BETTY BOOP
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character appearing in the Talkartoon and
Betty Boop series of films produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount
Pictures. With her overt sexual appeal, Betty was a hit with theater-goers, and
despite having been toned down in the mid-1930s, she remains popular today.
Betty Boop made her first appearance on August 9, 1930 in the cartoon Dizzy
Dishes, the sixth installment in Fleischer's Talkartoon series. She was
originally designed by Grim Natwick, a veteran animator of the silent era who
would become lead director and animator for the Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney
studios. The character was modeled after Helen Kane, the famous popular singer
of the 1920s and contract player at Paramount Pictures, the studio that
distributed Fleischer's cartoons. By direction of Dave Fleischer, Natwick
designed the original character in the mode of a French poodle. The character's
voice was first performed by Margie Hines, and was later provided by several
different voice actresses including Kate Wright, Ann Rothschild (a.k.a. Little
Ann Little), Bonnie Poe, and most notably, Mae Questel who began in 1931 and
continued with the role until 1938.
While the original design was rather ugly and awkward, she was developed further
after Natwick's departure under Berny Wolf, Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall,
and Willard Bowsky. Betty became finalized as completely human by 1932 in the
cartoon Any Rags. Her floppy poodle ears became hoop earrings, and her black
poodle nose became a girl's button-like nose. Betty appeared in ten cartoons as
a supporting character, a flapper girl with more heart than brains. In
individual cartoons she was called "Nancy Lee" and "Nan McGrew", usually served
as a girlfriend to studio star Bimbo.
Although it has been assumed that Betty's first name was established in the 1931
Screen Songs cartoon Betty Co-ed, this "Betty" was, an entirely different
character. Though the song may have led to Betty's eventual christening, any
references to Betty Co-ed as a Betty Boop vehicle are incorrect. (The official
Betty Boop website describes the titular character as a "prototype" of Betty.)
In all, there were at least 12 Screen Songs cartoons that featured either Betty
Boop or a similar character.
Betty appeared in the first "Color Classic"cartoon 'Poor Cinderella', her only
theatrical color appearance (1934). Betty made a cameo appearance in the feature
film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), in her traditional black and white, saying
work had "gotten slow since cartoons went to color," but she still had "what it
takes."
Betty Boop became the star of the Talkartoons by 1932, and was given her own
series in that same year beginning with Stopping the Show. From this point on,
she was crowned "The Queen of the Animated Screen." The series was hugely
popular throughout the 1930s, lasting until 1939. But her best appearances are
considered to be in the first three years due to her "Jazz Baby" character with
innocent sexuality, which was aimed at adults. However the content of her films
was affected by The National Legion of Decency and The Production Code of 1933.
The Production Code guidelines imposed on the Motion Picture Industry placed
specific restrictions on the content films with references to sexual innuendo.
This greatly affected the content of the films of Mae West at Paramount, as well
as the Betty Boop cartoons until the end of the series.
Oddly, Betty Boop was the subject of additional publicity in 1934 when Helen
Kane launched a major lawsuit against Max Fleischer and Paramount Studios for
the "deliberate caricature" that produced "unfair competition" that exploited
her personality and image. While Miss Kane had risen to fame in the 1920s as "The
Boop-Oop-A-Doop Girl" star of stage, recordings, and films for Paramount, her
career was over by 1930. Interestingly, Paramount promoted the development of
Betty Boop following Miss Kane's decline. As Miss Kane's claims seemed on the
surface to be valid, it was proven that her appearance was not unique in that
she and the Betty Boop character bore a resemblance to Clara Bow, another major
star of Paramount. But the largest evidence against Miss Kane's case was her
claims to the origins of her singing style. While and outgrowth of Jazz "scat
singing," testimony revealed that Miss Kane had witnessed a black performer, "Baby
Esther" using a similar characterization in an act at the famous Cotton
Clubnightclub in Harlem some years earlier. An early test sound film was
discovered of Baby Esther performing in this style, disproving Miss Kane's
claims.
While "Betty Boop" continued in production for the next five years, her best
films had already been released, since her personality was greatly neutralized
from that point on. Due to a combination of policies affected by The Production
Code and also changes in the content of Paramount's films also affected Betty's
later appearances. While her later cartoons were more slick and consistently
produced, they relied heavily on self-consciously cute and moralistic preaching,
making Betty more of a "good citizen" maiden aunt spinster separated from any
references to sexuality, and innocent girlishness. Oddly, Betty became a
secondary character in her own cartoons, which began to center on the adventures
of her pet dog, Pudgy, and the eccentric inventor, Grampy, who bore an
interesting resemblance to Koko the Clown.
While the period that Betty represented had been replaced by the the "Big Bands"
of The Swing Era, Fleischer Studios made an attempt to develop a replacement
character in this style in the "Betty Boop" cartoon, "Sally Swing" (1938). While
a concept with potential, the character was not well conceived and failed to
project an energetic personality of the type later developed by Tex Avery at MGM,
or the type emerging from Betty Hutton, a major Paramount star and symbol of the
"Swing" and "Jitterbug" craze.
The last "Betty Boop" cartoons were released in 1939, and a few made attempts to
bring Betty into the "Swing Era." In her last appearance, "Rhythm on the
Reservation" (1939), she drives an open convertible labeled, "Betty Boop's Swing
Band" while driving through a settlement of Native Americans. While in some ways
considered "politically incorrect" by today's standards and sentiments over
racial stereotypes, Betty introduces the natives to "Swing Music" and creates a
"Swinging Sioux Band." Whle the last listed title in the series was "Yip-Yip-Yippie,"
it was a one shot cartoon without Betty.
In 1955, Betty's 110 cartoon appearances were sold to television syndicator, U.M.
& M TV Corporation in 1955, which was acquired by National Telefilm Associates (NTA)
the following year. NTA was reorganized in the 1980s under the Republic name,
which is presently a subsidiary of Viacom, the parent company owning Paramount.
After all of the trading and selling, Betty has come back to her original home
studio, Paramount. Betty Boop appeared in two television specials, THE ROMANCE
OF BETTY BOOP (1984) and "The Betty Boop Movie Mystery (1989), as well as cameo
appearances in television commercials. And while a television revivals were
planned, nothing materialized to the degree originally planned.
While the animated cartoons of "Betty Boop" have enjoyed a remarkable
rediscovery over the last 30 years, official home video releases have been
limited to the VHS collector's set of the 1990s. In spite of continue interest,
no official DVD releases have occurred to date. Ironically, the image of Betty
Boop has gained more recognition through the massive merchandising license
launched by the heirs of Max Fleishcer, with audiences today unaware of Betty's
place in cinema and animation history.
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character appearing in the Talkartoon and
Betty Boop series of films produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount
Pictures. With her overt sexual appeal, Betty was a hit with theater-goers, and
despite having been toned down in the mid-1930s, she remains popular today.
Betty Boop made her first appearance on August 9, 1930 in the cartoon Dizzy
Dishes, the sixth installment in Fleischer's Talkartoon series. She was
originally designed by Grim Natwick, a veteran animator of the silent era who
would become lead director and animator for the Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney
studios. The character was modeled after Helen Kane, the famous popular singer
of the 1920s and contract player at Paramount Pictures, the studio that
distributed Fleischer's cartoons. By direction of Dave Fleischer, Natwick
designed the original character in the mode of a French poodle. The character's
voice was first performed by Margie Hines, and was later provided by several
different voice actresses including Kate Wright, Ann Rothschild (a.k.a. Little
Ann Little), Bonnie Poe, and most notably, Mae Questel who began in 1931 and
continued with the role until 1938.
While the original design was rather ugly and awkward, she was developed further
after Natwick's departure under Berny Wolf, Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall,
and Willard Bowsky. Betty became finalized as completely human by 1932 in the
cartoon Any Rags. Her floppy poodle ears became hoop earrings, and her black
poodle nose became a girl's button-like nose. Betty appeared in ten cartoons as
a supporting character, a flapper girl with more heart than brains. In
individual cartoons she was called "Nancy Lee" and "Nan McGrew", usually served
as a girlfriend to studio star Bimbo.
Although it has been assumed that Betty's first name was established in the 1931
Screen Songs cartoon Betty Co-ed, this "Betty" was, an entirely different
character. Though the song may have led to Betty's eventual christening, any
references to Betty Co-ed as a Betty Boop vehicle are incorrect. (The official
Betty Boop website describes the titular character as a "prototype" of Betty.)
In all, there were at least 12 Screen Songs cartoons that featured either Betty
Boop or a similar character.
Betty appeared in the first "Color Classic"cartoon 'Poor Cinderella', her only
theatrical color appearance (1934). Betty made a cameo appearance in the feature
film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), in her traditional black and white, saying
work had "gotten slow since cartoons went to color," but she still had "what it
takes."
Betty Boop became the star of the Talkartoons by 1932, and was given her own
series in that same year beginning with Stopping the Show. From this point on,
she was crowned "The Queen of the Animated Screen." The series was hugely
popular throughout the 1930s, lasting until 1939. But her best appearances are
considered to be in the first three years due to her "Jazz Baby" character with
innocent sexuality, which was aimed at adults. However the content of her films
was affected by The National Legion of Decency and The Production Code of 1933.
The Production Code guidelines imposed on the Motion Picture Industry placed
specific restrictions on the content films with references to sexual innuendo.
This greatly affected the content of the films of Mae West at Paramount, as well
as the Betty Boop cartoons until the end of the series.
Oddly, Betty Boop was the subject of additional publicity in 1934 when Helen
Kane launched a major lawsuit against Max Fleischer and Paramount Studios for
the "deliberate caricature" that produced "unfair competition" that exploited
her personality and image. While Miss Kane had risen to fame in the 1920s as "The
Boop-Oop-A-Doop Girl" star of stage, recordings, and films for Paramount, her
career was over by 1930. Interestingly, Paramount promoted the development of
Betty Boop following Miss Kane's decline. As Miss Kane's claims seemed on the
surface to be valid, it was proven that her appearance was not unique in that
she and the Betty Boop character bore a resemblance to Clara Bow, another major
star of Paramount. But the largest evidence against Miss Kane's case was her
claims to the origins of her singing style. While and outgrowth of Jazz "scat
singing," testimony revealed that Miss Kane had witnessed a black performer, "Baby
Esther" using a similar characterization in an act at the famous Cotton
Clubnightclub in Harlem some years earlier. An early test sound film was
discovered of Baby Esther performing in this style, disproving Miss Kane's
claims.
While "Betty Boop" continued in production for the next five years, her best
films had already been released, since her personality was greatly neutralized
from that point on. Due to a combination of policies affected by The Production
Code and also changes in the content of Paramount's films also affected Betty's
later appearances. While her later cartoons were more slick and consistently
produced, they relied heavily on self-consciously cute and moralistic preaching,
making Betty more of a "good citizen" maiden aunt spinster separated from any
references to sexuality, and innocent girlishness. Oddly, Betty became a
secondary character in her own cartoons, which began to center on the adventures
of her pet dog, Pudgy, and the eccentric inventor, Grampy, who bore an
interesting resemblance to Koko the Clown.
While the period that Betty represented had been replaced by the the "Big Bands"
of The Swing Era, Fleischer Studios made an attempt to develop a replacement
character in this style in the "Betty Boop" cartoon, "Sally Swing" (1938). While
a concept with potential, the character was not well conceived and failed to
project an energetic personality of the type later developed by Tex Avery at MGM,
or the type emerging from Betty Hutton, a major Paramount star and symbol of the
"Swing" and "Jitterbug" craze.
The last "Betty Boop" cartoons were released in 1939, and a few made attempts to
bring Betty into the "Swing Era." In her last appearance, "Rhythm on the
Reservation" (1939), she drives an open convertible labeled, "Betty Boop's Swing
Band" while driving through a settlement of Native Americans. While in some ways
considered "politically incorrect" by today's standards and sentiments over
racial stereotypes, Betty introduces the natives to "Swing Music" and creates a
"Swinging Sioux Band." Whle the last listed title in the series was "Yip-Yip-Yippie,"
it was a one shot cartoon without Betty.
In 1955, Betty's 110 cartoon appearances were sold to television syndicator, U.M.
& M TV Corporation in 1955, which was acquired by National Telefilm Associates (NTA)
the following year. NTA was reorganized in the 1980s under the Republic name,
which is presently a subsidiary of Viacom, the parent company owning Paramount.
After all of the trading and selling, Betty has come back to her original home
studio, Paramount. Betty Boop appeared in two television specials, THE ROMANCE
OF BETTY BOOP (1984) and "The Betty Boop Movie Mystery (1989), as well as cameo
appearances in television commercials. And while a television revivals were
planned, nothing materialized to the degree originally planned.
While the animated cartoons of "Betty Boop" have enjoyed a remarkable
rediscovery over the last 30 years, official home video releases have been
limited to the VHS collector's set of the 1990s. In spite of continue interest,
no official DVD releases have occurred to date. Ironically, the image of Betty
Boop has gained more recognition through the massive merchandising license
launched by the heirs of Max Fleishcer, with audiences today unaware of Betty's
place in cinema and animation history.