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Minnie the Moocher
Betty Boop and Bimbo run away from home, but that night they are scared by a chorus of ghosts singing the title song.
Release : | 1932 |
Rating : | 7.3 |
Studio : | Fleischer Studios, |
Crew : | Director, Producer, |
Cast : | Cab Calloway Mae Questel Billy Murray |
Genre : | Fantasy Animation Horror Comedy Music |
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Reviews
Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
Excellent, a Must See
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Minnie the Moocher (1932) *** (out of 4)Betty Boop gets yelled at by her parents so her and Bimbo decide to run away. They don't get too far when they run into a group of ghosts. The big highlight of this short is that Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra play a big part in it. The film opens up to a Calloway song and showing him do a dance and then once we get to the ghosts they are basically dancing to his music. We also see the main ghost dancing like Calloway was at the start of the picture. If you're a fan of the Betty Boop shorts then you'll certainly enjoy this one as there are some funny jokes throughout and the animation is extremely good. Another highlight are the actual ghosts that look quite good and there's no question that the music is excellent.
At the beginning of Minnie the Moocher, an animated cartoon from Max Fleischer based on Cab Calloway's famous song, we see the real Calloway doing his unique dance in live-action in what is supposedly the first time moviegoers saw him on the big screen. Then we see Betty, supposedly a teen, being harassed by his immigrant parents about the way she lives her life. As she cries in her bed at night, she writes a note saying she's running away and calls Bimbo to come with her. As they leave, the go to a cave that has a walrus doing Cab's steps (which was rotoscoped from the man himself) and singing the title song with various ghostly jailbirds and some cats joining in. During this sequence, Betty and Bimbo turn black before leaving the craziness behind in a rushed ending sequence that brings Betty back under the covers of her bed and the note she wrote ripping to just say "Home Sweet Home"...While Walt Disney seemed intent on using public domain symphony pieces for his Mickey Mouse cartoons, Max Fleischer was getting some of the best jazz musicians like Calloway and Louis Armstrong on his and Betty Boop benefits greatly from them. I'm guessing Cab enjoyed what was done with him here so much, he eventually made a couple of other cartoons with the Fleischers, Max and director Dave, like Snow-White and The Old Man of the Mountain. So on that note, I recommend Minnie the Moocher for any animation buff out there.
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.
Spoilers herein.Spooky in three ways. The first is in the implied use of the derogatory for the black performers. The second is in the bizarre story involving a visit to hell. Of all the strange Boop adventures, this is perhaps the most disconcerting (together with `Red Hot Mama') visits to the demonic side. The more unsettling it becomes, the more you think about it. No Scooby do here, this is real.The third spookiness is in how the rotoscope imbues the ghost on the screen with the personality and very subtle movements of the lively Cab, a man haunted by his own demons.This was during the period that it was possible to have a character (in Betty) that superficially looked and acted silly but conveyed deep and dangerous tides of sex. If these would have been in color, she would be redheaded, like Clara Bow.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.