Betty Boop's Museum: A Fever Dream in Black and White

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, unless you are a die-hard fan of 1930s animation or have a thing for rubber-hose skeletons, you might find this one a bit of a slog. It’s short, sure, but it hits that specific level of surreal weirdness that makes you question why it exists at all. If you want to see how far the Fleischer brothers could push the uncanny valley before it had a name, go for it.

The pacing is all over the place. Koko is surprisingly pushy about this museum trip. I mean, who wants to spend their night looking at old fossils? I sure don't.

The vibe

There is something about the way these old cartoons shift between 'cute' and 'actively terrifying' that never gets old. Once the lights go out, the skeletons don't just dance—they move with this jerky, unnerving precision that makes the whole thing feel like a fever dream. Betty is, as always, just kind of along for the ride.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Betty Boop's Museum (1932) through its definitive frames.

She sings. Of course she sings. Even when she’s clearly terrified by the undead, she keeps that stage presence up. It’s honestly kind of impressive, in a slightly disturbing way.

Odd bits I noticed

• The museum security is basically non-existent. How does a kid get locked in a public building in the middle of the night without a single guard noticing?
• The way the bones click together sounds a bit too much like a kitchen accident.
• If you like this sort of frantic, musical chaos, you might also find The Dancin' Fool to be a similarly bizarre trip down memory lane.
• The background art is actually pretty moody, almost like a noir film that forgot it was supposed to be a cartoon.

The whole thing feels like a weird cousin to The Phantom Butler, just with more calcium. You can almost feel the animators getting bored halfway through and just deciding to let the skeletons do whatever they wanted. There is no logic here. Just vibes. And jazz. Lots of jazz.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a great story. It’s just a weird, little relic that pops up on screen, makes some noise, and leaves you wondering what you just watched. Sometimes that’s enough. 🦴