I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You (1932)
Article 5465 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-29-2017
Directed by Dave Fleischer
Featuring Louis Armstrong, and the voices of Ann Little and Billy Murray
Country: USA
What it is: Betty Boop cartoon

When Betty Boop is kidnapped by cannibals while on safari, her friends Koko and Bimbo must rescue her.

I’ve seen enough marginally fantastic jungle movies that I’m within my rights to classify this jungle movie cartoon as fantastically themed as well; furthermore, cannibalism seems to be a fit subject for horror. Still, I think in terms of fantastic content, the big selling point of this one is that one of the cannibals transforms himself into the flying disembodied head of Louis Armstrong, which is sufficient to thrust this cartoon into the world of fantasy. The presence of Armstrong makes this cartoon similar to the three that featured Cab Calloway, but in comparison to those, this one is a pretty tepid affair. The main reason for this is that Louis Armstrong, as great and important an entertainer as he is, doesn’t have the dance moves of Calloway that inspired the rotoscoped dances of his cartoons; in short, Calloway’s style lent itself to a visual treat that just can’t be equaled by a mere flying head. Betty herself doesn’t appear much; after her kidnapping, we’re mostly treated to the antics of Koko and Bimbo. The title song is certainly entertaining, and the cartoon is probably more memorable for that than any gags this one has to offer.