Betty Boop's Ker-Choo (1933) User Reviews

Needed Less Song, More Auto Race But It Was Still A Good BB Effort

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 17 July 2007]

In this cartoon, one of the first things we see is a unique and fast way to fill the grandstands at any sporting event. It might be impractical and a little rough on the customers but it was an original idea and fun to watch.

Betty quickly gets into a song, probably titled "Ker-Choo," since she has a cold, it's the title name of the movie and it's said at the end of most verses. It's cute and catchy as most of her numbers were. However, it went on a little too long in relation to the rest of the story, which was about an auto race.

Betty has to be the only race-car driver in history, by the way, to power her nose in the middle of the race! The race, which lasts about two minutes is extremely entertaining with all the goofy sights you'd except to see, and more.

In all, a fun movie that would have been rated a star or two higher had the race been another minute longer and the song a minute shorter. Still, a typical cute and funny Betty Boop cartoon that leaves you with a smile on your face.

While it might have been a bit better without the song, it's still clever and cute.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 16 August 2013]

"Betty Boop's Ker-Choo" is almost like watching a 1930s version of Mario Cart! The film begins with several racers (including Bimbo and Ko Ko) waiting for Betty Boop to get in her car so they can start the race. It seems he has a cold and proceeds to sing about it. I personally wish they hadn't included the song, as the rest of the cartoon was great and the song only seemed to slow things down a bit. What follows is a super-crazy race as you'd only see in a cartoon or video game! And, in the end, Betty's cold turns out to be a big advantage. Overall, it's cute, clever and very watchable even 80 years after its debut. Not the best cartoon by Betty but better than average.

Could have done with more race and less song, but a very good cartoon all the same

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 25 November 2016]

Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style often stunning and some of the most imaginative and ahead of its time in animation.

The character of Betty Boop, one of their most famous and prolific characters, may not be for all tastes and sadly not as popular now, but her sex appeal was quite daring for the time and to me there is an adorable sensual charm about her. The charm, sensuality and adorability factors are here and she's fun to watch.

Furthermore, the black and white animation is very good, smooth, meticulously detailed and well drawn with the black and white not looking too primitive. A lot of it is actually very imaginative and impressively surreal, especially in the race. Even better is much of the music, which is rousing, catchy and unquestionably accessible to anybody who loves or is familiar with the compositional style. 'Betty Boop's Ker-Choo' is a very amusing cartoon, with the highlight being the entire race which was inspired stuff and animated pretty brilliantly, and is full of energy and charm too.

If anything, personally would have liked to have seen more of the race and also either shortened or omitted Betty's song, which was okay but slowed down the cartoon and didn't serve much relevance, basically an excuse to give Betty something to sing.

To conclude, a very good cartoon of Betty Boop. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Fast and furious

[Kieran_Kenney · 11 October 2003]

This was the very first Betty Boop cartoon I ever saw. I was not in

the least bit disappointed. This film was fast paced, ingeniously

animated and absolutely hilarious. In the world of Fleischer,

everything is flexible. Animals talk and formerly inanimate objects

come to life. When Betty puts a cough drop into her mouth, she

more-or-less inserts it, along with her entire hand, and then pulls it

back out. She sneezes, and the bearded men on the cough drop

box excuse her. She sings a song, as always, quite well, and

looks very sexy in that little white motoring outfit. The best bit

comes at the very end, but I won't give that away. I'll just say that it

involves how she is the only one to actually cross the finish line.

Yes, a great comedy, sexually suggestive, as usual, but good

clean fun for those who don't know the difference.

Betty at the Track

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 10 December 2018]

Betty is entered in an auto race. She is late for the start because she has a cold. She sings a song about a cold in her nose which goes on forever. When the race starts, she holds her own, even if she doesn't feel well. The race is entertaining with Betty doing her best. The real hero of this is Betty's sneezing. It's well done early animated cartooning.

One freaking madhouse race in Boopland!

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 7/10 · 18 March 2017]

To me this Betty Boop short cartoon isn't particularly remarkable but it's still good fun to watch. As was the usual with the animations that the Fleischer studios were putting out at this time, I love the creativeness of the weird random sight gags that occur within the story, such as how the spectators of the race get deposited into their seats via a giant vacuum hose, and how the racing cars move more like living things than machines and stretch around like rubber in whatever inventive way the driver needs them to, like when one gets flipped over and instead of turning it back the right way up the driver just pulls the wheels down and rides it that way, or when Koko's car breaks down and he just puts it on his back and runs the rest of the race himself with the car 'driving' him as it were! This was made around the same time as some of the really outstanding and famous darker Betty Boop and Bimbo shorts like Minnie the Moocher, but there's nothing at all macabre about this one. It certainly has its crazy moments though and it definitely has the highly distinctive Fleischer style written all over it. The race in the best part, it has a great sense of fast motion to it, one thing the Fleischer cartoons were never good for was standing still, they were designed to be full of music and mayhem. It was a very odd touch to have Betty suffering from a cold in this short and even singing a silly shrill song about said cold at one point! Like a few of the other reviewers I didn't care for the singing very much either, it's a little boring and holds up the pace of the short too much. At least her cold does play into the story a little when she wins the race through sheer luck by unleashing a mighty sneeze that causes a pile up on one side of the finish line and her car, which is wrecked as well, just happens to fall perfectly back together piece-by-piece over the finish line and she's the winner by default! Trvia alert: A band called Soul Coughing uses this short in a really cool way for the music video of their song called "Rolling", which I'd very much recommend checking out if you're a fan of this short. So while they're are more fun adventures from Betty and her pals out there, this is definitely good and worth seeing. Ride's over! x

Betty Boop's impression of Barney Oldfield

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 26 July 2002]

This short spoofs the very popular sport of auto racing. At the time this short was made, Barney Oldfield, an auto racer, was one of the more notable and famous celebrities of the day. This is auto racing, Fleischer style. Bizarre gags and excellent animation highlight this one and it's charming to watch. Fans of Late Night Black and White, the old Cartoon Network show, will recognize this as the cartoon footage is taken from for the "Groovie" (a series of fillers used to fill out the hour) titled, "Rollin'". Well worth watching. In print and available. Most recommended.

Full of sneezes, not so much laughs

[mish17 · 5/10 · 29 June 2007]

For some reason, I am obsessed with Betty Boop, so much so, that I get called Betty Boobs at work. I have recently began collecting the figurines, and have a bag, purse, dressing gown, beach towels - yeah it's bad.

But this isn't about me, this is actually about the first cartoon I've ever watched of Betty Boop. Previously, I've only seen her in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? where she was in colour. I bought a whole DVD, with 23 cartoons, and this was the first one I watched. It was a bit strange. First of all, I didn't realise they were done so long ago, they were in black & white, and there wasn't much laughs to be had. I don't think it was the right one to kick the DVD off either. The ending's the only really good bit, and some of the animation is slightly strange - she's constantly moving, what is the deal with that? Wouldn't it be easier to draw her standing still? But one down, 22 to go.

Incredibly funny!

[Sporkstera · 10/10 · 23 February 2019]

Watching this was one of the best experiences of my life. I know it sounds crazy, and it is - we were all hungover as hell, it was late afternoon on a very dark northern winter day... But Betty Boop in general, and especially this video, are so incredibly original and hilarious, it's impossible not to lose yourself in it!! Best viewed when tired and with a good friend. Thank me later :)