MovieChat Forums > Betty Boop, M.D. (1932) Discussion > Disturbing. Plain and simple.

Disturbing. Plain and simple.


I live in surreality. My favorite pieces of art, music, literature, and film are usually described as just weird and twisted by most of my friends.
This cartoon still disturbs me all the way up until the baby turns into the mad black jazz singer, when it turns absolutely horrifying. Two questions.
How could this have been marketed for kids and secondly, exactly how many mushrooms and hits of acid did Fliescher do a day?

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Disturbing as it may seem, cartoon shorts in the early days and up until the widespread use of television in the middle 50's were NOT aimed at children, particularly not Betty Boop. Disney of course was an exception to the rule, but even looking at some of Warner's classics closely, you can see that the humor was pretty topical and would not be understood by children.

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The Fleischer brothers were geniuses and likely didnt need drug use like the rest of us do to create incredibly unique images. But I do agree with you that mushrooms enhance the viewing.

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