(1932) the one where they sell “Jippo” tonic Betty Boop’s Bamboo Isle (1932) where rotoscope Betty dances topless (but SFW) Betty Boop For President (1932) in a race against “Mr.

This set includes Chess Nuts (1932) where Betty, Bimbo and Koko are chess pieces, Betty Boop, M.D. It’s the contents that’s a decidedly mixed bag. There’s no doubt this new Olive Films release has a sharper picture and even better sound (to my ears) than the previous Republic compilation. Several of my animation colleagues noted that the shorts from 1933 and earlier were originally released in something like a 1.2:1 aspect ratio (“Fleischer cartoons used the Movietone aspect ratio longer than other studios,” says one), and here have been vertically squeezed to fit a 1.33:1 screen! Call me crazy, but I really didn’t notice this, despite some frame grab comparisons (below, frame from Definitive collection at left, Olive’s transfer at right): If its any consolation, the UM&M titles have never looked better. But alas, that’s what restoration is all about and not the concern here. With a little effort, appropriate Paramount titles could have been grafted onto these to approximate the original look. TV Corp.” titles from their initial TV distribution in the 1950s.

And, of course, the cartoons retain their irrelevant “U.M.& M. Most of the image quality is quite good, though you’ll notice some of the replaced titles (on different film stock from the original cartoon) is lighter or washed out compared to the rest of the film. Based on what I see, this is a “one-light” scan – not a transfer where each shot is adjusted for the best picture. I’m delighted they didn’t bother to remove scratches and film grain, so these prints still look like film.

What they aren’t are “restored” – which is a mixed blessing as far as I’m concerned. The films are said to be “newly remastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives and fine grains”. But Betty Boop’s Life Guard? Pudgy in The Foxy Hunter? Essential? I think not. I won’t deny there are a few great ones here (IMHO). But its the cartoon selection – that is really my biggest gripe. That’s okay, however, we just want the cartoons. The result: There are no bonus extras, no audio commentaries, no frills to this simple disc release. Why wasn’t a Leslie Cabarga, Ray Pointer, Greg Ford, Leonard Maltin or Steve Stanchfield asked for their input? It’s rare when a distributor of classic films (of any kind) doesn’t enlist the services of a knowledgeable historian or consultant. I’d been quite vocal in my suspicions about this release. Olive Films – a sub-distributor of studio product – announced plans to release a Betty Boop collection about a year ago. We’ve been waiting almost 20 years for the studio (Republic’s holdings are now in Paramount’s hands) to do these right on DVD. The collection was beset by technical problems, not the least of which was the DVNR process. This was conceived originally by the studio to be an exclusive Laser Disc release – thus I designed the collection to fit by theme onto fifteen disc sides. The films aren’t lost – they’re just buried in a vault by their owners who believe there is no financial incentive to make these classics available.įull disclosure: I was involved as curator on the last large-scale effort to liberate Betty Boop cartoons from the vaults: Betty Boop: The Definitive Collection (Republic Home Entertainment) in 1996. The fact that the Fleischer library (non-Popeye, non-Superman) sits unrestored, and largely unavailable to the public, is a cinematic crime-of-the-century. But how can I argue against these Fleischer cartoons – finally – being released to DVD (and blu-ray). Are these the cartoons I would have selected for an initial “essential” collection – not exactly. Is this what I would have done if I had any say so – No. That doesn’t mean I don’t have reservations and a few nits to pick regarding the final product. I’ll start at the top with the bottom line: The transfers of these twelve classic Max Fleischer Betty Boop cartoons are very good and I recommend you purchase this collection.

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