Keep in Style (1934)

Keep in Style Review

Keep in Style is a 1934 animated short film from the Betty Boop series. It is a very enjoyable short.

Betty Boop puts on a musical show of new inventions and styles; her creation of “ankle skirts” sweeps the nation. Betty organizing an exposition was not a fresh idea as it had been done before in ‘Betty Boop’s Crazy Inventions’. Still, execution matters and it managed to elevate the familiar short to much greater heights.

While it can get repetitive, the movie’s formula was still prone to great laughs. Not only that, but it allowed the animation team to go all in, delivering some truly artistic and inspired work. The piano changing shape and morphing into so many different objects was a visual highlight, but Betty changing her dress was also a delight. Another highlight came toward the end when she invented a useless fashion idea and through this sequence the filmmakers wonderfully made fun of stupid fashion trends.

Keep in Style is a familiar short in premise, but it’s strongly executed with amazing animation and a memorable final sequence.

My Rating – 3.9