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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Romantic Melodies remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have eight minutes to spare and love weird old cartoons, Romantic Melodies is totally worth a quick watch today.
People who dig retro animation and vintage radio music will find it charming, but anyone expecting a normal plot or modern pacing will probably hate it.
The whole thing kicks off with Bimbo leading this incredibly noisy, terrible German street band under Betty's window.
They are trying to serenade her, but their music is just so bad and chaotic.
Honestly, Bimbo's face when he is conducting is the best part of the whole cartoon. His cheeks puff out so big they almost cover his eyes.
Then, out of nowhere, the cartoon turns into a live-action video of Arthur Tracy, who was apparently a big deal on the radio back then.
He starts singing with the classic bouncing ball on screen so the audience can sing along to old-fashioned tunes.
The transition from cartoon to real life is so sudden it almost gave me whiplash. 😅
Betty Boop just swoons over Tracy's voice, completely ignoring poor Bimbo and his loud brass band downstairs.
I always find Mae Questel's voice work for Betty to be so comforting, even when the cartoon itself goes off the rails.
This short feels a lot like other musical novelties of the era, like Musical Moments or even some of the wilder scenes in Africa.
There is this one moment where a cartoon dog's ears melt into the background that I had to rewind twice because its just so bizarre.
It is definitely not a masterpiece, but it has that creepy, rubbery 1930s charm that you just don't see anymore.
If you do not mind the cheesy old songs, it is a fun little time machine to get lost in for a few minutes.