Betty Boop

By Karley B.

Who:
"Betty Boop" was a long running series of shows made by the animator Grin Natwick. She was originally sketched as a cartoon poodle, but evolved into a flapper-style woman during her cartoon career. She had to be toned down in the mid-1930s and appeared in two comic strips; one from the 1930s and in the 1980s. She made her first appearance in “Dizzy Dishes”, the sixth edition to the series “Talkertoon”. She was created from a combination of Helen Kane, a popular singer, and Clara Bow, a famous actress, both from the 1920 era.

Betty Boop’s personality was stated as “more heart than brains”. Betty’s voice was first performed by Margie Hines. She originally had the characteristics of a French poodle. Today the voices are by Tress MacNeille and Tara Strong for commercials. Betty appeared in the first “color classic” cartoon called “Poor Cinderella”.

What:
Betty Boop was the sex symbol crown queen of the animated screen. She still remains popular to this day and collectibles are still being made, as well as DVDs of her long-running collections.

When:
Betty Boop was first created in the late 1920’s and into the 1930’s by Grin Natwick as a poodle character. Max Fleischer finally made Betty human in 1932 in the cartoon called “Any Rags”. Her poodle ears turned into hoop earrings, and her poodle nose turned into a girl’s button nose.

Where:
Grin Natwick first started creating Betty Boop in New York City by Fleischer Productions.

Why:
Betty was representative of the 1920’s flapper girl and their rambunctious acts of fun, when the economy crash came and the flapper trend never made it through. Through the devastation, Betty Boop warmed the hearts of people worldwide.

How:
Grin Natwick started making Betty with pen and ink. All the quotes were also written down the same way.

Resources:
www.bettyboop.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Boop