Ragtime Romeo (1931) User Reviews

Music Is The Main Attraction

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 8 May 2008]

There really isn't that much humor to this Flip The Frog story, but it has a lot of charm and good "ragtime" music.

I liked the various horns on Flip's car; Flip's "picture" on his girlfriends bedroom drawer coming alive and getting a kick out of seeing his girl undress and Flip getting all the musical instruments out of his car. After that the cartoon is mostly musical as Flip serenades his girl, and then she comes down and the two of them entertain the whole building.....except for one old lady who wants to get her sleep!

Overall, not bad. It's actually better on the second viewing, especially the music which will get you in a good mood. It's old "ragtime" music. It will have you tapping your feet!

Early Flip the Frog-excellent cartoon!

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 13 November 2003]

This is one of the first half-dozen or so shorts from Iwerks and is exceptional. Flip is actually interesting and has a personality-what happened later on? There's a discernable plot-not Shakespeare, but decent enough. The music (not all Ragtime, but why quibble? It's good) is a primary component, the characters are well-executed and it's just an all-around success. If Iwerks had produced more shorts like this, the character (and the studio) would have been more successful. Great cartoon, good to see it in print, available on DVD. Well worth watching. Most recommended.

Love with Ragtime

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 26 May 2018]

Ub Iwerks's Flip the Frog series of cartoons was short-lived, only lasting from 1930 to 1933. On the most part the Flip the Frog cartoons are not great or cartoon/animated masterpieces and it is sort of understandable as to why Flip didn't make it bigger. However they are far from terrible ones either and do hold some interest.

Despite not being historically significant like 'Fiddlesticks' was, 'Ragtime Romeo' for me is among the best Flip the Frog cartoons alongside up to this point (so in correlation with the previous cartoons) 'The Village Barber', 'Laughing Gas' and particularly 'Cuckoo Murder Case'. It is a good cartoon, it is not perfect but there are things here that improve quite a bit and done much better than many other Flip the Frog cartoons.

A lot of good things in 'Ragtime Romeo'. The animation is decent enough, with beautifully detailed backgrounds, nice shading and characters that aren't drawn too crudely. The music makes even more of an impact, it is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, full of lively energy and not only adds brilliantly to the action it enhances it. It has been said that it is the best thing about 'Ragtime Romeo' and makes it, cannot disagree.

There are more sight gags than the previous Flip the Frog cartoons, and they are surprisingly funny. There is a nice natural charm, a good deal of zest and it does a better job than most Flip the Frog cartoons in not falling into sentimentality or cutesiness, though occasionally there are signs. Really liked the lively support.

Flip's appearance here is one of his most interesting easily, usually he is not a very compelling character. While a bit thin on the ground still, there is agreed a more discernible story and the chemistry between Flip and his love interest charms.

Not much wrong actually. Flip's love interest is a little bland and occasionally the pace drags.

'Ragtime Romeo' contains an undressing scene and for me it didn't quite fit with the rest of the cartoon and didn't serve much of a point.

In summary, good fun and makes love and ragtime fun to watch. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Play That Music

[Michael_Elliott · 24 March 2016]

Ragtime Romeo (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Flip the Frog heads out to visit his girlfriend (a cat) and serenade her with a song. Before long the music playing gets out of control and others are joining in.

RAGTIME ROMEO is another fun short from the series by Ub Iwerks. The series was rather creative and put Flip into many fun situations but there's really not much of a story here. Instead of a story we're treated to some ragtime music and this here is the highlight of the picture and what keeps it entertaining. The music played was actually quite addictive and you'll be tapping your feet as it plays and Flip goes along on his adventure. The score is certainly what makes this one stand out.