The Old Man of the Mountain

This is based on a Cab Calloway tune which we get to see at the beginning. When all the denizens of the town at the foot of the mountain hear that the old man is coming, they set sail. Betty is not intimidated and goes to see what all the angst is about. Of course, she is dressed in her signature sexy costume and when she meets the guy, he begins to drool over her. They do a cartoon version of the song and then he gets down to business, chasing her, grabbing her. This must have raised a couple eyebrows in the day. I understand it was actually banned for quite some time after its original release because the Code came in. The music really makes the thing and Betty is at her sassy best.

This short was SUPER well done.

It was visually a joy to watch, the animation was seriously amazing. These cartoonists were so talented. I was really impressed by how creative and beautiful the art was.

In addition to that, this is a certified bop on a musical level. The way it's incorporated with the animation is awesomely done and the lead male singer is a pleasure to listen to. The entire soundtrack for this short should be applauded.

I had a great experience watching it and it nailed that classic cartoon vibe. I felt like I was captured in the same way I would have been when I was younger.

Don't come to this cartoon for a narrative experience though. Your much better off just watching in a more present mindset with the events on screen.

This was an awesome watch that definitely stood the test of time.

Cab Calloway and his "hi-dee hi-dee ho" jazzy music begins this cartoon.

Through an animated owl figure, the famous jazz crooner sings "The Old Man And The Moutain" during the first half of 'toon as we see everyone in the forest fleeing when word gets out that he's coming. "He" is the old man. The lyrics of the song are good and so are the animated antics of the critters as they gather their stuff and run. The owl, through the song, is explaining to Betty why everyone is panicking.

Betty says she's going up to the mountain "to see this old man for myself." Betty dances her way up the mountain as we continue to hear the jazz music. En route she sees some strange sights.

When she meets him, they do a duet - some fabulous music! The old man even tap dances. Then we have the usual chase scene, this time with the old man after Betty, even squeezing the dress off her!

Mostly this is a showcase for Calloway's singing and his orchestra and it is so up-tempo that it's a real hoot to listen to. This is one of the few cartoons where the music is better than the visuals. And, the latter is good, too. Overall: one of the best Boop cartoons ever made.

In the early 1930s, the Betty Boop cartoons were among the most surrealistic and racy you could find. If pre-code animation had a picture next to it in the encyclopedia, then the most appropriate one would be of Betty herself. Though not the greatest Betty Boop cartoon, The Old Man of the Mountain (1933) is one of the greats, with fluid animation, trippy gags, and Cab Calloway scat-singing over the whole thing.

The cartoon is full of adult subject matter. The song Calloway sings over the action references drug use and the Old Man's plans for Betty are explicitly sexual, with him coming close to tearing off her clothes at one point. There's even a bit of implied rape when Betty meets one of the Old Man's former victims going down the mountain, a female hippo with three babies with whiskers in tow! It just goes to show, animation was not always stuck in the infamous "age ghetto." This stuff was for unashamedly adult viewing and unlike stuff like Family Guy, it didn't need to be infantile to entertain.

Like the previous year's MINNIE THE MOOCHER (a viewing of which preceded this one), this "Talkartoon" has its genesis in the current Cab Calloway hit; however, it also seems to take a leaf out of Dr. Seuss' Grinch stories as here we have the titular character whose coming terrorizes a rural town. In fact, his advance is made public by the lion town crier – who, hilariously, jumps atop two white rabbits, straps their ears around his feet and uses them to roller-skate down the mountain into town. This level of inventiveness is kept at a steady pace throughout its standard 7-minute running time.

Almost needless to say is the fact that, like its predecessor, it features Betty Boop and her faithful dog companion Bimbo and they are the ones who finally confront the notorious ancient bully but they get more than they bargained for – Betty ends up in her underwear and has to hide herself behind a tree (a scene which caused controversy at the time with the short's distributors Paramount being asked to tone these cartoons down)! Eventually, it is the angered animal population of the town who give the dirty old man his long-in-coming comeuppance.