Teringer
An Exercise In Nonsense
Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
TheLittleSongbird
Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style 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 charm, sensuality and adorability factors can be seen throughout, a joy to watch as always.With that said, she is underused, with Bimbo and particularly Koko and Armstrong having a lion's share of the cartoon's duration. The story is very weak, virtually plot-less with the pacing perhaps needing to be snappier in places.However, the black and white animation is very good, smooth, meticulously detailed and well drawn with the black and white not looking too primitive. A lot of it is actually very imaginative, and the inserting of Armstrong visually is creatively and cleverly executed. Even better is the music, which is rousing, catchy and unquestionably accessible to anybody who loves or is familiar with the compositional style.Armstrong is delightful and adds a lot of zest and exuberance to the proceedings, likewise with Koko and Bimbo. Much of 'I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You' (what a title, must be the longest one for a Betty Boop cartoon) is very entertaining and charming.Overall, a fun cartoon interesting for Louis Armstrong's involvement. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You" is one of the longest Betty Boop titles, but certainly not one of the best. It runs for 7 minutes and is in black-and-white as always. This was made in 1932, over 80 years ago, and even if this was still from the early days of Betty Boop, these films were really frequent, like at least one new Betty Boop film per month. The director is animation legend Dave Fleischer. These 7 minutes are at least as much about the Clown as about Betty. The gang is on a safari, but runs into cannibals quickly. Bimbo is hunted by the spirit and voice of Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was roughly 30 years old when he made this and still not very popular at all. However, his talent and unique voice was obvious, even if the title song he performs here is fairly forgettable and random, yet a good example of an actually mean statement being altered in a tongue-in-cheek manner, which was not too uncommon for films from this day and age. You have to decide yourself if you are bothered by the close references between the Black cannibals and Armstrong in this one. I am fine with it as he himself apparently was too. Sadly, not a good short film. Stay away.
tavm
In a nutshell, Koko and Bimbo are carrying explorer Betty in the jungle just before natives grab the woman and one of them chases the clown and the humanized dog with his giant head hanging above them before turning into the live-action version of Louis Armstrong's face singing the title song. There's a few more live-action inserts of the band that dissolves into the animation like that of the drummer becoming the animated native stirring the big pot. This was such a dance-worthy musical cartoon short that kept my feet stomping. Kudos to the New Orleans native Armstrong for this memorable collaboration with the Fleischers. I found this on an old Republic Pictures Home Video tape from 1985 called "Betty Boop-Special Collector's Edition, Vol. 1".
boblipton
The Betty Boop cartoons with guest artists are among the best. These are almost as good as the Cab Calloways..... better musically, as they feature Armstrong near his "Hot Fives" peak. The story line, about Betty, Koko and Bimbo on Safari and Louis cartooned as the cannibal chief is weak, but worth it for Louis doing the title song.
