Betty Boop for President
Betty's campaign tries to appeal to everyone. Real candidates are parodied, but campaign promises are a bit bizarre.
Cine-Concert: Poo Poo Pee Doo
60 minutes
A cine-concert with live electronic music played on Betty Boop short films.
Betty Boop may be one of the oldest animated characters, she is also one of the most popular, and she is still widely known with young and older people alike. Betty's evolution runs parallel to the history of America and the status of women in the country, making this an alternative way to learn some important lessons! Behind the young girl and her provocative, sultry attitude, there happens to be a strong and profound personality. She's free, independent and caring. And she's ready to defend herself from the brutality found in the men she meets.
Through this live electronic cine-concert with music composed and performed by Thibault Cohade, you have the opportunity to (re)discover the adamant female character that continues to be relevant, even in today's society - where the fight for equality continues. The original films were paired with jazz music, a genre tightly linked with the 30s, but let's see how Betty interacts with a contemporary electronic music set. En avant la musique!
This program screened as part of Kaboom Animation Festival 2023
Showing in this program
Betty Boop’s Penthouse
At Bimbo's Experimental Laboratory, Bimbo and Koko concoct a variety of compounds and elixirs, including a drink that is so hot it turns a black cat into a dragon head, as well as turning the cat into a white and black striped one. Their scientific experiments are interrupted when through a huge drop of the chemical they see a swimsuit-clad Betty showering with a hose on the roof of her penthouse. Distracted by Betty as she sings "When I'm Alone", the two fail to realize the chemicals they have mixed are still on the boil, one of which turns into a monster. The creature sees Betty, and crosses over the phone wire to menace her. Although Bimbo and Koko make an effort to stop it from reaching her, the monster defies gravity and reaches the penthouse. Once Betty realizes it is right behind her, she sprays the monster with flower spray, which turns him into a harmless dancing flower.
Minnie the Moocher
Betty decides to run away from her harsh parents, Mr. & Mrs. Boop to the tune of "Mean to Me" , accompanied by Bimbo. While walking away from home, Betty and Bimbo wind up in a spooky area, and hide in a hollow tree. A ghost Walrus, whose gyrations were rotoscoped from footage of Cab Calloway dancing appears to them, and begins to sing "Minnie the Moocher", with many fellow ghosts following along. After singing the whole number, the ghosts chase Betty and Bimbo all the way back to Betty's home. While Betty is hiding under the covers of her bedsheets, her runaway note is torn up and the remaining letters read "Home Sweet Home
Sally Swing
While auditioning bandleaders for a college swing dance, Betty Boop discovers a cleaning teenage girl who resembles Betty Grable.
Snow-White
A magic mirror proclaims Betty "the fairest in the land", much to the anger of the Wicked Queen. The Queen orders her guards Bimbo and Koko to behead Betty. With tears in their eyes, they take Betty into the forest and prepare to execute her. Betty escapes into a frozen river, which encloses her in a coffin-like ice block. The ice coffin slips downhill to the home of the Seven Dwarfs, who carry the frozen Betty into The Mystery Cave. Meanwhile, Koko falls down a hole and arrives at the same cave. The Queen again asks the magic mirror who the fairest in the land is, but the mirror explodes in a puff of magic smoke that returns Betty and Koko to their normal states and changes the Queen into a dragon. The Queen chases the protagonists until Koko grabs her tongue and, with one mighty yank, turns her inside out. Betty, Koko, and Bimbo dance around in a circle of victory as the film ends
The Old Man of the Mountain
The Old Man of the Mountain, appears in the eponymous cartoon The Old Man of the Mountain. He lives atop the mountain, is challenged by Betty, and they both sing "You Got To Hi-De-Hi" together. After their duet, he pursues Betty while singing a scat song. When he finally grabs Betty, her dress comes off, leaving her in her undergarments. After Betty punches him in the face and receives her dress back, she climbs up a high tree, and he works on getting her down. Once she is brought down, he gropes her breast. The forest animals team up against the Old Man and rescue Betty Boop; they then tie his arms and feet into knots and tickle his feet. His voice is provided by singer Cab Calloway.
