Swat the Fly

Swat the Fly is a pleasantly slow-paced cartoon about Betty Boop and her battle with a fly. Unlike many other Betty Boop cartoons, don't expect anything crazy to happen here. This one actually stays close to the world of reality, and features only three characters (counting the fly) in one setting. Betty is charming and her dog is adorable, and unlike many other cartoons where the fly is the plucky hero, in this one I was rooting for Betty and really did just want her to squish him.

Swat the Fly (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Mildly entertaining short finds Betty Boop getting ready to bake while her dog Pudgy tries to catch some sleep. Soon a fly comes by and starts bothering both of them so they must try and destroy it. SWAT THE FLY isn't a classic Boop short by any stretch of the imagination but I thought there were enough good moments to make it worth sitting through. I thought most of the jokes were rather minor including the first one dealing with Betty pouring some baking powder. The rest of the jokes revolve around the fly as it torments the dog by flying through its ears and then goes after Betty in countless ways. The majority of the running time has the fly just buzzing around while Betty throws countless items at it. The biggest problem is that none of this is all that funny and without the laughs it just becomes somewhat annoying as it goes along. Typical for the artists, the animation is very good throughout and there's a lot of imagination here but there just needed to be more laughs.

Betty is happily baking something in her kitchen at home when a pesky fly interrupts things. It won't let her or her little dog alone, tormenting both - especially the dog.

I found this to be a very un-entertaining Boop cartoon because (1) it wasn't funny; (2) the fly was so irritating - going in little Pudgy's ear twice and torturing him; (3) it was frustrating as nothing could be done about it.

Sorry, I just didn't see any humor in this one. I was almost as aggravated as Betty and her dog! This was not the usual fun Betty Boop cartoon.

A good deal of the pre-Production Code Betty Boop cartoons are daring and creative, with content that makes one amazed at what's gotten away with. While the later Betty Boop cartoons made after the Code was enforced are still watchable and exceptionally well-made, they are so toned down that they feel bland.

Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style was 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 good news is that she has not lost her charm, she is still cute and her comic timing is good.

Less good is that, thanks to the production code her sensuality is heavily muted, and it was like she had lost a large part of what made her such a unique character back then and what made her popular.

Some of 'Swat the Fly' is cute and initially is amusing. The animation is beautifully drawn and detailed and the music infectious and dynamic. Pudgy is adorable, and the character you feel most sorry for and the one you relate to most. The voice acting is good.

However, if anybody enjoyed the pre-code Betty Boop cartoons for being wonderfully surreal and for its daring risqué content that was ahead of the time back in the 30s and wouldn't be seen a lot now in cartoons, they will be disappointed here. Both are missing which gives a rather tame and bland feeling throughout.

Creativity and more consistent (in quality and timing) jokes are also missing, while the story is very thin which makes the cartoon drag and never holds any surprises. Worst of all is the character of the fly, getting increasingly irritating (yes even for a fly, but this fly was also meant to be funny and very rarely was) until the annoyance was almost unbearable.

In summary, well-made but just okay, for Betty Boop okay is not enough. 5/10 Bethany Cox

"Swat the Fly" is a great example of a cartoon that is very well made but which, after a while, becomes irritating--to the point where you are happy when it finally ends.

The plot to "Swat the Fly" is simple. Betty and her dog, Pudgy, are home where a fly keeps irritating them. Again and again, this demonic fly keeps causing them to almost go berserk. In fact, ultimately Betty DOES go insane and begins destroying her home--all to try to stop that dang fly. The problem is that after a while, it stopped being funny and just started to be annoying. Too thin on plot and the plot it has is tough to endure for eight minutes! By the way, if you LIKE being annoyed by Betty Boop cartoons, also try "Stop The Noise"--one that also finds Betty battling bugs (among other things).