Baby Piggy as Betty Boop
Boop merch in Hooper's.
Adidas Adicolor ad from 2006.
Betty Boop is an animated character created by Grim Natwick, and made famous in a series of films by the Fleischer Studios. Debuting in 1930 in the short Dizzy Dishes, the character was originally an anthropomorphic dog, before transforming into the overtly sexual flapper girl. Toned down due to the Production Code of 1933, which imposed guidelines on the Motion Picture Industry as to sexual innuendos and references, her popularity dwindled, with the last cartoons released in 1939.
Her popularity remained, with the syndication of all 110 of her shorts to television in 1955. A comic strip was revived in 1984, along with two made-for-television specials, and she made a cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Betty appeared alongside Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy in an ad campaign for Adidas Adicolor shoes and training jackets in 2006.
References[]
- Betty Boop merchandise is sold at Hooper's Store during the 1970s as seen in Sesame Street Episode 1246.
- Baby Piggy appears as Betty Boop during the song "We Love Cartoons" from the Muppet Babies episode "The Great Muppet Cartoon Show," opposite Baby Kermit as a later Fleischer star, Superman.
Connections[]
- Ed Bogas composed music for The Romance of Betty Boop (1985 special)
- Cab Calloway voiced a walrus in Minnie the Moocher (1932), Koko in Snow White (1932), and the title character in The Old Man of the Mountain (1933), and appeared in live-action footage in all three shorts
- Sandy Fox voiced Betty Boop at various Universal Studios theme parks attractions and shows, and occasionally played the part live
- Phillip Huber puppeteered and performed Pudgy in Boop! The Musical (2023, stage)
- Ethel Merman appeared in the shorts Let Me Call You Sweetheart and You Try Somebody Else (both 1932)
- Tony Pope voiced a coffee shop boss, Indy 500 announcer, mirror, ringmaster, and others in Hurray for Betty Boop (1980 compilation video)
- Tom Smothers voiced Pudgy in the 1980 compilation video Hurray for Betty Boop (1980 compilation video)
- John Stephenson voiced an announcer in The Romance of Betty Boop (1985 special)
- George Wendt voiced Johnny Throat and Punchie in The Romance of Betty Boop (1985 special)