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Max FleischerBetty Boop: Minnie The Moocher (1932)

This movie is part of the collection: Film Chest Vintage Cartoons

Producer: Max Fleischer
Audio/Visual: sound, b/w
Keywords: Betty Boop; cartoon; humor

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: goth_Snob - - October 18, 2008
Subject: LOVE IT!
Definitely one of my favorites, and why I love these Betty Boop cartoons - jazz!

Reviewer: Ted The Fiddler - - May 23, 2008
Subject: Not just for the kids
Some one below mentioned something about Good for the kids to learn, etc.... These cartoons were originally shown before the Feature in Paramount Pictures Licensed Theatres before the main attraction. Not just for kids, but adults on big Move nights like Fri and Sat before A budget pictures. That's why they feature big stars of the day and have all those layers of double meanings. This one is also Pre Code, meaning before the Motion Picture Association cracked down on the entire industry to clean up what they considered Smut at the time. So there are little things in here you won't see in Later cartoons.

Reviewer: thechimp1963 - - June 22, 2007
Subject: minnie the moocher
Absolutely Fleischer at his trippy best. The audio by todays standards is poor but was state of the art in the mid 30's. This rates as one of the best of the Calloway/Boop collaborations second only to Snow White (St. James Infirmary Blues)in its theme and execution. IMHO

Reviewer: Abe in NYC - - December 10, 2006
Subject: WARNING - ToonCast videos have pre-roll and border
Dear all:

Please be advised that the ToonCast versions of these videos (in QuickTime format) all have an added border advertising the ToonCast site, and two out of three have an added pre-roll with a big red "more" (at ToonCast)!

Reviewer: tooncast - - October 28, 2006
Subject: audio solution
Vintage ToonCast has a download for this classic that has flawless audio...

Reviewer: zapu - - August 25, 2006
Subject: gyugu
bhbhl,jbibh

Reviewer: RosamariaM - - May 3, 2006
Subject: hidy hidy hidy hidy ho!
love this one! who knows where i can find the old "farmer alfalfa" cartoons of terrytoon fame? thanks! this site is awesome!!!!

Reviewer: hauntofdresden - - December 23, 2005
Subject: Cab=wow.
Calloway is one of my newly discovered favorite artists and to add to the excitement of finding him amid Betty's films, he's drawn as a walrus. It's like a miracle!
I also liked Betty's song- I need to memorize it and sing it when I have to visit my mother...

Reviewer: ihor oid - - November 7, 2005
Subject: minnie the moocher - audio portion
the video portion is transferred just fine, but the audio is set to some dismally LOW level of 1 out 10, so one does NOT get to enjoy the vocal antics of betty boop or cab calloway.

I-) ihor

Reviewer: boffy_b - - October 17, 2005
Subject: Thank you!
I saw this when I was young and impressionable, but I only remembered the latter bit with the ghosts and the walrus, so I didn't know it was a Boop. I always wanted to track this cartoon down, but didn't know where to start.

Suddenly it turns up DVD quality in my lap whilst I'm idly browsing archive.org! I nearly screamed when I saw the thumbnail.

Having re-watched it from this side of innocence, I think it goes a long way towards explaining why I'v turned out like I have.

Thank you for letting me re-live one of my earliest memories.

Reviewer: ne7 - - September 20, 2005
Subject: Simply Amazing
Incredibly odd and brilliant cartoon which mixes live action and 2d animation that was way ahead of its time. Calloway is on form as he performs his most famous hit, Check out the genuinely unsettling ghosts, demons and monster backing singers ;) Great!

Reviewer: toefinder - - September 18, 2005
Subject: Callaway and Fleischer
They must have had an incredible amount of fun making this cartoon. Minnie gets caught up with a pot headed coke sniffin junkie who teaches her how to "kick the gong" ( mainline heroin ) . Later she meets up with a pimp, the king of Sweden, who gives her somethin she was needin' (a sad reality of the day for a number of young ladies in a different world around the other side of the tracks). This played on saturday morning cartoons all over america on the major networks. The suburban housewives of the time would have had coronariies had they understood it. This follows in the tradition of telling kids scarey stories about murders and birds plucking out their eyes, etc. that has always been so popular in anglo culture and prominent in lullabies and nursery rhymes.

Cab Calloway has a topnotch band and the kids are the winners here. They get a glimpse into a culture totally taboo and get to hear some of the finest jazzmen alive. Although they would not realize it for another twenty years. All in all the short had a good message for the kids to boot. Careful about running away there are dangers out there...This is one of the greatest popcultural works of all time. Thanks to the archives for making it available.

Reviewer: tondelayo - - August 31, 2005
Subject: Great Stuff from The Great Depression
Wonderful music, inventive animation, a wild and weird cartoon. Highly recommended!

Reviewer: rhthesinner - - August 15, 2005
Subject: Nightmare Fodder
Wow!

A wonderful, surreal and genuinely scary piece of work. If I had seen this as a child I would have had nightmares for weeks! The animators of today would learn a lot if they were made to watch past masters such as this. Lots of wit and invention on display here. I particularly liked the gramophone business at the beginning. The sound levels are low - yes. But that in no way detracts from the enjoyment of the piece. I never really liked Betty as a child but now I'm willing to watch more on the strength of this.

Reviewer: prettygeorge - - June 20, 2005
Subject: Ugly George is stuck in the 90's
Cab Calloway rocks!! Especially compared to the lame garbage that passes for music today! I think UG was projecting PC into this. Judging the past is tricky at best.

Reviewer: Jah Gussi - - April 10, 2005
Subject: Adult Only Toon
Re-Rated 18 Only.
Seen loads of this sort of stuff over a century ago, years just seem to fly pass, till about a year ago I hear a version of this on the radio, then discover RedHotJazz.com who stream loads of Jazz and now this PD cartoon version great stuff.
Not for the young ones this sort of stuff.

Reviewer: RWRamo - - March 21, 2005
Subject: Classic of american culture
Although the sound level is so low I can barely hear it with all level volumes cranked.

I enjoyed this cartoon. The double edged humor of MF cartoons. And a guest appearance by Cab. If it were not for classic film such as reefer madness, the Blues Brothers, Reefer Madness. I think an interesting bit of the music world would be lost to the sands of time.

HideyhideyhideyHO, fix the sound and gimme some mo.