What makes it different from others?

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Barnacle Bill characters are Bimbo (Barnacle Bill), and Betty Boop (the object of Barnacle's affections, voiced by Mae Questel). Director: DAVE FLEISCHER. Animators: Seymour Kneitel, Rudy Zamora. Song, "Barnacle Bill, the Sailor". Producer: Max Fleischer.Copyright 31 August 1930 by Paramount Publix Corp. 1 reel. COMMENT: This first use of the catchy "Barnacle Bill, the Sailor" (with risque lyrics that were cleaned up for the song's subsequent use in a Popeye cartoon), is an inventive offering that presents Bimbo in a more flatteringly aggressive light than usual and allows Fleischer to put his talent for surreal gags to good use (we particularly like the chairs tiptoeing out of Betty's room so that the sofa-which joins in the chorus of the song- can amble in). The final sequence with the lightning is delightfully bizarre, though we wish that Betty could somehow have joined in the climax. Her role here, as in other Bimbos, amounts to just a little more than a guest appearance.

"Barnacle Bill" is a black-and-white sound cartoon from 1930, so this one had its 85th anniversary last year. It was made by animation legends Dave and Max Fleischer and is another Betty Boop cartoon. The title character here may have the same initials, but it is another character. Barnacle Bill is actually Betty's frequent co-lead Bimbo who poses as a sailor in here and has dog's ears just like Betty. At 8 minutes, it runs for slightly longer than cartoons regularly did back in the day, but the premise is similar to many other works from back then. There is a main character, his love interest and a main antagonist, something you also know from Warner Bros. or Disney. But the difference here is that these Betty Boop cartoons are much more absurd and bizarre and this one here is no exception. Also there is lots of music as usual. All in all, nothing really good or bad to see here, I give it a thumbs-down. Only worth checking out for Betty lovers.

In the first decade or so of sound cartoons, studios tended to make their films with way too much singing and cuteness and way too little humor. So, I do understand the context for "Barnacle Bill"....but I also didn't need to like it, either. The film is sung from start to finish and really lacks humor and entertainment value when seen today. In fact, my score of 3 reflects the film when seen today--perhaps back in 1930 it would have earned a 5 or 6.So is the film worth seeing? Well, it all depends. If you are a huge Betty Boop fan or are a big fan of early animation, it's worth seeing--as it's one of the earliest incarnations of this and the Bimbo character. Now it might be hard to see this as being Betty at first--she has long doggy ears and is animated in a stretched out manner. Bimbo also is VERY different. As far as the story goes, well, there isn't much of one--just lots of singing. The only real plus doesn't surprise me--the background animations were first-rate--which is what you should expect from a Fleischer Brothers cartoon.

I enjoyed this cartoon for what it is worth, as I do most of the cartoons of this era I watch. Here we have the second appearance of Betty Boop, released less than a month after her first cartoon, "Dizzy Dishes". In that and this cartoon, she is a dog (as one can tell from the dog ears). Here, she is not the main character, but she appears enough to glean more of her personality than "Dizzy Dishes". We have here the first appearance of Bimbo, who calls himself "Barnacle Bill", in this episode. He is an annoying character in the way that he is very arrogant.The episode starts in a cartoony way (normal for the time), where the crew are singing about being on the sea. The ship briefly docks and the captain calls all the crew (one of them looking suspiciously like Mickey Mouse) and tells them that they cannot leave the ship. Barnacle Bill, however, has other ideas...Later in the episode, Barnacle Bill meets Betty Boop as a dog and says some rather horrible things to her in his singing, which is why this cartoon is not particularly suitable for children (although I am not sure if this cartoon was directed at family, children or adults).It is a cartoon worth watching all the same and I recommend it to people who like old cartoons with singing pretty much instead of dialogue. Enjoy "Barnacle Bill"! :-)