Not Now (1936)

Not Now Review

Not Now is a 1936 animated short film from the Betty Boop series. It is a very slight cartoon.

A noisy cat prevents Betty from getting any sleep at night. Eventually, Pudgy ends up chasing the cat and the two fight multiple times. This is yet another Pudgy the Pup cartoon masquerading as a Betty Boop film. Betty is not only sidelined here, but she is as passive as ever as she only sings and cries, which was so frustrating.

But Pudgy is just as adorable as he always is. Him speaking one line of dialogue was a terrible choice, but a couple of gags of the two fighting and chasing each other were definitely well executed and quite amusing. The cat being a nasty villain was typical for the thirties, an era when they were desperately trying to tell kids that cats are terrible and dogs are amazing. The animation is gorgeous with the panning sequence containing a very cool 3D effect for the time.

Not Now is another slight, but endearing Pudgy short that benefits from some nice gags, but a thin plot and an overly passive Betty.

My Rating – 3.4