Barnacle Bill
Barnacle Bill
| 29 August 1930 (USA)
Barnacle Bill Trailers

Sailor Bimbo (as Barnacle Bill) jumps ship with his little black book and visits his lady friend, Betty Boop (with dog's ears).

Reviews
Ploydsge

just watch it!

... View More
Ketrivie

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

... View More
Robert Joyner

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

... View More
Quiet Muffin

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

... View More
TheLittleSongbird

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. She is definitely more interesting here than Bimbo, who is fun enough but is again stuck in a standard role with not much special to do. Do enjoy their chemistry though, that stops Bimbo from being completely bland.Betty, Bimbo and Fleischer have done much better than 'Barnacle Bill'. It's pleasant enough and is a decent cartoon, but it's not a great one and doesn't stick in one's head as much as other offerings of theirs. For me, while a long worst from being one of Betty's worst cartoons (pretty much all her lesser efforts being when the Production Code was enforced, the material became tame and Betty while still engaging lost her trademark identity), it is far from one of her best either.Admittedly, the story never was one of the best assets in a Betty Boop cartoons and it is very flimsy and predictable in 'Barnacle Bill' and the momentum is not always there.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.On top of these, 'Barnacle Bill' is amusing and charming with a delightful Betty and adorable and fun chemistry between her and Bimbo. All the gags are well-timed and fun, if not ever hilarious or creative.All in all, decent. 7/10 Bethany Cox

... View More
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)

"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.

... View More
MartinHafer

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.

... View More
Robert Reynolds

Not officially released as a Betty Boop short, but that's Betty and the early Bimbo. Bimbo stayed a canine throughout, while Betty became human. Bimbo comes across as a less than likable sort here, but then neither was Barnacle Bill the sailor (pay attention to the lyrics of the sea chantey). Bimbo was a more or less marginal character, for my tastes, although he was head and shoulders above most of the supporting characters in later years. Koko the Clown was the most effective bit player they used in the Betty Boop series. Bimbo spends most of his time making eyes and sighing at Betty in most of his appearances. The later design on the character was a marked improvement over the original character they show here. This is on the Betty Boop collection that's well worth having. This short is nothing special, but worth a look once.

... View More