While Betty Boop tries to cook, a fly drives her and Pudgy the Pup to distraction.While Betty Boop tries to cook, a fly drives her and Pudgy the Pup to distraction.While Betty Boop tries to cook, a fly drives her and Pudgy the Pup to distraction.
- Directors
- Star
Mae Questel
- Betty Boop
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe careful attention to detail in the background renderings of Betty's home shows a mid 30's modern kitchen, right down to the large sink with separate taps for hot and cold water.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Betty Boop: [measuring baking powder into a spoon] One, two, three, just right.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Toon in with Me: Toony Procrastinates (2021)
- SoundtracksSweet Betty
(uncredited)
Music by Sammy Timberg
Played during the opening credits
Played when Betty catches the fly
Featured review
Betty Boop and the very annoying fly
A good deal of the pre-Production Code Betty Boop cartoons are daring and creative, with content that makes one amazed at what's gotten away with. While the later Betty Boop cartoons made after the Code was enforced are still watchable and exceptionally well-made, they are so toned down that they feel bland.
Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style was 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 good news is that she has not lost her charm, she is still cute and her comic timing is good.
Less good is that, thanks to the production code her sensuality is heavily muted, and it was like she had lost a large part of what made her such a unique character back then and what made her popular.
Some of 'Swat the Fly' is cute and initially is amusing. The animation is beautifully drawn and detailed and the music infectious and dynamic. Pudgy is adorable, and the character you feel most sorry for and the one you relate to most. The voice acting is good.
However, if anybody enjoyed the pre-code Betty Boop cartoons for being wonderfully surreal and for its daring risqué content that was ahead of the time back in the 30s and wouldn't be seen a lot now in cartoons, they will be disappointed here. Both are missing which gives a rather tame and bland feeling throughout.
Creativity and more consistent (in quality and timing) jokes are also missing, while the story is very thin which makes the cartoon drag and never holds any surprises. Worst of all is the character of the fly, getting increasingly irritating (yes even for a fly, but this fly was also meant to be funny and very rarely was) until the annoyance was almost unbearable.
In summary, well-made but just okay, for Betty Boop okay is not enough. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style was 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 good news is that she has not lost her charm, she is still cute and her comic timing is good.
Less good is that, thanks to the production code her sensuality is heavily muted, and it was like she had lost a large part of what made her such a unique character back then and what made her popular.
Some of 'Swat the Fly' is cute and initially is amusing. The animation is beautifully drawn and detailed and the music infectious and dynamic. Pudgy is adorable, and the character you feel most sorry for and the one you relate to most. The voice acting is good.
However, if anybody enjoyed the pre-code Betty Boop cartoons for being wonderfully surreal and for its daring risqué content that was ahead of the time back in the 30s and wouldn't be seen a lot now in cartoons, they will be disappointed here. Both are missing which gives a rather tame and bland feeling throughout.
Creativity and more consistent (in quality and timing) jokes are also missing, while the story is very thin which makes the cartoon drag and never holds any surprises. Worst of all is the character of the fly, getting increasingly irritating (yes even for a fly, but this fly was also meant to be funny and very rarely was) until the annoyance was almost unbearable.
In summary, well-made but just okay, for Betty Boop okay is not enough. 5/10 Bethany Cox
helpful•20
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 3, 2017
Details
- Runtime6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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