'Grampy: The Candid Candidate' still resonates

Grampy: The Candid Candidate (1937)

Starring: Jack Mercer (voice of Grampy) and Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop)

Director: Dave Fleischer

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

After narrowly winning at election for Mayor, various citizens groups invade Grampy's office and insist he deliver on his promises. Grampy comes up with innovative ways to meet their demands (and more)!

Although this is ostensibly a Betty Boop cartoon, the fact that it's headlined by a member of what is generally viewed as her supporting cast, says a lot about the standing of the Betty Boop character in the late 1930s. Her adventures lost much of their edge when production companies became obligated to adhere to the MPPC, and Betty grew up, put away the tiny flapper dress, and became a domesticated homemaker. Meanwhile, characters like Grampy, who was introduced into the series in 1935, took more and more of the spotlight. In some ways, Betty Boop was following the same path that her one-time boyfriend Bimbo had followed: Betty began her existence as a supporting character to Bimbo, but she quickly came to overshadow him.

While the "The Candid Candidate" is a solid sign that Betty's days as the reigning Queen of Cartoon Comedy were coming to an end, it is an item that has stood the test time--with humor that is as fresh now as it was in 1937, and probably still will be in 2103. Not only does it feature a rapid-fire stream of sight gags, but it's a fun-filled send-up of politicians who over-promise and who then, when called to deliver, fail at truly fixing  problems they campaigned on while going so overboard in other areas to the point where there are going to be unintended consequences down the road. Shots taken at the media here also shows that "fake news" isn't new, and that politicians pandered just as hard back then as they do today. There is so much in this cartoon that remains relevant that it's funny and depressing at the same time.

Whether you watch "The Candid Candidate" for its social commentary or just for the crazy and innovative ways Grampy goes about being the Greatest Mayor Ever, you're going to enjoy every moment of its  six-minute running time. I've embedded it below so you can check it out now--I'm sure it will brighten your day.

 

(In fact, I enjoyed this cartoon so much that I think I shall have to focus my meanderings through the history of Betty Boop on just the ones featuring Grampy. He made ten appearances between 1935 and 1937, and if they're all as good as this, I'll be glad I did!) 

Cuteness abounds in Blunderland

Betty in Blunderland (1934)

Starring: Bonnie Poe (as the voice of Betty Boop)

Director: Dave Fleischer

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Betty falls asleep while putting together a jigsaw puzzle and dreams that she travels to Wonderland and becomes Alice.

"Betty in Blunderland" uses elements of the novels "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" to create a lighthearted fantasy romp featuring not only the characters you expect but also a few other fairy. The cartoon is at its strongest early on--the best part is Betty's crossing over into Wonderland and following the White Rabbit to the Mad Hatter's tea party. (Betty's tumble into Wonderland is especially amusing--even if there's a punnish pop cultural reference that I'm sure the 1930s audiences got but which left me baffled.)

From there, the cartoon goes into cuteness overdrive, with the iconic Wonderland characters singing and dancing and generally being goofy, and ultimately gathering around Betty so she can sing to them in a forest grove. Everyone is having a grand time--until the Jabberwocky shows up and spoils the party. The remaining few minutes are still cute and fairly amusing, but they are also completely predictable. Essentially, it feels like the animators felt obligated to include a chase scene and this was the best they could come up with.

There have been worse adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice tales, but there have also been better. Although it gets a bit shaky at the end, at least this one never bets boring and is sure to put a smile on your face, whether you're a fan of Betty Boop or Alice in Wonderland. It's also just a little above 7 minutes long, so why don't you give yourself a break and check it out right now by clicking below? 

Betty and Jimmy get a work-out

Betty Boop and Little Jimmy (1936)
Starring: Mae Questel
Director: Dave Fleischer

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Betty (voiced by Questel) is working through a personal fitness and weight-loss regiment when Little Jimmy (also voiced by Questel) causes a workout machine to malfunction. With Betty trapped in it, Jimmy rushes off to get help, but is repeatedly distracted along the way. 

By 1936, Betty Boop's best years were behind her as a cartoon character. The morality clauses of the Motion Picture Production Code instituted in 1934 had drained her adventures of the adult-oriented surrealness and not-so-thinly veiled sexual references that had made them unique, and Betty was left starring in cute and mildly amusing features. The wild-child of the animated world had settled down and become domesticated, and, as if to drive that fact home, she was paired in several films with the child character of Little Jimmy. (For more on Little Jimmy's origins, see my review of "Baby Be Good" by clicking here.)  

"Betty Boop and Little Jimmy" is a fairly typical example of these on-the-downhill-slope efforts. The voice acting is great, the animation is top-notch, the music is fun and catchy... but the story is entirely without any of the edgy sparks that were flying left and right back in early 1930s. What we have here is a series of cute, harmless, and mildly amusing gags that are almost entirely free of anything that would cause upset. (That said, there are a couple of moments that might "trigger" some of the hyper-sensitive modern viewers out there, but anyone who is psychologically well-balanced should weather the experience just fine.)

One thing that really sets it apart, however, is the unsettling, nightmarish territory that this cartoon heads into at the end. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it--other than it is completely out of tone with everything that leads up to it. It's so inconsistent that I find myself wondering if maybe veterans from the "Tom and Jerry" series dropped by for the story concept meetings, because, like the "Tom and Jerry" series, it's as if the creators here couldn't settle on a tone or an audience for their efforts.

Why don't you take a few minutes out of your day and enjoy a bit of 1930s fun and weirdness? Maybe you have a different take on the ending than I do, and then you can set me straight with a comment! 

The Domesticated Betty Boop

Baby Be Good (1935)
Starring: Mae Questel (Voices of Betty Boop and Little Jimmy)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Betty tries to convince a misbehaving child to go to sleep for the night.

By 1935, Hollywood filmmakers had completely surrendered to the morality clauses of the Motion Picture Production Code (MPPC), and the risque escapes that had made Betty Boop so popular with movie-goers were well behind her. In fact, they were so far behind her that in "Baby Be Good", she's a homemaker and the mother of a bratty toddler.

I've repeatedly read comments from critics that the MPPC ruined the Betty Boop series. While I agree that what I've sampled of the post-1934 Boop cartoons for the most part don't have the same edge as the earlier ones--some were so dull I doubt I'll bother revisiting them for a write-up in these parts--I disagree that the series was ruined. There is still plenty of inventiveness in and fun to be had watching some of the tamer exploits of the domesticated Betty. Animation-wise, this one is every bit as good as older Betty cartoons, with detailed characters and backgrounds. The music is, as always, omnipresent, catchy, and fun.

One disappointment for me is that "Baby Be Good" is almost completely free of the surreal, borderline horrific craziness that had once been the series' hallmark. What we do get of that sort of content is very tame and mostly relegated to the cautionary bedtime story that Betty relates to her bratty kid. Overall, the "reality" of Betty's world is quite sedate compared to what she lived through in her younger days--although the kid's antics are every bit as cartoony as hers were in the old days... and we even get a little old-school weirdness bleeding through from the fairytale to reality at the end.

"Baby Be Good" is embedded below, via YouTube. Please take a few minutes and check it out!



I suppose I should mention that I think Jimmy is fortunate that he gets his looks from his mother instead of his father, who I presume is Bimbo. To illustrate what I mean, here are a couple of pictures with Betty and Bimbo together...

AND--for the historically minded and detail-oriented readers out there, I should add that I am aware that the Little Jimmy character predates Betty Boop's creation by about 25 years. Maybe it's because of a misspent youth reading comics where characters co-existed in the same universe, or the years I spent working on properties with sprawling continuities that didn't always quite fit together, but when I first came across Boop cartoons with Little Jimmy in them, he immediately became her son in my mind/"head-canon". We can discuss who the father might be, but Jimmy will always be Betty's son to me when they're sharing the screen. (The Little Jimmy character originated in a newspaper strip distributed by the same syndicate that handled Popeye's printed home. I assume that the same sort of deal that led to Popeye sharing the screen with Betty was at work when it came to Little Jimmy's animated appearances.)

Take a trip with Betty Boop to 'Crazy-Town'

Crazy-Town (1932)
Starring: Mae Questel and Billy Murray (each doing various voices)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Betty and Bimbo head down a rabbit hole that leads to the heart of Crazy-Town, a place where everything is the opposite of what you expect.

Betty Boop exists in a world where inanimate objects come to life, people and plants transform themselves into different shapes instantly, and most of the population consists of anthropomorphic "funny animals", so a place called "Crazy-Town" has got to be somewhere where things are even more bizarre.

That isn't quite the case here. Instead, almost everything is opposite of what it should be--fish fly above a pond while birds swim in the water; neighborhoods drive to the trolley car; and when women go to the beauty salon, they don't change their hairstyles, they change their heads! This is all very strange and very fun--although it's a little weird that Betty and Bimbo initially freak out by all the backwardness, since they open the cartoon by singing how they have nothing better to do, so they're going to go crazy in Crazy Town. The cartoon also features some very catchy tunes that I was humming for a good part of the day after watching it, and that I find myself humming as I type this review. Unfortunately, there is a tendency here that I don't recall from other Boop cartoons to drag out almost every gag until it's unfunny. As fun as this is, it feels like instead of coming up with enough wacky concepts to truly fill the run-time, they just padded some sequences... and it drags down this otherwise excellent cartoon.

Still, the good outweighs the bad here, and it's well worth your time to check out "Crazy-Town" (which you can do, right here from this post; it's embedded below, via YouTube). This cartoon is also noteworthy in the sense that it contains some very clear reminders that the "Betty Boop" series was originally made for adult audiences. It should also prove particularly amusing to those out there who subscribe to the notion that "Alice in Wonderland" was inspired by a drug trip.

Popeye was Popeye from the very beginning

Popeye the Sailor (1933)
Starring: William Costello (voice of Popeye), Bonnie Poe (voices of Olive Oyl and Betty Boop), and William Pennell (voice of Bluto)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Seven of Ten Star

While on shore leave, Popeye the Sailor visits a carnival with his girlfriend, Olive. When he decides to show off by getting on stage to perform with Betty Boop the Hula Dancer, his rival and shipsmate, Bluto, abducts Olive.

Most of the beloved classic cartoon characters go through several stages of development before becoming the ones everyone remembers of loves. Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, and Bugs Bunny all had manifestations that are almost unrecognizable when put next to their famous incarnations. This, however, is not the case with Popeye, nor his main supporting supporting cast of Olive Oyl and Bluto. From their very first appearance in 1933, the characters, their relationships, and their appearances were pretty much as they would remain for the next 25 years worth of animated shorts.

There are three reasons for this that spring to my mind: First, Popeye was already been a popular  character in S.E. Segar's syndicated newspaper strip "Thimble Theater", so his look was mostly fixed. Secondly, Popeye's supporting cast, such as Bluto and Olive Oyl were already taking shape in the newspaper strip--although Bluto in particular came to life in the cartoons--and Popeye's animated debut was written by his creator, Segar, so the elements that were expanded upon were probably things he already had in mind. Thirdly, Kings Features (and possibly Segar) had final approval on every Popeye cartoon produced by the Fleisher Studios.

As for the specifics of Popeye's animated debut, although he, Olive Oyl, and Bluto are obstensibly guest-stars in a Betty Boop feature, Boop gets second billing behind Popeye and she has what amounts to an extended cameo as a topless hula dancer at a carnival. She's still pivotal to the plot, as Bluto has an opening to abduct Olive Oyl when Popeye engages in the ultimate act of pecocking when he gets on state and hula dances with Betty. The cartoon climaxes with a great variation of the send-up of silent movie melodramas involving a damsel in distress being tied to the railroad tracks, with Bluto tying Olive up with the railroad tracks.

Another interesting aspect of Popeye's debut is the way it puts him and his supporting cast firmly in Betty Boop's world where anthropomorphic animals exist side by side with humans. From Popeye's shipmates, to the majority of those attending the carnival, the minor characters and figures are "funny animals" of the typical Fleisher Studio design. As the "Popeye" series progresses, these beings quickly drop from view, but it's a fun notion to think that Betty Boop and the "funny animals" live on a particular continent, sort of like the Island of Goons from a later Popeye cartoon.

Usually with posts like this, this is the point at which I'd invite you to watch the cartoon being reviewed right here, in this post. However, "Popeye the Sailor" is still under copyright, and its owner, Warner Bros., guards it jealously. I recommend getting the DVD collection containing it, as the set is full of great classic cartoons. (Just be sure to watch them in sittings of two-three at a time, because most of them follow the same plot, and feature Popeye doing his signature stunt of hitting large objects and causing them to break into smaller, different objects, and they can start to seem repetitive, even if they are really quite clever.)

'Bimbo's Initiation' is nightmarish fun

Bimbo's Initiation (1931)
Starring: Billy Murray (voice of Bimbo) and Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A secret society wants Bimbo to join their ranks, and its members won't take no for an answer.

"Bimbo's Initiation" is another one of those 1930s cartoons that starts goofy, turns weird, and dives headlong into the nightmarishly insane before its over. It's also an extremely funny. Further, even by today's standards, this 90-year-old cartoon features some very impressive, almost 3D-feeling animation of Bimbo's trek through the bizarre house of horrors the secret society traps him in after he turns them down. The film's best gag comes at the very end, though, when Bimbo is made an offer to join that no male can refuse!

This fun and freaky cartoon is sure to brighten your day, as well as make you marvel at how it can be so creepy and so amusing at the same time. If you have an interest in pop culture, you'll find added value in the fact that this film is one of the last times Betty Boop appeared in her original anthropomorphic poodle-like form, as well as one of the last time Bimbo had a leading role. Soon, Betty would be redesigned into the character we know today, and Bimbo would be relegated to ever-smaller parts until vanishing from the series entirely in 1934.

Please take a few minutes to enjoy "Bimbo's Initiation", right here in this post. You're also invited to leave comments here if you agree or disagree with my comments, or have an observation you wish to make.

Betty Boop for President!

It's Super Tuesday here in the U.S., which means several states are holding their primary election to see who they will nominate for the presidential election later this year. I don't know if the folks at the Fleischer Studios were psychic, or if the 2020 presidential hopefuls were inspired, en masse, by this cartoon...

(Political snarking aside, this is a fun cartoon with catchy music, and I think you'll enjoy watching it!)


Betty Boop for President (1932)
Starring: Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop)
Director: David Fleischer
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars


(Oh... and if anyone is still of the habit of writing in Mickey Mouse if you don't like any of the candidates, I suggest you switch to using Betty Boop. She has a better platform/manifesto... when has Mickey Mouse ever promised: "... a lot of Hi-De-Ho!, Boopy Doops and chocolate ice cream!"?)

Betty Boop at her most nightmarish?

Ha! Ha! Ha! (1934)
Starring: Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop)
Director; Dave Fleischer
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Betty and Koko escape the cartoon world, and when Koko develops a toothache from eating real-world candy, Betty tries her hand at dentistry. Surreal horror ensues.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" is a fantastic bit of craftsmanship that sees cartoon characters roaming in and interacting with the real world, or real cars and other objects transforming into cartoons through a mixture of animation and standard film. It's a great deal of fun watch the cartoon world interact with the real one as seamlessly as it occurs in this picture.. at least until it turns nightmarish and terrifying.

It seems like I've been creeped out by cartoons from the 1930s a lot lately--"The Rocketeers", for example, contains the most horrific scene I've witnessed in just about anything--but "Ha! Ha! Ha!" is another one that I found to be an example of surrealistic horror on a Junji Ito level, with the world undergoing bizarre changes that may well ultimately lead to madness for all of humanity. It's not so much what's in this short film, but what isn't that keeps my imagination working once it's over... and it's not happy place that I find myself imagining.

But why don't you take a few minutes to watch this masterpiece of surreal humor and horror via the embedded YouTube video below. I'd also love to hear your take on it.

Another macabre trip for Betty Boop

Is My Palm Read? (1933)
Starring: Mae Questal (the voice of Betty Boop) and Billy Murray (the voice of Bimbo)
Directors: Dave Fleischer and Dave Tendlar
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Professor Bimbo and his crystal ball reveal Betty's past as a baby, and her grim future on a ghost-haunted desert island.

Much is made of Betty Boop's sexiness, but, to my eyes, these cartoons are more about being spooky than sexy. Sure, she ran around in a tiny dress that sometimes got pulled off her... but she was always being menaced by ghosts, demons, hillbilly rapists, and more! I'm far from an expert, but my sampling of Betty Boop cartoons from the 1930s seem more creepy than sexy to me, with only two not featuring some sort of supernatural element. Some even have the feel and pacing and logic of bad dreams and nightmares. (Okay, they have the feel and pacing and logic of MY bad dreams... so maybe that says more about my psychological state than it does about the cartoons....)

"Is My Palm Read" is another Betty Boop adventure that sees her (and recurring supporting characters Bimbo and Koko) menaced by ghosts. While Betty's captivity within a haunted hut on a desert island is initially just a psychic vision, the ghosts manage to somehow break out of Bimbo's crystal ball toward the end of the cartoon. In doing so, they somehow transform the reality of the cartoon from an urban setting to the desert island from the vision. How or why is impossible to discern, and the characters just seem to take it in stride--they do, after all, live in one of the most surreal worlds ever committed to film. However, while this sudden merging of psychic vision and reality leads to an amusing chase scene, it makes no sense in any context.

While I feel a bit foolish for expecting a Betty Boop cartoon to make sense, this move was just a little too dream-like, too surreal, and too chaotic for me; it made me go "waitaminnit" and got me thinking about the mechanics of the story instead of just enjoying it. I don't think that was the intention the director and animators, so I think it's a flaw in the execution here.

That said, it's really the only flaw. It's a flaw that takes away from the overall enjoyment of the cartoon, but not from the excellent and lush animation it features, nor from the catchy tunes  it delivers.

How about you take a few minutes out of your day to watch "Is My Palm Read?" and tell me whether I'm right or wrong in my take on it. You can check it out below, courtesy of YouTube.



Trivia: There are at least four different edits of this Betty Boop cartoon available for viewing online, on YouTube, Amazon Prime, and elsewhere. The version I have embedded here is, as far as I can tell, the most complete and closest to what was originally released into theaters in February of 1933. Most versions available to not feature the sequence with Betty as a baby, and at least one has a slightly different musical score. (The opening titles song does not have lyrics, for example.)

'Minnie the Moocher' is a freaky trip

Minnie the Moocher (1932)
Starring: The Voices of Cab Calloway and Mae Questal
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars


Betty (Questal) and her boyfriend Bimbo run away from home, but they are confronted by a ghostly walrus (Calloway) and other spooks when they seek shelter in what turns out to be haunted cave.

"Minnie the Moocher" is one of the greatest Betty Boop cartoons, and some even say it is the greatest. Me, I think that honor goes to "The Old Man of the Mountain", but there's no question that this is one jazzy, snazzy, kooky. spooky filmlette!

"Minnie the Moocher" was the first of three collaborations between producer Max Fleischer and pioneering jazz-man Cab Calloway, and, like the other two, it plays like a precusor to the sorts of music videos that were the hallmark of MTV during its glory days: Each is a tour-de-force of creativity and surreal weirdness, as well as vehicle for delivering excellent music to present fans and introducing it to new ones.

As for the cartoon itself, "Minnie the Moocher" will keep you engaged with both its storyline, its weird visuals, and the great songs, with the main attraction being the song of the title, but Betty singing about how distressed she is over her mean parents is fun as well. Like the other two cartoons that Calloway made with Fleisher, it's also a great deal of fun to see him turned into a cartoon creature that still moves in a very Calloway-esque fashion thanks to Rotoscope--which was invented by Fleischer animators and first used on these cartoons.

Why don't you take a few minutes to enjoy some great music and watch an even greater cartoon? Just click below to start the video!

'Snow White' ala Calloway & Boop

Snow White (1933)
Starring: Mae Questel (as the voices of Betty Boop and the Evil Queen) and Cab Calloway (as the voices of Koko the Clown and the Magic Mirror)
Director: Max Fleischer
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

An evil queen orders Betty "Snow White" Boop (both voiced by Questal) put to death after a magic mirror declares Betty to be the most beautiful woman in the land. Complications ensue.

"Snow White" has been celebrated by critics as the most surreal of all the Betty Boop cartoons. I've not seen enough of them to know whether this is true or not. What I can say for sure is that's the weirdest adaptation of "Snow White" I've ever come across!

There's not much I can say about this film without ruining the viewing experience. I was slightly disappointed that the story felt a little more chaotic here than in other Betty Boop cartoons I've watched, but that was more than made up for how impressive I found it that despite being represented by a cartoon clown and a cartoon ghost that is nothing but legs, arms, and a head, Cab Calloway's mannerisms and demeanor still shine through. I was also enthralled by the backgrounds in the Magic Cave once the singing started. Instead of the usual static images that repeat with some minor variations as the animated characters sing and bounce their way through the action, it's a constantly changing set of images that visually tell the story of the "St. James Infirmary Blues" song being performed by Cab Calloway in his freakish ghost guise.

If you haven't seen this great old cartoon before, you should take a few minutes NOW to check it out, especially since the version embedded in this post has both perfectly clear visuals and audio. You won't regret it.

2019

Musical Monday with Calloway and Boop

The early Betty Boop cartoons are very trippy experiences... but this one seems moreso than others.

The Old Man of the Mountain (1933)
Starring: Cab Calloway (as the voice of the Old Man) and Bonnie Poe (as the voice of Betty Boop)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Although warned of the danger by an entire town of fleeing citizens, Betty Boop decides that she must see the Old Man of the Moutain herself.

Betty Boop had some surreal adventures in the early 1930s, and this is one of them. Although you have to wonder what when through that extra-large head of hers when she chose to disregard warnings from EVERYONE (including a woman who, depending on how darkly you want to view the storyline, was either the Old Man's unhappy wife, or a rape victim), and heads up to mountain to see for herself what everyone is so afraid of, this is among the more surreal of them. From the moment Betty meets the Old Man of the Mountain, this cartoon just keeps getting weirder and weirder... and keeps getting more and more entertaining.

Another really cool aspect of "The Old Man of the Mountain" is that it's essentially a music video; it's not just a cartoon where the characters sing a song or two, it's filled from beginning to end with jazz music and songs performed by Cab Calloway and his orchestra, along with Bonnie Poe. The character of the Old Man dancing was also reportedly rotoscoped from film of Cab Calloway performing. I've read this is one of three Betty Boop cartoons where the Calloway and his music are bascially the stars; I will be seeking out those and reviewing them in this space.

Meanwhile, if you like funky animation and even funkier jazz, you need to take a few minutes out of your day to watch "The Old Man of the Mountain".

That time Betty Boop went to Hell...

Red Hot Mamma (1934)
Starring: Bonnie Poe (as the voice of Betty Boop)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

When Betty Boop accidentally opens a gate to Hell, she decides to check the place out.

"Red Hot Mamma" is one of the greatest Betty Boop cartoons ever made; heck, it might be one of the greatest cartoons, period. Hell has never been jazzier and funnier than it is here: Even the initiations of new demons into the infernal ranks is a laff riot! It was also one of the last of the truly "risqué" ones, as the Hayes Office hammer was about to come down on the Fleischer Studios and the rest of Hollywood.

In fact, "Red Hot Mamma" as so "risqué" that it was banned by Great Britain's film censorship board in 1934, not because of sexiness but because they considered the lighthearted portrayal of Hell to be blasphemous. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not terribly religious, maybe its 85 years of eeeevil cultural decay, but I don't see the blasphemy here. If anything, the film makes a point about how the pure of heart can resist and overcome evil, since the film shows Betty to be the baddest Good Girl there is when she responds to devils who are happy to see her ("Hiya Betty!") with a shoulder so cold--and such a frigid stare--that Hell literally freezes over! (There's another element to Betty's trip to Hell that makes this ban even more of a head-scratcher for me, but to talk about it would really ruin the fun for you when watching it.)

But what do you think? Did this cartoon deserve to be banned by the British Board of Film Distribution? I've embedded it in this very post, for you to enjoy the sleek animation, nifty music, and hilarious sight gags--right here, right now.

... the Honorable Betty Boop presiding!

With the Supreme Court of the United States currently handing down decisions, this seems like a great time to post this fun Betty Boop cartoon that I think we can all relate to: We start our day in a great mood, looking forward to whatever it will bring... but encounters with other people soon make us wish that we were a Hangin' Judge with the authority to mete out punishments to fit the crimes of ruining our day and our good mood! (And in addition to its satisfying plot, this great little cartoon features a catchy song that you may find yourself humming later on.)

Judge for a Day (1935)
Starring: Betty Boop (voiced by Mae Questel)
Director: Dave Fleisher
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars