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6.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Mother Goose Land remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old-school, rubber-hose animation that feels a bit like a fever dream, sure. It’s short, weird, and moves at the speed of a caffeinated squirrel. If you need a coherent plot or don't like 1930s cartoons, stay far away.
Betty Boop is just sort of hanging out, wishing for adventure, and then poof—Mother Goose shows up. It’s not subtle. It doesn't need to be.
The whole conflict is just Miss Muffet’s spider chasing Betty around. But here’s the kicker: the spider isn't trying to eat her. He’s just aggressively romantic. It’s genuinely uncomfortable to watch a cartoon spider try to woo a flapper.
There’s a moment where the animation gets really fluid, almost hypnotic, but then the spider does something that makes you go, "Wait, why is he doing that?" It’s a strange choice that makes the whole thing feel slightly off-kilter.
It’s not as polished as some other Fleischer classics like The City of Masks, but it has that same kinetic, frantic energy. It reminds me of the chaotic movement you see in The Blood Ship, where everything is constantly vibrating for no reason.
I found myself wondering if anyone actually watched this with kids back then, or if it was just meant to scramble everyone’s brains. It feels like a precursor to the bizarre surrealism you might find in something like The Shadow of a Doubt, just with more singing and less murder.
The whole thing ends pretty abruptly. You don't get a moral lesson or a clean wrap-up. You just get the credits. Honestly? I appreciate that.
It’s a bizarre relic. Definitely worth a watch if you have five minutes to kill and a high tolerance for 1930s weirdness. 🕷️