Halloween Thrills, Day 29: Minnie the Moocher

This vintage Fleischer Studios cartoon doesn't have a Halloween theme, but there's no denying that it's wonderfully creepy in that way only a vintage Fleischer cartoon can be. Cab Calloway's signature tune, it goes without saying, is a work of genius, but the Betty Boop treatment makes it even more brilliant.



The song itself doesn't kick in until just past the four-minute mark, but even before then, "Minnie" is plenty strange. Betty's dad changes form, and there's that great little moment when the lipstick print on her handkerchief sings back at her. (Plus, Koko the clown has a cameo!)

And then, when Cab himself shows up -- yowza! I don't know whose idea it was to make him a ghostly walrus, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences needs to fire up the time machine and give that man an Oscar toot sweet. Best of all, that rotoscoped Mr. Calloway is only the beginning -- you also get skeletons, ghosts, those singing reflections of Bimbo in the well, a triple electric chair execution and kittens who suck the life from their mother.

By the grand finale, the cartoon just goes crazy, with ghostly apparitions flying out at the viewer (including one with singing tonsils!) and driving poor Betty back to her folks' place. It's jazzy, it's jaunty and yes, it's even a bit spooky. Forget all those toothless Halloween specials and show this one to your kids this year. Believe me, they'll thank you for it.