TheLittleSongbird 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 'Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle', as is a daring risqué factor when she dances the hula that makes one literally marvel at what the cartoon is getting away with. She is a joy to watch, as is an amusing Bimbo, though there is a scene where he paints his face and puts a bone in his hair that may seem tasteless to some.Furthermore, 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. Even better is the music, which is rousing, catchy and unquestionably accessible to anybody who loves or is familiar with the compositional style.'Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle' has a lot of charm and fun, with nothing dull about it. It is very strange, but in a richly inventive and quite wonderful way.Not much to quibble about here. It is thin on plot and that aforementioned scene with Bimbo is very likely to touch some sensitive nerves.Otherwise, a fun Betty Boop cartoon with the animation and music being particularly good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Tweekums This short opens with a live action sequence of the 'Royal Samoans' Pacific island musicians before the cartoon starts. After the credits we see Bimbo playing his ukulele as his motorboat zooms around the ocean; the land opening for him to pass between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans! Eventually he lands on a Pacific island and meets a girl who looks suspiciously like a Polynesian Betty. The two of them paddle up a river till they are thrown from the boat into a clearing surrounded by Ent-like trees. Soon some savages arrive but thanks to some quick thinking Bimbo dons a disguise and Betty entertains everybody with a hula dance! This was another entertaining short; as usual the animation is highly inventive; I don't know where all the strange ideas came from but they are a lot of fun! It is clear that this cartoon was made before the Hayes Code came into effect as we see Betty dancing wearing nothing but a grass skirt and a lei to protect her modesty. This is certainly a fun short and it is far more inventive than most of today's animation.

ccthemovieman-1 Here's another Betty Boop "musical," this one featuring the Hawaiian music of "The Royal Samoans." You have to give the people responsible for these Boop cartoons - the Fleischer brothers, mainly - credit for giving musicians another forum to show their talents. They weren't biased, either, showing anybody from Louis Armstrong to classical violinist Rubinoff.The music in here is excellent, too, especially some of the guitar work. They always have the characters in sync with the notes, too. Here, we see Betty doing her risqué hula dance and "Bimbo" imitating an island native singing a number, too.You also get some the craziest visuals you'll ever seen. Betty's cartoons for good in that department. You just never know what absolutely crazy thing you'll see next. For instance, the motor of a small boat suddenly turns into dog, or the boat becomes a house that walks away - just insane stuff. Personally, I think it's all fascinating.

Robert Reynolds This is a great cartoon featuring Betty in all her glory. There is a phrase, "Anything can happen in a cartoon" and that describes the early Fleischers in general and the Betty Boop series in particular. These cartoons are animated insanity in some cases and are quite engaging for the viewer, because anything (well, almost anything) is likely to happen and the charm is trying to catch lots of little things. In print and available. Well worth watching. Recommended.