bette. We start with some Samoans doing their thing and then move to Bette and her Buddy falling into their usual surrealist shtick. It does involve some blackface and stereotypical "natives," but the creativity is there for the viewing.

In some of Betty Boop's early films, the orchestra providing music in the cartoon is shown (usually at the beginning). In this case, The Royal Samoans (a Polynesian style group performing native style songs) is featured. While there was a lot of racism in Hollywood at this time (and a bit later in this film), I was impressed that Fleischer Brothers Studio often featured non-white groups in these cartoons—such as Cab Calloway and The Royal Samoans.

The film begins with Bimbo the dog on his tiny boat. He zips about and the film is even more crazily anthropomorphic than usual—and I loved the way his trip was shown on the map. Eventually, he lands on some South Seas island and meets a dark-skinned Betty Boop. They romance* and this little get together is interrupted by savages with bones through their hair. Now I am pretty sure some folks will blanch at the way these people are portrayed—it is certainly NOT politically correct. Bimbo is scared and wants to fit in, so he darkens his face and puts a bone through his hair. The tribesmen love him and make him their leader. To celebrate, Betty dances a nice little tune---TOPLESS! She clearly isn't wearing a top but her boobs are covered with a lei. While this was quite acceptable at the time it was released, this never would have been allowed when the new Production Code was enforced starting in mid-1934—and the Fleischers were forced to make Betty more family-friendly. I thought it was actually pretty innocent and fun. In the end, Bimbo's cover is broken—and there is a crazy chase that made me chuckle. All in all, I liked the music, I liked the cartoon and I recommend you see it—even with its flaws.

*When Betty Boop first began, she had long doggy ears. So, having her being romanced by Bimbo the dog wasn't a big deal. But once they made her 100% human, such interactions seemed really creepy. Apparently others also thought so and her romance with Bimbo soon fizzled. Later, Betty got a dog of her own (Pudgy)—one that acted like a dog!

Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style 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 charm, sensuality and adorability factors can be seen throughout 'Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle', as is a daring risqué factor when she dances the hula that makes one literally marvel at what the cartoon is getting away with. She is a joy to watch, as is an amusing Bimbo, though there is a scene where he paints his face and puts a bone in his hair that may seem tasteless to some.

Furthermore, the black and white animation is very good, smooth, meticulously detailed and well drawn with the black and white not looking too primitive. A lot of it is actually very imaginative. Even better is the music, which is rousing, catchy and unquestionably accessible to anybody who loves or is familiar with the compositional style.

'Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle' has a lot of charm and fun, with nothing dull about it. It is very strange, but in a richly inventive and quite wonderful way.

Not much to quibble about here. It is thin on plot and that aforementioned scene with Bimbo is very likely to touch some sensitive nerves.

Otherwise, a fun Betty Boop cartoon with the animation and music being particularly good. 8/10 Bethany Cox