

The Code was imposed on both live-action and animated films alike, forcing animators to revamp Betty’s look, life, and even her cast of supporting characters.Īs a result, Betty was given a new traditionally appropriate love interest in the character of Fearless Fred. While elements of her look were refined and shifted to match the style of the day, her appearance remained quite consistent until the mid-1930s when the Motion Picture Production Code began to take control of American film production. This self-governing code of moral guidelines for the production of films, also known as the Hays Code, was adopted in 1922 but not rigidly enforced until 1934. And by the end of 1932 in Betty Boop for President, she appeared as the fully developed animated female character that we know and love today. In Boop Oop A Doop,released two weeks later, Betty was not only sporting her new hoop earrings, but her appearance, voice, mannerisms and singing of “Boop Oop A Doop” had clearly already established her as an immediately identifiable character. It was with the release of Any Rags, in January of 1932, that her floppy puppy dog ears were transformed into the large hoop earrings that are, to this day, a central part of her signature look.
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And in September of 1931, Betty was given her full name of Betty Boop in Minding the Baby. As her character grew and her personality developed, her look also became more refined.īy May of 1931, when Betty appeared in Silly Scandals, her Spaniel eyes had become smaller and rounder, and her floppy puppy dog ears had become shorter. Betty’s appearance shifted quite a bit in these early cartoons, which was fairly standard practice at the time. Audiences clamored for more and the Fleischers delivered. She didn’t even have a name, but that didn’t stop Betty from stealing the show. She became an omnipresent fixture of American pop culture.She sang in that first appearance but had no lines. However, licensing deals allowed for the original Betty Boop image to resurface on everything from lunch boxes to make-up.

As her character was forced to cover up, Betty Boop’s popularity began to wane. One of the many casualties of the censors: Betty Boop’s barely-there style and overtly sexual antics. Then, in 1934, the National Legion of Decency, as well as the Hollywood Production Code, began to lay out morality guidelines for the motion picture industry. An ongoing trope throughout the cartoon involved Betty Boop, with the help of her dog Bimbo, constantly fending off pervy characters. Unlike the other female cartoon characters of the day, Betty Boop was all woman, with her high-heels, garter belt and perfectly applied lipstick.
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In many ways, Betty Boop embodies America’s complicated history around race and sexuality.įrom 1932 to 1934, Betty Boop strutted her unabashed sexuality in a series of animated shorts. To this day, Betty Boop is a style icon – look no further than the Hollywood red carpet – and one of the most popular cartoon characters in the world. Throughout the 1930s, Betty Boop had to contend with Hollywood’s decency police as well as a 1932 lawsuit.

Unabashedly sexual while simultaneously innocent, Betty Boop was created by cartoonist Max Fleischer to both parody and celebrate the flapper. On August 9, 1930, Betty Boop made her cartoon debut in the animated short “Dizzy Dishes.” Originally appearing as an anthropomorphic French poodle, Betty Boop transitioned into a human female character a year later, trading in her floppy dog ears for flirty hoop earrings. Article Details: August 9, 1930: Betty Boop Made Her Cartoon Debut in “Dizzy Dishes”Īugust 9, 1930: Betty Boop Made Her Cartoon Debut in “Dizzy Dishes”
