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5.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Any Little Girl That's a Nice Little Girl remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have six minutes to kill and a high tolerance for scratchy audio, then yeah, this is worth a look. It’s a time capsule. If you hate old-timey music or stuff that looks like it was filmed through a screen door, you will probably want to skip it.
I found this while digging through some old archives. It’s a 'Bouncing Ball' cartoon. You know the ones. It’s basically the ancestor of karaoke.
The main draw here is the song 'Any Little Girl That's a Nice Little Girl.' It is performed by Billy Murray and Harriet Lee. Billy Murray has that very specific, nasal voice that sounds like he’s singing into a tin can. It’s charming, but also kind of piercing if you turn the volume up too loud.
The movie starts with these animated cats. They aren't like modern cartoon cats. They have these weird, rubbery limbs and huge eyes that feel like they are staring right through you.
They move in this jittery way that only 1930s animation can achieve. One cat is playing a piano, and another is just sort of... vibing? It’s hard to tell because the drawing style is so thick and chunky.
I noticed one cat in the background just sort of disappears for a second. It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it animation error. It made me laugh because it feels so handmade. No computers here, just some guy with a pen probably running on too much coffee.
The cats don't really have a plot. They just exist to get you ready for the song. It’s a lot like the energy in Ham and Eggs at the Front, where everything feels a bit frantic and unpolished.
Then the ball starts. It’s just a white dot. It isn't even a perfect circle; it’s more like a squashed grape that hops from word to word.
I tried to sing along. Honestly, it’s harder than it looks. The ball moves fast. Especially during the chorus.
'Any little girl that’s a nice little girl is the right little girl for me!'
The lyrics are so repetitive. By the third time the ball went over them, I felt like I was being brainwashed by a 1930s cult. It’s a very 'innocent' era of songwriting, but there is something slightly eerie about hearing it through all that film hiss.
Harriet Lee’s voice is much smoother than Billy’s. She adds a bit of class to the whole thing. It reminded me a bit of the vocal style in A Damsel in Distress, though obviously on a much smaller budget.
The print I saw was pretty beat up. There’s this one big scratch that stays on the right side of the screen for like a full minute. I kept trying to wipe it off my monitor before I realized it was part of the movie.
There is also this weird smudge on the bottom left. It looks like someone dropped a piece of lint on the lens while they were filming the animation cells. It gives the whole thing this crusty, authentic feel that you just don't get with digital stuff.
It’s definitely more engaging than something like Par habitude, which can feel a bit dry if you aren't in the right mood. This short is just pure, silly energy.
I wonder what people in 1931 thought of this. They probably sat in the theater and actually sang out loud. Imagine a room full of people in suits and hats singing about 'nice little girls' while a white dot jumps around. It’s a funny image.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely even a movie. It’s more like a musical artifact. But I’d rather watch this than another generic three-hour blockbuster that takes itself too seriously.
If you like seeing how animation evolved, or if you just like old songs, give it a go. It’s better than Where D'Ye Get That Stuff?, mostly because the 'nice girl' song is actually a bit of a bop.
Just don't expect it to make much sense. It’s just cats and a ball. Sometimes that’s all you need on a Tuesday afternoon.
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