Red Hot Mamma (1934)

Red Hot Mamma Review

Red Hot Mamma is a 1934 animated short film from the Betty Boop series. It is a pretty strong entry in the series.

Betty Boop, sleepless on a freezing night, builds a nice hot fire which proves too much of a good thing. In a dream she visits Hell, sings and makes Hell freeze over. Watching this short, I wished for a Pre-Code take on this story as it would have undoubtedly made it more creative. Still, it’s a very good cartoon that is well executed throughout.

The beginning was particularly dark in the moment when Betty’s chickens got roasted by the fireplace. Another highlight was Betty spanking a flame like a kid. That was the funniest and most inventive gag in the short that otherwise failed to make full use of its terrific premise. The animation is fantastic, the score is quite lively and the scenes in Hell were a whole lot of fun. It’s a very atmospheric cartoon.

Red Hot Mamma is very well animated and scored. It’s one of the better and more atmospheric Betty Boop shorts.

My Rating – 4