How's It Hold Up?

Betty is back, on this time she's on stage, with a moustache-twirling villain and a hunky boyfriend! The Betty cartoons are in general spoofs, but this one is even more on the nose about it than usual. Is that to its benefit? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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We finally reach the end of our long Pinocchio journey, with this, the final Pinocchio movie released in 2022. Directed by a man who personally adores the original Disney movie, and has been working on this film as a passion project for over a decade, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio was the Pinocchio movie we most anticipated watching by a country mile. But was it worth the build-up? And how does it compare to the 4 other versions of this story that we watched? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Mickey is back, along with Minnie and their friends Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar! This short functions as a sort of swan song for the latter two, who shortly after this would be phased out into background characters, corresponding with the rise in prominence of Goofy and the creation of Donald. Is this a worthy send-off for the two characters, or does it leave something to be desired? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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It's time for the Pinocchio we were all looking forward to the least. It's part of Disney's recent slew of remakes, and also one of at least three Pinocchio films to come out in the year 2022. Was our trepidation well-founded, or did this movie end up being a surprise gem? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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And now for something completely different! Well... sort of. We've seen Ub Iwerks' work before, back when he helped Mickey Mouse get his start. But Ub parted ways with Disney a few years after that, and went off to do his own thing! The most famous thing he did with his solo work was his Flip the Frog series, but today we're watching a short from the follow-up series, which he made for MGM! Come meet Willie Whopper, a child who tells tall tales. Is his tale good? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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We're back on track with direct adaptations of Carlo Collodi's work, though this version ends up sharing quite a few threads that we saw in the Russian film but not in Disney's. This film is bright and colorful and jam packed with events, but how does it compare to the other two, and how does it hold up on its own?

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Our third Betty Boop in a row! I may or may not have been struggling to  figure out what shorts to watch! Anyway, the interesting thing with this  one is the music style of the short, that's different from the  straight-up jazz of most Boops. How's it work out? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Another week another Pinocchio! Except... is is, really? This Russian adaptation is actually an adaptation of an adaptation! What does that mean, and what does this movie hold in store? What does a frog in a speedo who's also an olympic gymnast wannabe have to do with the story of a little wooden puppet boy? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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It's time for more Betty Boop, and importantly, more Cab Calloway! This is the final collaboration between the Fleischer Bros and Calloway, and unlike the first two, this one's got Calloway's music throughout its entire runtime. Is this last hurrah one for the ages, or does it pale in comparison to its predecessors? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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And now for a series of Pinocchio movies, starting with the 1940 Disney classic that influences how most Americans think of the story. Historically, this has not been a favorite film of any of this podcast's hosts, but we all did our best to watch it with open minds and hearts. Acknowledging that animation fans often consider this to be one of the greatest animated works of all time, what did we ultimately make of it? Is this one a dud, or a certified classic? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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