Betty BoopThe reviewer didn’t seem to want Betty in a cartoon unless she was dealing with letches coming onto her as inanimate objects sprung to life for little bits of odd business. This cartoon’s in the Disney vein. But using a one-shot female character instead of Betty just wouldn’t have worked. And when you’re using colour for the first time, wouldn’t you showcase your star?
“Poor Cinderella”
10 Mins.
Paramount, N. Y.
Paramount
Color cartoon by the new process with firm tones and practically no bleeding, but a lack of tints in the colors. Conventional story of Cinderella other than that Cindy is Betty Boop at her boopiest. Good stuff for the children around holiday times and carrying a catchy melody for a theme song, but not the knockout it was intended to be chiefly because the main character is unsuitable. Sound very poor. Chic.
I’m very surprised the reviewer didn’t mention the 3-D effects during the short which are spectacular. Here are the background drawings from when Cinderella runs away after the clock strikes 12.
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After the transformation, the scene changes from the ragged Cinderella to the prince in the palace (who sounds like he read his lines from the back of the room). The transition from one scene to the next involves a setting swirling behind the animation. Here’s one complete turn.
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Seymour Kneitel was the head animator on this short.
"...Betty Boop at her boopiest"? Well, no. Betty at her boopiest is jazzy and surreal. Wedging her into a Disney-esque cartoon is an awkward arrangement at best.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you source your stills from? I have always wondered. They are always pristine.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, OwlBoy, they were supplied by a friend named Devon Baxter. He has the Betty Boop BluRay discs.
DeleteI recently viewed this cartoon on the BB volume 4 Blu-ray and my jaw dropped. Absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteThose backgrounds are fantastic. A lot of expense and TLC went into the making of this cartoon.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Betty Boop is an odd choice for Cinderella, especially where Cinderella has to marry her prince at the end, and Betty is essentially a solo character who doesn't need a regular romantic lead. The prince doesn't seem worthy of her.
One thing I've wondered about for a long time...the voice of the singing pumpkin sounds remarkably like Nelson Eddy. This cartoon was made about a year before he hit super-stardom at MGM with "Naughty Marietta", and I believe he did some work for Paramount in his early years. Could that be Nelson Eddy in an unbilled role, or is it another tenor with a similar-sounding voice?
Thanks for another great share!
Those backgrounds are fantastic. A lot of expense and TLC went into the making of this cartoon.
DeleteCertainly far better than the way I first saw this on a PD videotape 30 years ago that used a cruddy B&W U.M.&M. release that stripped it of that Cinecolor glory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orD7WIDTAvY
I agree that Betty Boop is an odd choice for Cinderella, especially where Cinderella has to marry her prince at the end, and Betty is essentially a solo character who doesn't need a regular romantic lead. The prince doesn't seem worthy of her.
Certainly does stick out that way, but I guess given the circumstances of this being the Fleischer's first "Color Classic", they had go start off with someone people may know very well.
SC33, was Eddy in New York at the time? I don't know enough about his background.
DeleteSome of the Fleischer background work in the first half of the 30s was amazing. I love the streetscapes. Not one of those guys got screen credit. It's a crime.
The other interesting effect is the dissolve background change from the castle to the stylized moonlight background as Betty and the price are dancing. Kneitel already had done something like this for the 1933 Popeye cartoon "Season's Greetinks", but over 15 years later, the idea of the backgrounds transitioning as the characters continued their movement would be considered 'revolutionary' by some of the highbrow critics when heaping praise on UPA's "Gerald McBoing-Boing" (ironically, based on the above review, because they were tired of the standard fare in Hollywood theatrical cartoons.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the reviewer's qualifications and agenda must be taken into consideration. I have seen POOR CINDERELLA on a large screen, and there are subtle things in Betty's animation that display her as a comedienne not visible on the small screen.
ReplyDeleteThe one positive thing in this review refers to the technical challenge of the Cinecolor process, the "lack of bleeding." Seen today, we have the luxury of having both color layers on one. In the original Cinecolor process, the red and blue were applied on opposite sides of the film. Since film is focused on the emulsion side, there were two emulsions here. The projectionist had to choose one over the other. The result was one of the colors would appear out of focus. THIS is the impression of the "bleeding." Again, the qualifications and knowledge of the reviewer comes into question, having overlooked many other important issues including one of the first uses of The Stereoptical Process. Lastly, WHAT is "poor" about the sound? The only thing "unusual" to my year is that the Phil Spitalney (All Women Orchestra) sounds like a Terrytoons music track. And what's wroing with that?
That could not have been Nelson Eddy for a number of reasons. Primarily, he was under contract to MGM. Second, the voice of the pumpkin is a far lower register than Eddie's. Third, this was not a large enough part to make it worth Eddie's trouble, nor would the budget allow for his talents. Remember, there were a lot of people available on Broadway, so the talent pool was quite great allowing for other voices such as the impersonation of Rudy Vallee for a cheap price. The speaking voice of The Prince is not the same as the singing voice at the end, which is William Pennell, the first voice for Bluto.
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