Betty Boop

Betty Boop
Species	Human (formerly dog)
Gender	Female
First appearance	Dizzy Dishes (1930)
Voiced by	Margie Hines (1930–1932, 1938–1939) Harriet Lee (The Bum Bandit) Mae Questel (1931–1938) Ann Rothschild (1933, 1938) Bonnie Poe (1933–1934)

Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in comic strips and mass merchandising.

A caricature of a Jazz age flapper, Betty Boop was described in a 1934 court case as: "combining in appearance the childish with the sophisticated — a large round baby face with big eyes and a nose like a button, framed in a somewhat careful coiffure, with a very small body of which perhaps the leading characteristic is the most self-confident little bust imaginable." Despite having been toned down in the mid-1930s as a result of the Hays Code to appear more demure, she became one of the best-known and popular cartoon characters in the world.

Origins

Betty Boop made her first appearance on August 9, 1930, in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes; the sixth installment in Fleischer's Talkartoon series. Although Clara Bow is often given as being the model for Boop, she actually began as a caricature of singer Helen Kane. The character was originally created as an anthropomorphic French poodle.

Max Fleischer finalized Betty Boop as a human character in 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 Boop appeared as a supporting character in 10 cartoons as a flapper girl with more heart than brains. In individual cartoons, she was called "Nancy Lee" or "Nan McGrew" – derived from the 1930 Helen Kane film Dangerous Nan McGrew – usually serving as a girlfriend to studio star, Bimbo.

Betty's voice was first performed by Margie Hines, and was later performed by several different voice actresses, including Kate Wright, Bonnie Poe, Ann Rothschild (also known as Little Ann Little), and most notably, Mae Questel. Questel, who began voicing Betty Boop in 1931, continued with the role until her death in 1998. Today, Betty is voiced by Tress MacNeille, Sandy Fox and Cindy Robinson in commercials.

Although it has been assumed that Betty's first name was established in the 1931 Screen Songs cartoon, Betty Co-ed, this "Betty" is an entirely different character. Even though the song may have led to Betty's eventual christening, any reference to Betty Co-ed as a Betty Boop vehicle is incorrect although the official Betty Boop website describes the titular character as a "prototype" of Betty. There are at least 12 Screen Songs cartoons that featured Betty Boop or a similar character. Betty appeared in the first "Color Classic" cartoon Poor Cinderella, her only theatrical color appearance in 1934. In the film, she was depicted with red hair as opposed to her typical black hair. Betty also made a cameo appearance in the feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), in which she appeared in her traditional black and white and was voiced by Mae Questel.

Betty Boop was the star of the Talkartoons by 1932 and was given her own series that same year, beginning with Stopping the Show. From that point on, she was crowned "The Queen of the Animated Screen". The series was popular throughout the 1930s, lasting until 1939.

As a sex symbol

Betty Boop is regarded as one of the first and most famous sex symbols on the animated screen; she is a symbol of the Depression era, and a reminder of the more carefree days of Jazz Age flappers. Her popularity was drawn largely from adult audiences, and the cartoons, while seemingly surreal, contained many sexual and psychological elements, particularly in the "Talkartoon", Minnie the Moocher, featuring Cab Calloway and his orchestra.

Minnie the Moocher defined Betty's character as a teenager of a modern era, at odds with the old world ways of her parents. In the cartoon, after a disagreement with her parents, Betty runs away from home, accompanied by her boyfriend Bimbo, only to get lost in a haunted cave. A ghostly walrus (rotoscoped from live-action footage of Calloway), sings Calloway's famous song "Minnie the Moocher", accompanied by several other ghosts and skeletons. This haunting performance sends the frightened Betty and Bimbo back to the safety of home. "Minnie the Moocher" served as a promotion for Calloway's subsequent stage appearances and also established Betty Boop as a cartoon star. The eight Talkartoons that followed all starred Betty, leading her into her own series beginning in 1932. With the release of Stopping the Show (August 1932), the Talkartoons were replaced by the Betty Boop series, which continued for the next seven years.[15]

Betty Boop was unique among female cartoon characters because she represented a sexualized woman. Other female cartoon characters of the same period, such as Minnie Mouse, displayed their underwear or bloomers regularly, in the style of childish or comical characters, not a fully defined woman's form. Many other female cartoons were merely clones of their male co-stars, with alterations in costume, the addition of eyelashes, and a female voice. Betty Boop wore short dresses, high heels, a garter, and her breasts were highlighted with a low, contoured bodice that showed cleavage. In her cartoons, male characters frequently try to sneak peeks at her while she's changing or simply going about her business. In Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle, she does the hula wearing nothing but a lei, strategically placed to cover her breasts, and a grass skirt. This was repeated in her first cameo appearance in Popeye the Sailor (1933). There was, however, a certain girlish quality to the character. She was drawn with a head more similar to a baby's than an adult's in proportion to her body. This suggested the combination of girlishness and maturity that many people saw in the flapper type, which Betty represented.

While the character was kept pure and girl-like onscreen, compromises to her virtue were a challenge. The studio's 1931 Christmas card featured Betty in bed with Santa Claus, winking at the viewer. Also in 1931, the Talkartoons The Bum Bandit and Dizzy Red Riding Hood were given distinctly "impure" endings. Officially, Betty was only 16 years old, according to a 1932 interview with Fleischer (although in The Bum Bandit, she's portrayed as a married woman with many children, and also has an adult woman's voice, rather than the standard "boop-boop-a-doop" voice).

Attempts to compromise her virginity were reflected in Chess-Nuts (1932) and most importantly in Boop-Oop-a-Doop (1932). In Chess-Nuts, the Black King goes into the house where Betty is and ties her up. When she rejects him, he pulls her out of the ropes, drags her off to the bedroom and says, "I will have you". The bed, however, runs away and Betty calls for help through the window. Bimbo comes to her rescue, and she is saved before anything happens. In Boop-Oop-a-Doop, Betty is a high-wire performer in a circus. The villainous ringmaster lusts for Betty as he watches her from below, singing "Do Something", a song previously performed by Helen Kane. As Betty returns to her tent, the ringmaster follows her inside and sensually massages her legs, surrounds her, and threatens her job if she doesn't submit. This is perhaps one of the earliest portrayals of sexual harassment on the animated screen, and was very daring at a time when such subject matter was considered taboo.[16] Betty pleads with the ringmaster to cease his advances, as she sings "Don't Take My Boop-Oop-A-Doop Away". Koko the Clown is practicing his juggling outside the tent, and overhears the struggle inside. He leaps in to save Betty, struggling with the ringmaster, who loads him into a cannon and fires it. Koko, who remained hiding inside the cannon, knocks the ringmaster out cold with a mallet, and inquires about Betty's welfare, to which she answers in song, "No, he couldn't take my boop-oop-a-doop away".

Filmography

Appearances in Talkartoons, Screen Songs and Color Classics series

Note: see the Talkartoons, Screen Songs and Color Classics filmographies for additional respective entries in all three series.

1930
No.	Film	Animated By	Original release date	Series	Notes
1	Dizzy Dishes	Grim Natwick, Ted Sears	August 9	Talkartoons	First appearance
2	Barnacle Bill	Rudy Zamora, Seymour Kneitel	August 25	Talkartoons
3	Accordion Joe	Ted Sears, Grim Natwick	December 13	Talkartoons	No Wikipedia page, only video on YouTube
4	Mysterious Mose	Willard Bowsky, Ted Sears, Grim Natwick (uncredited)	December 29	Talkartoons
1931
5	Teacher's Pest	Grim Natwick, Seymour Kneitel	February 7	Talkartoons	Brief cameo No Wikipedia page, only video on YouTube
6	The Bum Bandit	Willard Bowsky, Al Eugster, Grim Natwick (uncredited)	April 6	Talkartoons	Betty is named "Dangerous Nan McGrew" First time Betty Boop is seen in her slender physique
7	Silly Scandals	Grim Natwick	May 23	Talkartoons	First time Betty is named, although only as "Betty" (no surname is given)
8	Bimbo's Initiation	Grim Natwick (uncredited)	July 27	Talkartoons	Placed at #37 in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons
9	Bimbo's Express	Unknown	August 22	Talkartoons
10	Minding the Baby	James Culhane, Bernard Wolf	September 28	Talkartoons	First time Betty's full name appears on the titles, stylized as "Betty-Boop"
11	Kitty from Kansas City (music by Rudy Vallée)	Unknown	October 31	Screen Songs	Named "Kitty"
12	Mask-A-Raid	Al Eugster, James Culhane	November 9	Talkartoons	First time Betty Boop is depicted as a human as opposed to a dog- with dog ears replaced by earrings.
13	By the Light of the Silvery Moon	Seymour Kneitel, Myron Waldman	November 14	Screen Songs	Betty Boop appears briefly topless in a bathtub.
14	Jack and the Beanstalk	Unknown	November 22	Talkartoons	Final time Betty Boop is depicted as a dog.
15	Dizzy Red Riding-Hood	Grim Natwick	December 12	Talkartoons
1932
16	Any Rags	Willard Bowsky, Thomas Bonfiglio	January 5	Talkartoons	Surviving master negative has original opening title card intact
17	Boop-Oop-a-Doop	Unknown	January 16	Talkartoons	First use of the song "Sweet Betty" which would become the theme song for the Betty Boop series.
18	The Robot	Unknown	February 8	Talkartoons	A Bimbo cartoon, seemingly held over from earlier in production- Bimbo appears in a primitive design. Bimbo's girlfriend is largely a generic one-off, but is drawn to resemble Betty in a few close-ups that were likely inserted later.
19	Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie (music by The Round Towners Quartet)	Unknown	March 4	Screen Songs
20	Minnie the Moocher (music by Cab Calloway)	Willard Bowsky, Ralph Somerville	March 11	Talkartoons	Named #20 in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons
21	Swim or Sink	James Culhane, David Tendlar	March 13	Talkartoons
22	Crazy-Town	James Culhane, David Tendlar	March 25	Talkartoons
23	Just One More Chance	Unknown	April 1	Screen Songs
24	The Dancing Fool	Seymour Kneitel, Benard Wolf	April 6	Talkartoons
25	Chess-Nuts	James Culhane, William Henning	April 18	Talkartoons
26	Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning	Unknown	April 22	Screen Songs
27	A-Hunting We Will Go	Al Eugster, Rudolph Eggeman	May 3	Talkartoons
28	Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Music by Ethel Merman)	Unknown	May 20	Screen Songs
29	Admission Free	Thomas Johnson, Rudolph Eggeman	June 12	Talkartoons
30	The Betty Boop Limited	Willard Bowsky, Thomas Bonfiglio	July 18	Talkartoons	Final entry in the Talkartoons series.
31	You Try Somebody Else (Music by Ethel Merman)	Unknown	July 29	Screen Songs	Brief Cameo
32	Rudy Vallee Melodies (Music by Rudy Vallée)	Unknown	August 5	Screen Songs
33	Just a Gigolo (Music by Irene Bordoni)	Unknown	September 9	Screen Songs
34	Romantic Melodies (Music by Arthur Tracy)	Unknown	October 21	Screen Songs
35	Time on My Hands (Music by Ethel Merman)	Unknown	December 23	Screen Songs	Betty Boop appears as a mermaid.
1933
36	Popular Melodies (Music by Arthur Jarrett)	Unknown	April 7	Screen Songs	Final appearance in the Screen Songs series.
1934
37	Poor Cinderella	Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall, William Henning	August 3	Color Classics	Only appearance in the Color Classics series. Betty's only appearance in color.

Betty Boop series

1932
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
1	Stopping the Show (with Fanny Brice and Maurice Chevalier)	Roland Crandall, Rudolph Eggeman	12 August
2	Betty Boop's Bizzy Bee	Seymour Kneitel, Bernard Wolf	19 August
3	Betty Boop, M.D.	Willard Bowsky, Thomas Goodson	2 September
4	Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle (music by Royal Samoans and Miri)	Seymour Kneitel, Bernard Wolf	23 September
5	Betty Boop's Ups and Downs	Willard Bowsky, Ugo D'Orsi	14 October
6	Betty Boop for President	Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall	4 November
7	I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You (music by Louis Armstrong)	Willard Bowsky, Ralph Somerville	25 November
8	Betty Boop's Museum	William Henning, Reuben Timinsky	16 December
1933
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
9	Betty Boop's Ker-Choo	Seymour Kneitel, Bernard Wolf	6 January
10	Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions	Willard Bowsky, Ugo D'Orsi	27 January
11	Is My Palm Read	David Tendlar, William Henning	17 February
12	Betty Boop's Penthouse	Willard Bowsky	10 March
13	Snow-White (music by Cab Calloway)	Roland Crandall	31 March
14	Betty Boop's Birthday Party	Seymour Kneitel, Myron Waldman	21 April
15	Betty Boop's May Party	David Tendlar, William Henning	12 May
16	Betty Boop's Big Boss	Bernard Wolf, David Tendlar	2 June
17	Mother Goose Land	Roland Crandall, Seymour Kneitel	23 June
18	Popeye the Sailor	Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall	14 July
19	The Old Man of the Mountain (music by Cab Calloway)	Bernard Wolf, Thomas Johnson	4 August
20	I Heard (music by Don Redman)	Willard Bowsky, Myron Waldman	1 September
21	Morning, Noon and Night (music by Rubinoff)	David Tendlar, Thomas Johnson	6 October
22	Betty Boop's Hallowe'en Party	Willard Bowsky, Myron Waldman	3 November
23	Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (music by Rubinoff)	William Henning, Seymour Kneitel	1 December
1934
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
24	She Wronged Him Right	Roland Crandall, Thomas Johnson	5 January
25	Red Hot Mamma	Willard Bowsky, David Tendlar	2 February
26	Ha! Ha! Ha!	Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall	2 March
27	Betty in Blunderland	Roland Crandall, Thomas Johnson	6 April
28	Betty Boop's Rise to Fame		18 May
29	Betty Boop's Trial	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	15 June
30	Betty Boop's Life Guard	Willard Bowsky, David Tendlar	13 July
31	There's Something About a Soldier	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	17 August
32	Betty Boop's Little Pal	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	21 September
33	Betty Boop's Prize Show	Myron Waldman, Lillian Friedman	19 October
34	Keep in Style	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	16 November
35	When My Ship Comes In	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	21 December
1935
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
36	Baby Be Good	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	18 January
37	Taking the Blame	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	15 February
38	Stop That Noise	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	15 March
39	Swat the Fly	David Tendlar, Sam Stimson	19 April
40	No! No! A Thousand Times No!!	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	24 May
41	A Little Soap and Water	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	21 June
42	A Language All My Own	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	19 July
43	Betty Boop and Grampy	David Tendlar, Charles Hastings	16 August
44	Judge for a Day	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	20 September
45	Making Stars	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	18 October
46	Betty Boop with Henry the Funniest Living American	Myron Waldman, Sam Stimson	22 November
47	Little Nobody	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	18 December
1936
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
48	Betty Boop and the Little King	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	31 January
49	Not Now	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	28 February
50	Betty Boop and Little Jimmy	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	27 March
51	We Did It	Willard Bowsky, George Germanetti	24 April
52	A Song a Day	David Tendlar, Nicholas Tafuri	22 May
53	More Pep	Thomas Johnson, Dave Hoffman	19 June
54	You're Not Built That Way	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	17 July
55	Happy You and Merry Me	Willard Bowsky, George Germanetti	21 August
56	Training Pigeons	Myron Waldman, Edward Nolan	18 September
57	Grampy's Indoor Outing	David Tendlar, William Sturm	16 October
58	Be Human	Myron Waldman, Lillian Friedman	20 November
59	Making Friends	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	18 December
1937
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
60	House Cleaning Blues	David Tendlar, Eli Brucker	15 January
61	Whoops! I'm a Cowboy	Tom Johnson, David Hoffman	12 February
62	The Hot Air Salesman	Thomas Johnson, David Hoffman	12 March
63	Pudgy Takes a Bow-Wow	Myron Waldman, Lillian Friedman	9 April
64	Pudgy Picks a Fight	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	14 May
65	The Impractical Joker	Thomas Johnson, Frank Endres	18 June
66	Ding Dong Doggie	Thomas Johnson, Frank Endres	23 July
67	The Candid Candidate	Myron Waldman, Lillian Friedman	27 August
68	Service with a Smile	David Tendlar, William Sturm	23 September
69	The New Deal Show	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	22 October
70	The Foxy Hunter	Thomas Johnson, Harold Walker	26 November
71	Zula Hula	Tom Johnson, Frank Endres	24 December
1938
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
72	Riding the Rails	Myron Waldman, Hicks Lokey	28 January
73	Be Up to Date	Thomas Johnson, Harold Walker	25 February
74	Honest Love and True	Myron Waldman, Lillian Friedman	25 March
75	Out of the Inkwell	Tom Johnson, Otto Feuer	22 April
76	Swing School	Tom Johnson, Frank Endres	27 May
77	Pudgy and the Lost Kitten	Myron Waldman, Lillian Friedman	24 June
78	Buzzy Boop	David Tendlar, William Sturm	29 July
79	Pudgy the Watchman	Tom Johnson, Harold Walker	12 August
80	Buzzy Boop at the Concert	Tom Johnson, Harold Walker	16 September
81	Sally Swing	Willard Bowsky, Gordon A. Sheehan	14 October
82	On with the New	Thomas Johnson, Frank Endres	2 December
83	Thrills and Chills	Roland Crandall	23 December
1939
No.	Film	Animated by	Original release date
84	My Friend the Monkey	Thomas Johnson, Frank Endres	28 January
85	So Does an Automobile	Roland Crandall, Frank Kelling	31 March
86	Musical Mountaineers	Tom Johnson, Harold Walker	12 May
87	The Scared Crows	David Tendlar, William Sturm	9 June
88	Rhythm on the Reservation	Myron Waldman, Graham Place	7 July
89	Yip-Yip-Yippy	Roland Crandall, Robert Bemiller	11 August