Betty Boop’s Ups and Downs 1932

A destitute Betty Boop is evicted from her home, which sits beside a bright FOR SALE sign. After Bimbo hauls away Betty and her meager belongings in a horse-drawn cart, the house begins to crumble around them, the decay tugging the sign’s price ever downward. The chimney itself seems to try to mend the damage, yet the ramshackle dwelling keeps sinking, and the price on the sign slides toward something that reads, “Or what have you?”, much to the chimney’s visible frustration.

The camera pulls back to reveal a broader absurdity: every house in the town now bears a FOR SALE sign, and the view climbs to show North America, then the whole Earth, all up for sale. The Moon serves as auctioneer, and the planets begin to bid, their voices singing to the tune of London Bridge Is Falling Down. Mars and Venus place early bids, but Saturn ultimately becomes the buyer. He withdraws a large horseshoe magnet from the Earth to test gravity, and chaos ensues in a whimsical display as buildings, trees, animals, and people—including Betty—float upward in comical motion.

A hand emerges from the Earth and retrieves the magnet, gravity is restored, and everything and everyone crashes back to the ground. A series of buildings topple onto Betty, but she remains unharmed, climbing out from the toppled stack with a buoyant smile as she sings about the Earth being a home.

Any old place upon this Earth is home sweet home to me