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5.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Boo, Boo, Theme Song! remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s animation weirdness. If you want a tight plot or logic, stay far away. But if you want to see how much ink and patience it took to make a ghost dance for no reason? You’re in the right place.
There is this specific, frantic energy in Boo, Boo, Theme Song! that you just don't see anymore. It’s not smooth. It’s jumpy and loud in a way that feels like it’s vibrating right off the screen. 👻
The movement of the characters is just… slippery. Like they are all made of wet noodles. I found myself staring at the background details, mostly because the foreground action is so chaotic it makes your head spin. There’s a specific bit where a character walks past a door and the perspective just sort of gives up on life for a few frames.
It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Barnyard Olympics, though maybe a little more unhinged. You can tell the animators were just throwing things at the wall to see what would stick.
It’s nowhere near as structured as something like The Opry House. That’s probably the point, though. It’s meant to be a musical mess. Sometimes you just need to watch a cartoon where the rules of physics are treated as a polite suggestion that nobody followed.
It’s short enough that you don't have to commit your whole evening to it. If you get bored, it’s already over. And if you like it, you’ll probably just hit play again because you missed half the visual gags the first time around.
Not a masterpiece, maybe. But definitely a trip. 🎞️