Above you see the first film appearance of iconic animated sexpot, Betty Boop, in the Max Fleischer cartoon, “Dizzy Dishes, release ninety years ago, on August 9, 1930. You may notice that Betty isn’t quite human in this cartoon.  Betty began life as a French Poodle anthropomorphized into a Flapper, but over the course of a few months her ears became her hoop earrings and she became fully human. Betty was the first female character to have her own cartoon series.

Inspired by actress Clara Bow, singer Helen Kane and others, Betty went on to become a bigger star than all her influences put together. Today she’s still a merchandising powerhouse, and multiple companies are planning revivals of Betty as animated shorts, feature films and a Broadway musical (currently on hold due to the pandemic). She’s still a fashion icon, too, and even has a new book out.

If I’m posting video of Betty Boop, I’m not going to pass up the chance to include one of her cartoons that includes the legendary Cab Calloway…

Betty’s most recent stint in animation was a digital cartoon that was a little bit of a commercial for designer, Zac Posen. “Betty Goes A Posen” was released in February, 2017…

Betty went through a few changes over the years, being de-sexualized quite a bit during the years of the Hays Code in Hollywood, but she’s back to her old self in today’s cartoons and merchandise.

Happy Birthday, Betty!