Any Rags? (1932)

"♫Stick out your can, here comes the Garbage Man♫." -Betty Boop

The first Talkartoons animated short of 1932, Any Rags? was released January 2nd and features an adaptation of the title song Any Rags, a classic Schottische hit, originally composed by Thomas S. Allen and later recorded by Arthur Collins. 

I'll admit to not knowing anything about the song Any Rags before first seeing this cartoon. I like to believe that Betty's enduring popularity is beneficial to vintage music preservation. A lot of classic music from bygone eras that would otherwise seem forgotten are continual reintroduced to new generations thanks to the timelessness of Betty's cartoons, and I'm grateful for that.

I've listened to the original song Any Rags, and I noticed that it does not have my favorite line from the cartoon: "stick out your can, here comes the garbage man." I love it when Betty (voiced by Ann Little) sings this catchy line. You can hear her distinguished voice among the choir, and it is catchy and memorable.

The cartoon itself works as a short entertaining distraction, when the mood strikes for something from the early phase of the golden age of American animation. Bimbo is the main character, but Betty steals the show. Talkartoons would end that year and virtually be replaced with Betty Boop's own show, with the pre-code trio of Betty, Bimbo, and Koko still intact. It just made much more sense to give the show to Betty. She's the real reason the Talkartoons films with her in them still endure.