The Betty Boop Girl on Record
A special supplement to wrap up the Fleischers, on the recorded work of our favorite Valentine, Mae Questel, on records.
A special supplement to wrap up the Fleischers, on the recorded work of our favorite Valentine, Mae Questel, on records.
The Fleischers must have thought they could restore their relationship with Paramount by putting out occasional specials in Technicolor. They were wrong.
In 1940, a color series featuring Gabby from Gulliver’s Travels, and a bunch of lackluster one-shot cartoons filmed in black and white.
The Popeye cartoons of the 1940’s are less likely to include quotes from popular songs being published by Famous Music – but they are filled with pop melodies nonetheless
Replacing the Betty Boop cartoons, the Fleischer’s began a series set in the stone age, combining modern-day situations in a pre-historic setting. Sound familiar?
Boop by this time was frequently relegated to second chair, taking a definite back seat to her supporting cast.
There was less pressure from Paramount to include songs from their features in the cartoons, though some would still show up.
Even if her cartoons could be broken down into sub-series (Pudgy, Grampy, etc.), Betty was still expected to do her songs.
Never mind what the feature was, it was Popeye the audiences wanted… accompanied by great songs!
The conventional wisdom is there is something missing from these cartoons than those in the pre-code years. But the music was just as lively.