Poor Cinderella

This is an absolutely beautiful cartoon! Most Fleischer shorts were quite visually striking, to be sure, but Betty Boop only had one color cartoon-this one. While in many ways it's good that black and white was used for most of her cartoons, the sweep of this cartoon cried out for color. The Fleischers were likely also hoping that Betty's popularity would boost interest in the Color Classics series that they were starting. Betty as Cinderella was certainly fitting-after all, Cinderella did ultimately become a princess when she married the prince and Betty Boop is cartoon royalty. Wonderful effort from the brothers Max and Dave. In print and available. Most highly recommended.

Poor Cinderella (1934)

**** (out of 4)

Excellent Betty Boop cartoon is the only one to feature her in color and they made her a red head as well! In the film she plays Cinderella who is granted a magical night thanks to her fairy godmother and soon the Prince falls in love with her. Storywise this here is pretty familiar to all the other versions out there but the real interest here is getting to see Betty Boop in color. I'm not sure of the reasonings behind making her a red head but it's certainly interesting to say the very least. The short really does follow the story pretty closely so those expecting to see something new might be disappointed. However, fans of Boop are going to love seeing the sexy "actress" getting to play her looks down as the abused Cinderella. I thought these early scenes were very good and things certainly got better as the Pre-Code naughty moments happen and this is when Betty is pretty much stripped down in order for her new clothes to be put on her. Modern audiences probably wouldn't even think about this but film buffs know this wasn't always accepted. The Technicolor is also extremely good here and overall this is just a highly entertaining short.

Long before Rodgers and Hammerstein had the idea of musicalizing Cinderella, Betty Boop made the midnight pumpkin change tunefully, with verve, sex and good story editing. The plot is trimmed to its essentials, the splendid backgrounds may have influenced the Disney Beauty and the Beast, and the closing shot of the Pinocchio-nosed sisters wraps everything up with a laugh.

This is one of my favorite Betty Boop cartoons, and "Cinderella" is one of my favorite fairy tales, even though I'm an adult. I want to emphasize that this was just sixteen years ago, prior to Disney releasing their animated theatrical version.

Like I said, I love animation from Fleischer Studios, as well as animation from Disney, Hanna/Barbera, Rankin/Bass, and Studio Ghibli from Japan. Betty Boop is one of my favorite cartoon characters, as are Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Pepe le Pew from Warner Bros., and Disney's Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. I love the ballroom scene where Betty/Cinderella and the Prince dance-until midnight, that is.

I love the song in this cartoon featuring Betty Boop, despite it being in two-strip Cinecolor.

Max Fleischer and Paramount give Betty Boop the Cinderella treatment in this 10-plus minute short presented in lovely Cinecolor (the Fleischer Studio's first color cartoon). Betty sings "I'm just a poor Cinderella"--and her Fairy Godmother refers to her as a "kind and gentle thing"--but we know from her sashay walk that she's just pretending to be an innocent. Playing the scrub-girl taunted by her ugly stepsisters, Betty/Cindy sobs for less than a second before her wish to attend the Prince's Ball is granted--with the proviso to be out of there by midnight. Some funny visual jests: the trumpeter blowing so hard on his instrument that his pants become briefs (showing off his hairy legs!); the Prince's sword accidentally giving one of the stepsisters a goose; Betty sliding down the castle bannister to get to her coach before it changes back to a pumpkin. The 3D effect is quite stunning, as is Betty's red hair and the Prince's blue eyelids! I never understood Betty Boop's universal appeal (she seems to attract the die-hard affection of all races, creeds and orientation); she's resourceful and sexy, if never quite as sassy as one might hope.