Since they were born about 1992, for instance, this year's list claims few of them write in cursive or use a wrist watch or remember a TV universe with only three major networks. They have always had computers, and those computers have always had CD-ROM drives.
Wonder what the class of 2014 would say about Betty Boop. Yes, yes, we know: A cute female character they see on women's undies or pajamas or posters ...
What? She has more of a history than that?
Oh, indeed she does. Sit down, kiddies. I'll talk about our recent trip, and then I'll tell you about Betty Boop.
Betty was an animated character who made her film debut 80 years ago this summer--1930--in a cartoon called "Dizzy Dishes." Her final cartoon was released 71 years ago. However, to a small but loyal following, Betty has always been very special. We found proof of that in early August when we attended a Betty Boop Festival in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. ...
Why Wisconsin Rapids? It's the home town of Grim Natwick, one of Max Fleischer's animators back in the 1920s and '30s. The Fleischer studios had started making sound cartoons featuring a character named Bimbo, a mischievous dog. A very human canine, too--Bimbo walked on two legs and talked and got into human-type trouble.
Max wanted a girlfriend for Bimbo, and Natwick devised a sexy French poodle as a love interest. He was inspired by Clara Bow, a popular and sexy Hollywood actress of that era. Ever hear a reference to the "It" Girl? That was Clara.
The early Betty Boop cartoons gave her doglike ears. The character's name and voice changed from cartoon to cartoon, but her appearance stayed more or less the same.
Here are drawings made of the character for her second cartoon, "Barnacle Bill" ...
I vaguely remember seeing some of the later Boop cartoons when I was a kid, as I watched cartoons on early morning 1950s TV. Many years later, I got to see some of the early Boops and quickly became a big fan. Crazy fun.
This spring, as we drove home from southern Wisconsin, my wife and I saw a billboard advertising a Betty Boop Festival this summer. We saw right away that it coincided with our 39th anniversary, and miraculously there was no local event I had to cover that weekend. Well! We quickly made plans.
Our first stop was at the South Wood County Historic Museum, where they were unveiling a state historic plaque honoring Natwick. Inside the museum were many of his drawings. Out on the lawn was a real Betty Boop, who was getting a lot of attention from the cameras ...
There was a brief ceremony, and then the plaque was unveiled ...
Then we toured inside the museum, looking at the drawings Natwick had created over the years--he lived to be 100. The cameras were clicking ...
My wife took a picture of me with Betty (who was a lot taller than I had imagined) ...
And we looked at display cases of collectibles ...
The next morning, we went to a local library, which was showing a selection of Betty's cartoons: some of the early ones (yay!) and some of the later ones (meh!). The show went for about an hour and a half.
Then we walked across to a nearby hotel, which was hosting a collectibles show. They had a speaker who talked about Betty collectibles--she has a shop in the L.A. area.
More Betty items were on display, including rare dolls ...
Even a real-life Betty showed up ...
And they had items for sale, of course. My Alaskan friend, B, asked me to pick up a Betty refrigerator magnet or two for her--bet you can't guess why!--and my wife invested in a T-shirt that shows Betty in a yellow raincoat--a front view on the front and a back view on the back.
No complete DVD collection of Betty's cartoons have ever been released. They released a videotape set in 1996, however, and I snapped it up. That same set was being sold at one of the tables for $500. (After getting back home, I discovered to my delight that I could copy from the VHS tapes to my DVD recorder.)
Now, here's more about Betty's animated life:
Betty's dog ears eventually evolved into hoop earrings as she became fully human, and the studio standardized her looks, voice and name. The early Boop cartoons were (and still are) great fun because they were made during the Jazz Age. The animators had a lot of fun with her character. Betty had a real woman's figure, a cute voice and wore short, sexy dresses that at times would sail up or fall down. Oh, dear!
But at the same time--and this must be emphasized--Betty was a good girl. She behaved herself: Most of her problems came from either lecherous males or her charming but usually inept pals, Bimbo and Koko the Clown.
The Fleischer cartoons are masterpieces in surrealism. Lots of great "stuff" is happening all the time, and you need several viewings to catch all the jokes. At times the characters are bouncing in time to the music, and many things happen that defy logic or physics. But they sure are funny.
The best of the Boops were made in the first three or so years. Then the Hollywood production code went into effect. In short, censorship: Betty's dress had to be longer and cover up more on top. No more wardrobe malfunctions.
All those talking animals had to go, too, especially Betty's sidekick, Bimbo. According to Wikipedia, "He was eliminated from Betty's series by the Production Code censorship laws, since a dog with a human girlfriend gave implications of bestiality." Can you believe it!
The Betty Boop series continued through 1939, but they became much tamer and, of course, much less fun to watch. Many featured Betty and a cutesy little dog named Pudgy, who would get in typical cutesy little dog trouble. Pudgy was suitable for the kiddies. Not like Bimbo, that naughty dog.
Of course, odds are that the freshmen at Beloit College don't know about Betty's past because to them she is a character on women's PJs and undies, and the cartoons are older than their grandparents. Plus, they're in black and white. Horrors!
But modern times do cut us a big break: Many Betty Boop cartoons are now public domain and can easily be seen online.
Yes, it's Dr. Dog's Betty Boop film festival!
--Here is "Snow-White", with Cab Calloway singing "St. James Infirmary." That's Calloway doing the dancing--he was filmed, and the Fleischers' rotoscope process turned him into Koko/the ghost. Except for the $20 gold piece part, that is.
--After that, try out "I Heard," with Don Redman's orchestra. It's about miners, with Betty singing in their dining hall. Watch how the shower restores the grit and dirt on the miners' clothes after lunch.
--"Minnie the Moocher" also features Cab Calloway, and check out his moves in the live-action sequence at the start. It gets crazier from there. (One story says that when Calloway saw how he was appeared in the cartoon, as a dancing walrus, he laughed so hard he fell off his chair.)
--No guest music star, but "Red Hot Mamma" features Betty going to hell (apparently) and giving the devil his due after singing "Hell's Bells" in her nightie.
--Want another fairy tale? Betty was in a lot of them, but they were more for the older kiddies. Check out "Dizzy Red Riding-Hood" to see what I mean.
--And, of course, how can I not include "Bamboo Isle," since it features Betty as an Pacific island princess who does the hula for Bimbo. Ah, yes! My favorite Betty Boop cartoon.
Some of the later cartoons feature a whiskery old gent named Grampy. He usually had to sit down and think up a solution to Betty's latest problem--wearing a "thinking cap" with a light bulb on top. When the light bulb flashed on, Betty's problems were over.
As I wrote this, the light bulb flashed on over my head: Maybe I'm due for a new avatar. Bimbo. He has the perfect personality ... and he's a dog, even if he isn't a doctor. Neither of us are, for that matter.
Hmmmmmm! Better look up my Gravatar password.
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