Number 7 cartoon in the top ten goes to a series that was only made for ten years: 1930-39. That can only mean Betty Boop!
Made by Fleischer Studios, the same studios as Popeye, Betty made its entire run in black and white, and in her first appearance, she was a poodle! For the first three or four years, the cartoon was considered quite racy, and for adults only, although they wouldn't be considered as such today. But in 1933/34, the movie industry implemented the self-censoring Hays Code, and Betty's dress and character were toned down.
Part of the reason Betty is so great is because of how much the girls enjoyed the VHS versions of her films when they were kids, and how much their parents enjoyed their entertainment. The films were always so musical and happy. The animation was very good for the time, with a lot of thought put into the well-designed backgrounds, and in several episodes, the moving perspective was very well done, such as Betty Boop and the Little King.
You can see several of Betty's episodes at: The Digital Archive
One of our favorite episodes was The Musical Mountaineers . Hillbillies may still be one the few groups you cans till parody in such a fashion. But, in the end, the episode is more affectionate than harsh stereotype.
Betty also shares something with Ashley Wilkes' family in THIS EPISODE.
1 comment:
I'm surprised that Betty only made it to 7th place! That's kind of low. But I really liked watching that Japanese Betty cartoon.. That must have been before they bombed us... (1935) Weren't tensions high in the 30s? Maybe this was some kind of PR move. Did you notice that they made all the Japanese people's faces tan? That's interesting.
Her dance moves were cracking me up. Can you imagine if someone did that during a real concert? Haha.
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