Here's another zippy mini-musical from the Fleischer Studio, chock-full of song, dance, and laughs, accompanied throughout by lively music. This time it's the Inimitable Lillian Roth (as she is billed) who invites us to sing along with the Bouncing Ball, and her high energy performance of the title tune is a joy to behold. But first, in keeping with studio tradition for this series, we're treated to an array of disjointed, bizarre and occasionally macabre gags. The setting is a barn dance attended by dozens of cats, and believe me these cats really know how to party. They dance like Broadway professionals, and even when they take a break for refreshments -- or romance, or a bit of casual violence -- they move in perfect time with the rhythm.
The Bouncing Ball cartoons are so swiftly paced it usually takes a second viewing to fully comprehend all the gags. Some of the bits here will feel rather familiar to Fleischer buffs; for example, there's a queue of skinny cats who enter a "Free Milk" bar (i.e. the underside of a cow) and emerge obese, or there's the one about the thirsty cat who tips the punchbowl into a glass, then ignores the glass and drains the punchbowl instead. But other ideas are strikingly original and weird: for instance, we know it's time for refreshments when an alarm clock rings, and then the numbers jump off the face of the clock, surround a bowl and slurp food out of it. (Can't say I've ever seen that one before.) There are also some clever gags involving musician cats and their musical instruments as the cartoon swings into the title number.
Still, for my money the best reason to see this short is the sight of the charming young Lillian Roth as she belts out "Ain't She Sweet?" with infectious cheer. She's delightful and great fun to watch; she also takes the song at such a rapid clip I wonder if audiences who actually attempt to sing along can keep up with her. Unfortunately, Miss Roth is a performer better remembered for her personal problems than for her talent, but this great short will give viewers a excellent sample of what she could do while she was still in her youthful prime.
