Betty Boop as a Dope Dealer
Betty Boop, M.D. (shown above) is an amazing animated short by the Fleischer brothers from 1932. Before you look at this its important that you understand two things: The film is making fun of the era of patent medicine which was brought to an end in 1906 with the Pure Food and Drug Act — that and the film is really just an excuse for the Fleischers to have a showcase for pushing animation to the edge. This short was only made a few years after the introduction of sound, unlike Disney the Fleischers would record the sound after the animation was done which is why there’s no lip syncing (and which also adds to the surrealism of the film as well).
I’ve seen too many anime fans complain that “American animation is just for the kids” but the fact of the matter is that this wasn’t always true: And the proof in this particular film is when Betty sings Nobody’s Sweetheart, a song about a prostitute:
You’re nobody’s sweetheart now,
And, oh, baby, there’s no place for you somehow,
With all of your fancy clothes, silken gowns,
You’ll be out of place in the middle of your own hometown,
When you walk down the avenue,
All the folks just can’t believe that it’s you.
With all those painted lips and painted eyes,
Wearing a bird of paradise,
It all seems wrong somehow,
It seems so funny,
You’re nobody’s sweetheart now!
