The Talkartoon shorts

[Nelson]

In regards to one of Max Fleischer's wonderful series, the classic "Talkartoons", does anyone like the series and which ones are your favorites?:betty:

[Bamse]

Yes, I like them very much... My unquestionable favourites are "Bimbo's Initiation" and "Minnie the Moocher", but it would be very nice if the cartoons NOT starring Betty Boop in the series would get more exposure. I haven't seen any myself, but I strongly suspect they are as good as the ones with Betty.

[Cartman]

Of the ones I've seen, I would go with BIMBO'S INITIATION.

[Lee Glover]

I've only seen all the Talkartoons starring Betty Boop, but these cartoons are fantastic. Brilliantly animated and wonderfully surreal. :betty:

My favourites are:

Dizzy Dishes
Mysterious Mose
Silly Scandals
Bimbo's Initiation
Any Rags

[Larry T]

Personally, I love them, and can't get enough of them. :betty:

They're so contrary, experimental, bizarrely animated, nonsensical, and surreal. Sometimes I've shown a few of them to my friends that claim they Love classic animation and when a Talkartoon finishes, there's a dead silence in the room... probably so they can recollect their sanities.

My personal favourite Talkartoons (and subsequently the biggest mind-f*cĸing ones I've seen):

Mysterious Mose
Swing, You Sinners
Bimbo's Initiation
Betty Boop, M.D.
Twenty Legs Under The Sea
Sky Scraping
Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions

[Nelson]

These are among my personal favorite "Talkartoons"...

Noah's Lark
Hot Dog
Fire Bugs
Grand Uproar
Dizzy Dishes
Up To Mars
Swing You Sinner
Mysterious Mose
Tree Saps
Silly Scandals
The Herring Murder Case
Bimbo's Initiation
Sink Or Swim

For those who have seen the 1930 Talkartoon short, "Up To Mars", one has to wonder if Bob Clampett was influenced by this short for his cartoon "Porky In Wackyland".

[Pietro]

For those who have seen the 1930 Talkartoon short, "Up To Mars", one has to wonder if Bob Clampett was influenced by this short for his cartoon "Porky In Wackyland".
Darn you, Nelson, I was going to mention that :p

I actually consider "Bimbo's Initiation" to be quite overrated. While I do not question the film's engaging absurdity, I just think that there are more surreal Talkartoons than that one.

One of the best Talkartoons, IMO, is "Swing You Sinners." The cartoon is a perfect example of Fleischer surrealism during the early 1930s. The cartoon features Bimbo, who gets trapped in an old graveyard escaping from a cop. He has comitted so many crimes that an array of spooks and spirits haunt him to a hot jazz tune (the title song). A highly underrated masterpiece.

Another favorite Talkartoon of mine maybe more firmiliar to you who only have exposure to the Betty Boop video sets. "Silly Scandals" (1931) is a hilarious cartoon featuring Bimbo and an early version of Betty Boop. The film is also a perfect example of vocal improvisation used in Fleischer cartoons.

I also enjoy "Hot Dog" - the first appearance of Bimbo (the scat tune at the end is classic) "Up to Mars," and "Betty Boop, M.D." (that ending is just so weird!)

-Pietro:daffy:

[Cdawg]

The Talkartoons are very interesting to me, but I only have a few of them with Betty Boop (on that new 2 DVD set by Platnum Disc Corp. Do nay of you know where I can get some of these you have mentioned? Those I have seen are great! I kind of wish someone would put these all on a DVD set like the "Somewhere In Dreamland" set. I think that would be a super-cool set!