Betty Boop and Grampy (1935) - Pure, Beautiful Cartoon Madness

If you have seven minutes to spare today, yes, you should absolutely watch this. Anyone who loves old-school hand-drawn animation will have a blast, but if you hate cartoon logic where physics don't exist, you'll probably find it pretty annoying.

The plot is basically non-existent. Betty gets an invitation to Grampy's house, and on her way there, she somehow convinces a bunch of random working guys to abandon their jobs and party with her.

I mean, two guys carrying a massive piano literally just drop it in the middle of the street. A fireman even slides down his pole and leaves a building to burn just because Betty walked past! 🚒

The Mad Genius of Grampy

Grampy is definitely the star of the show here. He is this old guy who wears a mortarboard hat for some reason and gets incredibly excited about inventing things out of actual garbage.

His house is a death trap of mechanical nonsense. There is a great moment where he makes a working record player using a dog's tail, a sewing needle, and a giant funnel.

The animation has that classic Fleischer brothers bounce where everything on screen is constantly vibrating. Even the furniture seems to have a heartbeat, which is honestly a little creepy if you think about it too long.

• The way Grampy walks is like his joints are made of jelly.
• A lightbulb literally appears over his head when he gets an idea, and he grabs it to use as a real light.
• The music is incredibly catchy, even if it loops way too many times.

It's a far cry from heavy, serious films like Tragödie, obviously. This is just pure, unadulterated nonsense designed to make kids giggle in 1935.

There is this one reaction shot of a traffic cop dancing where his arms look like wet noodles. I love how the animators just did not care about human anatomy at all back then.

It kind of reminds me of the chaotic energy in other shorts from that era, like Service with a Smile, though this one has much more mechanical creativity.

Does it still hold up?

Honestly, yes, mostly because of how fast it moves. Grampy has the stamina of a toddler on a massive sugar rush, and his energy just carries the whole thing.

Sure, the song gets a bit repetitive near the end, and Betty herself doesn't actually do much besides dance and look cute. But man, they just do not make stuff this weirdly joyful anymore. 📻