Fleischer Studios and Disney Studios had a sort of friendly rivalry in animated cartoon shorts in the early 1930s. Headed by Max Fleischer, his company was releasing more daring animation that bordered on the surreal. But Fleischer Studios didn't have Mickey as its star attraction. The studio did, however, contain in its repertoire the flapper female character Betty Boop. Introduced on the screen in 1930 as the human version of a dog to her canine boyfriend, Bimbo, Betty took on a full human appearance in January 1932 in "Any Rags?" Her most famous cartoon for the year, though, was released a month later in February 1932's "Minnie the Moocher," featuring the first film appearance of singer Cab Calloway and his Orchestra. Deep into the cartoon, the ghosts dancing before Betty and her friend Bimbo mimic Calloway's movements in the opening credits. The Fleischer's used the tracing technique of rotoscoping to accurately draw a parallel between Calloway's movements and those of Bimbo's. Calloway had sold over one million copies of his 1931 jazz song, 'Minnie the Moocher.' The Betty Boop cartoon is named after the Calloway hit, with its scat ad-libbed lyrics providing a unique listening and viewing experience.
Betty Boop, the "Jazz Baby" flapper, was the ideal character to introduce to national audiences African-American musicians performing their jazz numbers. Musicians Louis Armstrong and Don Redman followed in Calloway's footsteps in later Betty Boop cartoons. Showcasing black musicians was a gamble for Max and his younger brother Dave Fleischer, knowing those cartoons wouldn't be shown in the Deep South theaters. In "Minnie the Moocher," the studio played homage to its very first cartoon character the brothers introduced in 1924, Ko-Ko the Clown, kicking off their 'Out of the Inkwell Films' series. The clown appears, of all places, in an inkwell. Betty is writing a 'good-bye' note to her parents before she runs away with Bimbo, and pulls out Ko-Ko when she dips her pen into the ink container.
The poll by 1,000 animators who voted for 50 of the Greatest ever Cartoons ranked "Minnie the Moocher" as number 20, proving the popularity and ingeniousness of Betty Boop was unique in cartoon land and as an historic figure in animation.
Betty Boop, the "Jazz Baby" flapper, was the ideal character to introduce to national audiences African-American musicians performing their jazz numbers. Musicians Louis Armstrong and Don Redman followed in Calloway's footsteps in later Betty Boop cartoons. Showcasing black musicians was a gamble for Max and his younger brother Dave Fleischer, knowing those cartoons wouldn't be shown in the Deep South theaters. In "Minnie the Moocher," the studio played homage to its very first cartoon character the brothers introduced in 1924, Ko-Ko the Clown, kicking off their 'Out of the Inkwell Films' series. The clown appears, of all places, in an inkwell. Betty is writing a 'good-bye' note to her parents before she runs away with Bimbo, and pulls out Ko-Ko when she dips her pen into the ink container.
The poll by 1,000 animators who voted for 50 of the Greatest ever Cartoons ranked "Minnie the Moocher" as number 20, proving the popularity and ingeniousness of Betty Boop was unique in cartoon land and as an historic figure in animation.