Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style 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 charm, sensuality and adorability factors can be seen throughout, a joy to watch as always.
With that said, she is underused, with Bimbo and particularly Koko and Armstrong having a lion's share of the cartoon's duration. The story is very weak, virtually plot-less with the pacing perhaps needing to be snappier in places.
However, the black and white animation is very good, smooth, meticulously detailed and well drawn with the black and white not looking too primitive. A lot of it is actually very imaginative, and the inserting of Armstrong visually is creatively and cleverly executed. Even better is the music, which is rousing, catchy and unquestionably accessible to anybody who loves or is familiar with the compositional style.
Armstrong is delightful and adds a lot of zest and exuberance to the proceedings, likewise with Koko and Bimbo. Much of 'I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You' (what a title, must be the longest one for a Betty Boop cartoon) is very entertaining and charming.
Overall, a fun cartoon interesting for Louis Armstrong's involvement. 8/10 Bethany Cox
