Betty in Japan

[deliasherman]

OK, one more try.  Courtesy of Massimo Soumare on Facebook, this is an eye-poppingly odd cartoon of Betty Boop flying her little single-motor to Japan to sing a gig--in Japanese.  Made in 1935.  How times change.

Click to view

Comments

[the_gneech]

Very nice! I was ready to cringe, considering what WB and other studios did during wartime, but I guess this predates that.

-The Gneech

[bellakara]

Brilliant! I always liked Betty Boop.

[meener]

that was so surreal! i just finished reading a book that touched upon the popularity of disney, WB cartoons, and charlie chaplin (among other things) during 1920s and 1930s japan, and it was great to watch an actual clip from that time period.

[negothick]

Surreal it is! I loved the transformation of Betty's skimpy costume into kimono, and the way she tried to shimmy "modestly." While I can imagine this playing well in Japan, I can't imagine it in the US moviehouses.

[scbutler]

All Betty Boop cartoons are weird - it has always been part of her charm.