The past decade has seen a kind of renaissance for the animation of the Fleischer brothers. Their most acclaimed cartoon series, Popeye the Sailor Man, was restored from the original negatives and treated to a lavish three-volume set of releases packed with extras and special features. Their lauded 1940s adaptation of the Superman comic book series has been remastered and released in its own complete set. So it’s safe to say that it’s about time that another popular Fleischer star, Betty Boop, receives similar reverential treatment. When Olive Films announced that they were remastering some of the original Betty Boop cartoons and releasing them in a series of four single-disc volumes—and on Blu-ray, no less!—expectations were high that these sets would be similar to the Popeye releases in scope. But while the restored cartoons (which, according to the company, are “remastered in HD from 4K scans of the original negatives”) are lovely to behold, the initial volume, released in August, is somewhat lackluster due to a lack of special features and the odd choice of shorts that were selected to kick off the series. The cartoons are gorgeously rendered—crisp, clean and beautiful. The restoration job on these is top-notch. Considering that many fans’ previous exposure to the Fleischer Betty Boops comes (like mine) from any number of poor-quality public domain releases over the years, it is a genuine pleasure to sit down and see these shorts from a fresh, clear perspective. The cartoons are, as ever, deliciously musical, and the sound quality, particularly on the Blu-ray release, is marvelous. Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume One may be a bit of a misnomer, because the majority of the cartoons that are included in this first disc are not entirely what one might label “essential” (Volume Two, on the other hand, features more noteworthy entries in the Boop series, including Betty’s debut in 1930’s Dizzy Dishes and the classic 1931 short Bimbo’s Initiation). It seems odd that Olive would not present the cartoons in chronological order on the discs; the composition of Volume One is rather piecemeal, with some early pre-Code Boops mixed in with a couple of decidedly tamer post-Code ones. I would think a truly “essential” release would mimic the gold standard of the Popeye releases, with every cartoon presented in order of release date, continuing chronologically on successive discs. Now for the details of the Volume One set: curiously, there is no menu—the only option is to “play all,” so if you’re looking to skip to a particular cartoon, you have to do it manually. There are no subtitles. And as I mentioned before, there are no special features, which is disappointing; personally, I would love to see some documentaries on the making of the cartoon or perhaps even some commentaries on selected shorts, as with the Popeye releases.
Betty Boop for President (1932) The cartoons included here are:

Chess-Nuts (1932) A chess game goes awry when Betty and her fellow pieces run amok. Betty Boop, M.D. (1932) Betty and Bimbo sell a “miracle tonic” called Jippo, with hilarious results. Betty Boop’s Bamboo Isle (1932) Boasts the much-revisited Rotoscoped footage of a hula-ing Betty. Betty Boop for President (1932) Betty trades kisses for votes. Congress is depicted as a bunch of animals. It fits. Betty Boop’s Penthouse (1933) Koko and Bimbo mess around in a scientific lab, resulting in the creation of a lumbering monster which goes after an unsuspecting Betty in the penthouse next door. Betty Boop’s Birthday Party (1933) Betty’s birthday bash turns into an all-out brawl and food fight. Betty Boop’s May Party (1933) Features a great gag in which rubber coats the entire cartoon, allowing for some weird and wonderfully pliant animation. Betty Boop’s Halloween Party (1933) When a hairy brute crashes Betty’s holiday soiree, she turns out the lights and lets loose some scary spooks. Betty Boop’s Rise to Fame (1934) A live-action/animated hybrid starring Max Fleischer, this cartoon is effectively a precursor to the notion of a clip show, as “Uncle Max” puts Betty through her paces for a visiting reporter. Betty Boop’s Trial (1934) Betty ends up in court after trying to flee an overly amorous motorcycle cop. Betty Boop’s Life Guard (1934) Betty almost drowns in the ocean, and hallucinates that she is a mermaid. Pudgy in The Fox Hunter (1937) A benign short in which Betty plays second fiddle to the mischievous combination of Junior and pup Pudgy. This one, more so than any of the others, is a pretty random inclusion on the disc, considering it was released so late in the series.

Bottom line: while it’s great to see these cartoons restored to their former glory, Volume One has a disappointing dearth of extras. I would recommend purchasing or renting the set just to see the cartoons, but I fervently hope a more comprehensive collection is on the horizon for true collectors and animation fans. Brandie Ashe no longer eats cold cereal while wearing footy pajamas…but does maintain a love for all things animated. She is one of four passionate classic film authors at True Classics.