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.

As this short opens one could be forgiven for thinking it wasn't a cartoon at all as it begins with live action footage of Cab Callaway and his band performing the opening to 'Minnie the Moocher'. When the cartoon proper begins we see Betty's parents remonstrating with her for not eating her dinner. Her father clearly sounds like a broken record, stuck in the groove, to her as his head literally turns into an old fashioned gramophone player. She soon has enough and retreats to her room; here she write a note informing her parent that she is leaving then goes off with her boyfriend Bimbo. The two of them take shelter in a cave and things become very surreal; they see an apparition of a walrus like creature that is dancing and singing 'Minnie the Moocher'. As the song progresses they see a number of disturbing images including dancing skeletons and ghosts going to the electric chair! Understandably by the end of the song they are terrified and run back home as fast as their legs will carry them.While this short is hardly a laugh-riot, it isn't meant to be, it does have some amusing moments and the animation is very creative; far more surreal than most more recent cartoons. This provides a good illustration of the fact that animation wasn't always considered to be a medium primarily aimed at children with the numerous creepy images and drug references in the song. The combination of imaginative animation with Cab Callaway's classic song work brilliantly; any fan of classic animation is sure to love this.

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.

Spoilers herein.Spooky in three ways. The first is in the implied use of the derogatory for the black performers. The second is in the bizarre story involving a visit to hell. Of all the strange Boop adventures, this is perhaps the most disconcerting (together with `Red Hot Mama') visits to the demonic side. The more unsettling it becomes, the more you think about it. No Scooby do here, this is real.The third spookiness is in how the rotoscope imbues the ghost on the screen with the personality and very subtle movements of the lively Cab, a man haunted by his own demons.This was during the period that it was possible to have a character (in Betty) that superficially looked and acted silly but conveyed deep and dangerous tides of sex. If these would have been in color, she would be redheaded, like Clara Bow.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.