Be Human (1936)

Be Human Review

Be Human is a 1936 animated short film from the Betty Boop series. It is a classic.

Betty Boop is incensed at her farmer neighbor’s cruelty to his animals. Grampy knows how to teach him a lesson. This was a rare late Betty Boop short that successfully rivaled those that came out during the first half of the series’ span. It’s an instant classic that aged like fine wine as animal cruelty still remains an issue in some lesser developed countries. The movie’s messaging is so beautiful.

While Grampy’s inventions were shoehorned in those last couple of minutes, the device that he uses to torture the man who previously tortured animals was ingenious. That entire sequence was not just rewarding, but also genuinely hilarious how devious Betty and Grampy were in their facial expressions. The animation here is just as lively as ever while Betty’s titular song is actually quite a lot of fun and so catchy. Seeing Betty be back in the main role was a breath of fresh air for this period.