Betty Boop - Queen of Cartoons

She’s a glamorous, sassy, beloved international icon... and after 48 years she’s got a new licensing agent!

Celebrating the Queen of Cartoons!

This year Betty Boop made the leap to leading brand-licensing agency Global Icons, where their experienced team hit the ground running with Betty’s dedicated longtime licensees and a number of innovative new collaborations.

Working with major clients such as Hostess Brands, Southern Comfort, Turtle Wax, Automobili Lamborghini, and USPS, Global Icons now takes on their first animated cartoon character with Betty Boop. It seems the celebrated Queen of Cartoons is a natural fit for the agency, which has already locked in several high-profile collaborations through 2022.

The new collaborations kicked off in June when famed L.A. based retailer Fred Segal featured a limited-edition Betty Boop “Proud to be Me” graphic tee for LGBTQ+ Pride Month with the profits benefiting the dynamic media force for LGBTQ+ acceptance, GLAAD.

“We’re thrilled with the incredibly enthusiastic response we’ve received working with Betty,” says Jeff Lotman, CEO of Global Icons and a longtime fan of the character. “She truly is a beloved classic superstar and icon on so many levels. We’ve been having a great time putting together some fun and unique collaborations, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.” In addition to working with the knowledgeable team at Fleischer Studios, Global Icons has brought in renowned cartoonist and Creative Director Frank Caruso to lead the art department. Caruso, who has worked with

Betty Boop and a number of classic cartoon characters for over 30 years, will help oversee the brand’s new direction, while bringing a new creative eye to the company’s other initiatives.

It’s a good thing Betty Boop has a dream team, because satisfying the appetites of fans looking for great products and content in a classic car-

toon character who’s considered a style icon, a trailblazer, and a symbol of women’s empowerment is no small feat. It’s one they’re all taking on with impressive expertise as Betty’s fan base continues to grow on social media and in modern pop-culture.

Numerous A-list celebrities and influencers have been vocal about their appreciation for the beloved star. Fashion magazines, advertisers, designers, and entertainment producers regularly include and reference Betty in their works. It’s no wonder Elle magazine has called her “everybody’s favorite liberated cartoon woman.”

Moreover, 2020 marked Betty’s 90th anniversary, a year that was celebrated with several cross-promotions, wonderful endorsements, and a new book entitled Betty Boop’s Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life, penned by Susan Wilking Horan and Kristi Ling Spencer, both of whom are long-time Fleischer Studios team members and voices for female empowerment in their own right.

Adds Mark Fleischer, Chairman and CEO of Fleischer Studios, “Coming off a long run of 90 years, we’re excited and impressed with Global Icons and what they’ve done with Betty Boop and all the Fleischer Studios characters in just a few months. We’re looking forward to a new chapter for Betty and Fleischer Studios, and to new opportunities with Global Icons in which Betty can continue to share her message of hope, independence and inspiration with fans around the world.”

Mark Fleischer

And now that we’ve caught up with Betty Boop and the exciting new developments in her world, we had the chance to share an intimate conversation with Mark Fleischer, and to pick his brain about the past, the present and the future of Betty Boop and Fleischer Studios.

Betty Boop was, of course, created by your Grandfather, the animator Max Fleischer. What can you tell us about Max that people may not know?

Mark Fleischer: “When most people think of my grandfather, they think of an artist. It’s true, of course – he was. But Max was also an inventor. He was fascinated by how machines worked and attended the Mechanic’s and Tradesmen’s Evening High School before attending art school. This combined education led him to create several inventions and new technologies, and to build one of the most successful animation studios in his day, Fleischer Studios, which contributed significant gold to the Golden Age of Animation.”

What gave Max the inspiration to create the first game-changing technology?

“Having risen to the position of art editor at the magazine, Popular Science Monthly in Brooklyn, the editorin-chief made the fateful suggestion to Max that he find a way to make the jerky, awkward animated cartoons of the day “look better, smoother, more lifelike.” In response, Max created the rotoscope, a device that gave fluid, human movement to animation for the first time in its history. It was from this point that Max combined his invention, artistic talent, and madcap and sometimes bizarre sense of humor, to found Fleischer Studios where he created Betty Boop and where he, along with his four brothers, brought Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman and other great characters to the screen to delight millions of people. In fact, Betty’s beloved grandfather, After he opened a new studio in Florida, a speculator in Miami, a fledgling city in those days, offered to sell Max Fleischer Miami Beach for $2 an acre.

Max responded, “What would I do with all that sand?”

Grampy, the lovable, somewhat crazy inventor, is actually Max’s animated alter-ego.”

Did Max have a motto that helped guide his animation?

“That’s a great question. Ultimately, Max lived at the intersection of art, humor and surrealism. I remember as a young boy him saying to me, “If you can do it in real life, why animate it?”

Fleischer Studios was one of the first animation studios in the world. What can you tell us about it?

“Max considered his employees family. He expected them all to work hard together toward a common goal with

discipline and respect for each other. I remember my father, Max’s son Richard Fleischer, a prominent motion picture director himself, once telling me how frustrated Max would become when the animators, for example, were expected to do all the work. A classic example was when a writer put a stage direction in a cartoon screenplay which read “He gets on the horse in a funny way.” Now, whatever that meant, Max felt it was unfairly left up to the animators to figure out. So, Max worked hard to bring all the different facets and personalities of the studio together. He promoted family values within the studio and guided and mentored many of the great animators of the day, including George Stallings, Grim Natwick, Myron Waldman, and freshman animator Joe Oriolo, who went on to co-create Felix the Cat when he left Fleischer Studios. And, of course, Fleischer Studios was also the first to employ a female animator, the wonderful Lillian Friedman.”

Max was such a trailbrazer in this new world of animation, was he ahead of his time in other areas of his life as well?

“Hah, not always! Poppamax, as we called him, was a dichotomy. In 1938 he opened a new studio in Miami, Florida. He paid for all of his employees to move to Florida and created for them a beautiful state-of-the-art animation studio in the first fully air-conditioned building in Florida. So far, so good. Yet, when a speculator in Miami, a fledgling city in those days, offered to sell him Miami Beach for $2 an acre, Max responded, “What would I do with all that sand?” Had he responded differently, I might well have been doing this interview from Fleischer Island!”

Now, Fleischer Studios only produced cartoons. Yet there is a long history of Betty Boop merchandise and memorabilia dating back to the 1930s. How did that happen?

“In the 1930s, the merchandising of Betty Boop was driven by the meteoric rise of her cartoon popularity. So, as early as 1931 Betty Boop dolls, socks, toilet soap, figurines, wall clocks and apparel flooded the global marketplace. After Fleischer Studios closed its doors in 1941, however, Betty’s cartoons were exhibited on a limited basis, and her merchandise program slowed. It wasn’t really rekindled until August of 1972, one month before Max’s death. Since then, our merchandising program has expanded exponentially around the world, and with that we’ve noticed a sharp increase of interest in the old cartoons. So, it appears that where once the cartoons drove interest in the merchandising, the merchandising is now driving interest in the cartoons.” “We’ve been very fortunate at Fleischer Studios. We’ve been able to conduct our business from our homes, work with our new agent Global Icons, and communicate with our licensees thanks to modern technology and the internet. We’ve become Zoom experts, which has allowed us the privilege of speaking face to face with our business partners and licensees around the world. We’ve managed to remain productive, innovative and in touch with the emerging post-Covid markets.”

While technology and the internet have allowed many of us to continue working through the pandemic, what are the drawbacks to a world ruled by the internet?

“Misinformation. In the age of the Internet, not everyone takes the time to do their own research and homework, so there’s a lot of false and misleading information out there. We’ve even faced it here at Fleischer Studios. For example, there are misunderstandings online about who actually inspired Betty Boop. The truth is that she wasn’t inspired by any single individual, but by popular performing styles of the day that my grandfather Max really appreciated. The truth of Betty’s story and her creation is a matter of public record, information which can be found in historical archives, old court rulings and numerous media articles.

The fact that Betty was a child of the Jazz Age and was inspired by the collective creativity of the fabulous artists, music, style and energy of the time is also summarized on our Fleischer Stu-

We’ve all just come off a very long difficult period in our world’s history. How has Fleischer Studios been affected by the pandemic?

dios website, which guides interested readers to additional factually correct and historical sources.”

In fact, Betty wasn’t even quite human when she made her cartoon debut, was she?

“No, she wasn’t. Betty began her career in the 1930 cartoon Dizzy Dishes where she appeared as a quasi-canine singer and dancer, performing in a nightclub owned by another caninetype character known as Bimbo. Betty had droopy Cocker Spaniel eyes and long puppy dog ears that swung back and forth as she moved. By 1932 in the cartoon Any Rags, however, Betty had evolved into the character her fans know and love today. Her big eyes became more girl-like with their prominent lashes, and her puppy dog ears became Betty’s signature hoop earrings.”

Why are the facts important?

“Facts are important because we’re entering a new age in which we all hope to bring more social, cultural and racial inclusion, equality and equity into a world starved for all three. But to do so, we all need to come from a point of truth, personal integrity and social responsibility -- not misguided extrapolation. Misinformation can be very hurtful in the real world. And once misinformation is out there it takes off like a rocket and is, unfortunately, very hard to contain and correct.”

Betty’s been around for a long time. To what do you think she owes her longevity?

“Her underlying human values. For nearly 100 years, Betty has been a symbol of courage, confidence, sass and class. She has always stood up for herself and others. She was ahead of her time and a trailblazer who led the charge. She was the first female, human or cartoon, to run for President of the United States in the 1934 cartoon, Betty Boop for President, in which her campaign slogan was, “Don’t be a poop. Vote for Boop.” She was the first animated character to stand up for animal rights and against animal cruelty in the 1936 cartoon, Be Human. Betty even showed us the importance of recycling, reusing and repurposing in the 1932 and 1933 cartoons Any Rags and Crazy Inventions.”

Has Betty always had a smooth ride?

“Oh gosh, no. I’m not saying that Betty Boop never made a mistake or that the Fleischer Studios’ cartoons were always examples of doing the right thing. Early animation was an experiment and a creative work in progress. Some cartoons fell short in their messaging. Some displayed caricatures that were hurtful. And some included themes or images that were inappropriate then and are inappropriate now. But over the body of her work, which includes more than 100 cartoons and films, Betty’s overall message has remained one of hope, courage, kindness, respect, love and of course, humor. These are things that our world has always treasured, especially now after the events of the last year and a half. And these are the qualities that keep Betty both timely and timeless.”

You said early animation was a work in progress. Can the same be said for animated characters?

“Absolutely. It’s all about evolution. A cartoon character is very much like a real human character. None of us is perfect and we all make mistakes. And unfortunately, when we do, we can’t erase those mistakes or pretend they didn’t happen. But we can acknowledge them, learn from them, and vow not to repeat them. This is what we try to do every day with Betty’s current licensing and merchandising programs. We take the very best of her attributes and amplify them. We make sure her message in every piece of merchandise reflects positivity, wellbeing and the conviction that if we believe in ourselves, we can overcome anything.”

And now that Betty just celebrated her 90th anniversary as an animated icon, what are your goals for her next 90 years?

“Our goal is to have Betty continue to personify the best of human values and qualities, and to inspire, support and promote the theme of personal empowerment for all. After all, Betty’s been through the Great Depression, numerous wars including World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, political turmoil, creative censorship, civil unrest, years of sexual, racial and cultural inequity, and now the Pandemic. And, as we cross into the new frontier of a post-Pandemic world, Betty Boop, with the full commitment and support of Fleischer Studios and its worldwide licensing agent Global Icons, is looking forward rather than backward to the exciting opportunities and challenges that are even now knocking at her door.” Betty began her career in the 1930 cartoon Dizzy Dishes where she appeared as a quasi-canine singer and dancer, performing in a nightclub owned by another canine-type character known as Bimbo. Betty had droopy Cocker Spaniel eyes and long puppy dog ears. By 1932 in the cartoon Any Rags, she had evolved into the character her fans know today. Her big eyes became more girl-like with their prominent lashes, and her puppy dog ears became Betty’s signature hoop earrings.