Some Betty Boop Background Information

Betty Boop - The Begining?

Betty Boop first was first sketched around 1923 as a dog, a French poodle to be exact. This however was not particularly popular and she was brought to life in her now famous style on our screens in the 1930's, The first few appearances saw Betty maintain her floppy poodle ears. Her first appearance in Dizzy Dishes saw her basic outline but maintained those big floppy ears. A mixture of human and poodle! Her floppy ears were soon changed to hoop earrings in her first totally human appearance in the film 'Any Rags'. Her black poodle nose had changed to a girls button-like nose & her voice had been refined to a very girly tone with a distinctive Brooklyn accent. Betty as we know and love her today was born.

Original Popularity

Betty Boop was known as the first and probably the most famous sex symbol of the animated screen. She wore short dresses, high heels and a garter belt. She was drawn with a rather girlish quality. Her head was bigger than normal for an adult but normal for a baby! The animators frequently added a gust of wind that saw Betty's skirt ride up. The audiences loved it. The first three years of her appearances were said to be her best mainly due to her Jazz Baby character and her innocent sexuality, her audience was mainly adults.

Changes For Betty

Things changed for Betty as time went on. Pressure was put on by moralists that insisted that Betty was too revealing and overtly sexy. The animators bowed to this pressure and Betty now began to appear in a fuller or longer skirt and was portrayed as a careergirl or husbandless housewife. Betty teamed up with her faithful cute Poodle 'Pudgy' in the film 'Little Pal' (1934). The following year saw the introduction of 'Grampy' in the film 'Betty Boop and Grampy' (1935).

The Demise of the Betty Boop Cartoons

The later cartoons were a lot tamer than the first releases and were targeted towards a more juvenille audience. This was to be the downfall of the Betty Boop cartoon.   During the last few filmings of Betty, her character appeared less and less giving more screen time to her co-stars. The last Betty Boop cartoons were released in 1939 and whilst an attempt was made to revive her and bring her into the swing era, her final cartoon in 1939 - 'Yip Yip Yippy' was actually a 'Boop-Less' cartoon.

Betty Boop Appeal Today

Nowadays, Betty Boop is going strong through merchandising products such as figurenes, gifts, etc. Her timeless appeal has spawned collectors around the world with clubs and associations in virtualy every country on the globe. Collectors of Betty Boop Figurines seek out their favourite figurine and some have huge collections. Betty's appeal is enduring and long may it last. Boop-oop-a-doop!

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