Betty Boop and the Little King

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.

While it was said in the first paragraph that the later Betty Boop cartoons were bland in comparison to the pre-Code ones there were exceptions. Although lacking the surreal and risqué edge of the pre-Code Betty Boop cartoons and with a somewhat thin story that kicks into gear once Betty appears, 'Betty Boop and the Little King' is another one of the exceptions.

The animation is beautifully drawn and detailed, complete with some truly impressive 3D effects, and the music is infectious and dynamic with a tremendous lushness and energy. The King is amusing enough, maybe not as charismatic as Betty but he is cool and lively.

Voice acting is good, while the cartoon is also very cute with material that amuses while never reaching hilarity.

On the whole, good cartoon but see a pre-Betty Boop cartoon for the real deal if you want to know what the fuss is about. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Soglow's 'Little King' meets Betty Boop, and the results are a delight. Those familiar with the comic-strip King know of his propensity to try anything he sees his subjects doing -- and in this cartoon, he ends up selling pretzels to members of Betty's audience and even joining Betty's 'Wild West' act. The animation is Fleischer-good; the laughs are Soglow-great.

After Van Beuren decided not to renew their contract with King Features Syndicate for their comic strip, "The Little King", Max and Dave Fleischer decided to try Otto Soglow's creation as a potential star for their series by testing him with their star Betty Boop. Here, his majesty and his queen are at the opera which the king is bored of to death. So he goes further down the street (where we see the wonderful tabletop 3-D backgrounds the Fleischers were starting to use at this time) to see Ms. Boop in a cowgirl outfit with horse in tow. In no time at all, the king sells pretzels and performs with Betty and the horse. I'll stop there and say how funny and entertaining this animated short was. The only demerit here is the voice used for this childlike king but that's it. So on that note, I highly recommend Betty Boop and the Little King.

We are at the Imperial Opera House where there is a special performance for the king and queen of this unknown place. The royalty take their bows, and a huge-chested opera singer leads off what we see of the performance. In no time, the king is not happy and sneaks off. Down the road, he sees a poster outside a theater of Betty Boop. so he goes inside to investigate. Hey, it looks better than that opera.

This little king is really a cool guy. In the theater, a vendor is selling pretzels. The king buys all of them and then distributes them free to the other people. Betty starts her show, rides a horse around a small ring a few times (Bronco Betty?) and the kings goes on-stage and asks if he can ride the horse. He's a little rough with the horse, but then changes positions and lets the horse ride him!! (This is kind of a strange story, to be honest.)

Meanwhile, the crabby queen finally notices the king is gone from the opera house and goes to get him. And - talk about strange - you should see the ending!

A short episode about a king bored by the aria belted by soprano, his trip in town and discover of a music hall show, Betty Boop as atraction and the horse as basic attraction for king and the presence of too authoritarian queen . A short film, amusing and real nice, in which, after so many decades, the correct queen can be the basic to only attraction. Because royalty remains royalty and the effort of a gifted soprano must be respected.