Hitchcoc Betty Boop has some right to feel a bit persecuted by her parents. They nag and assault her verbally, causing her to run away with Bimbo. Obviously, the cartoonist sided with the parents because once the two get into unfamiliar territory, they are bombarded by ghosts and demons. Horrible visages accost them. The interesting thing is that this film has nothing to do with the character of Minnie the Moocher from the Cab Calloway song. It becomes dance music for the wraiths that inhabit the forbidden place. All of that said, the animation is superb, the characters terrifying, and everything is great fun. One question. Why is this sexy little thing with the garter and the revealing costume living at home with her parents. Running away and being so inexperienced seems the action of a seven year old.

MartinHafer This is a Betty Boop cartoon, though it starts with a bit of footage of Cab Calloway and his orchestra. Calloway's song "Minnie the Moocher" is set to life using Betty, her friend Bimbo and an odd assortment of ghosts, though I really would have much preferred to actually just watch and listen to Calloway sing this song live--since it is very easy to like and quite funny (and a bit radical with its reference to cocaine). However, as a cartoon, it's a very strange thing indeed as I really don't know who the audience for this Pre-Code nightmare would be! After all, it is really scary and so younger kids would be terrified by it and the drug references, if the parents noticed, would really turn them off as well, as it's NOT good child fare! Interesting, well animated but too bizarre, this one is great for adults who want to see just how subversive Betty could be in her wild Pre-Code days.

tavm 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.

mathew-keller The best cartoon I've seen in half a lifetime. Doesn't say much since I'm still rather young. Point is though this seems like a visual (and also audio) symphony of swing. I only knew the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy version of Minnie The Moocher and only through coincidence did I find this and hear Cab Calloway's version... all I can say nice.What else is there to say, you almost get nostalgia to the days when you'd sit at home on the Saturday mornings and watch cartoons till noon. Back in the worry-less days.Perfect collaboration between the Boop and the Swing.