Excellent but underrated film

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style was often stunning and some of the most imaginative and ahead of its time in animation.The character of Betty Boop, one of their most famous and prolific characters, may not be for all tastes and sadly not as popular now, but her sex appeal was quite daring for the time and to me there is an adorable sensual charm about her. That charm, sensuality and adorable factor is not lost anywhere here, nor her comic timing. Having said that, she is a little underused here, with it being Ko-Ko and Bimbo's cartoon. Fortunately, the two characters do very well carrying it and the chemistry with Betty is charming.'The Dancing Fool' doesn't see either character at their best and Fleischer have also done better. This said, it has all the elements that make her pre-Code cartoons so worthwhile and does do so much, almost everything, right and little wrong. The weak link, other than the underusing of Betty, is the story which is not much of one at all.However, the animation is outstanding, everything is beautifully and meticulously drawn and the whole cartoon is rich in visual detail and imagination. Every bit as good is the music score, which delivers on the energy, lusciousness and infectiousness, great for putting anybody in a good mood.As hoped, the fun is ceaseless and while it is not exactly creative everything is very well timed and never dull. The voice work is good.Overall, well worth watching like a vast majority of the pre-code Betty/Bimbo/Ko-Ko cartoons. 8/10 Bethany Cox

There really isn't a lot of plot to this one, though that doesn't mean it's a bad cartoon. With great animation and a catchy tune, you could do a lot worse."The Dancing Fool" begins with Bimbo and KoKo working on a scaffold outside a high-rise. The pair get into a lot of trouble together and ultimately go inside to Betty Boop's dance studio. There, the pair and lots of animals are dancing about having a wonderful time. Ultimately, however, the poor building cannot take any more--and it all comes tumbling down.This is what I could call a 'turn off your brain and enjoy' cartoon. There isn't much in the way of plot and if I tried to describe more it really couldn't convey what you'll see. Suffice to say that you might find yourself tapping your toes and it is fun--even if Betty barely is in the film.