The Romance of Betty Boop

Last updated
The Romance of Betty Boop
Directed by Bill Melendez
Written by Ron Friedman
Produced by Bill Melendez
Lee Mendelson
Starring Desirée Goyette
Frank W. Buxton
Music by Harry Ruby
Harry Warren
Desirée Goyette and Ed Bogas (music and lyrics)
Production
company
Distributed by King Features
Release date
  • March 20, 1985 (1985-03-20)
Running time
25 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Romance of Betty Boop is a CBS animated television special featuring Betty Boop that aired on March 20, 1985. [1] The half-hour special was rebroadcast on CBS in December 1987. [2]

Contents

Plot summary

The story is set in New York City in 1939, during the Great Depression. The film opens with a New York montage, as a voiceover in mock period style introduces the story of "a romantic hardworking New Yorker, an independent girl who wants nothing more than to put her feet up and marry a handsome millionaire." Desirée Goyette sings "Just Give 'Em Your Boop-Oop-a-Doop" over the opening credits. Scraps of popular songs, especially "I Only Have Eyes for You", appear throughout the film.

Betty Boop is a girl who is adored by her neighborhood and courted by Freddie the iceman, but who dreams of moving in high society and achieving "personal greatness". Betty sells shoes by day and performs at Club Bubbles by night. Uncle Mischa Bubble, the Russian owner of the club, is threatened by mob boss Johnny Throat and his two henchmen because he cannot pay his debts. Seeing Betty perform on the stage, Throat decides to take over the club to force Betty to go out with him.

Betty sings "I Wanna Be Loved By You" to attract the attention of Waldo Van Lavish, a millionaire playboy. Betty goes on a date with Waldo, during which he says he wants Betty to meet his parents, so she believes he wants to marry her. Later, on her way to meet him, Betty is kidnapped by Throat's henchmen and taken to his apartment. Uncle Mischa calls Freddie to rescue Betty, but Betty escapes on her own. She meets Waldo's aged parents and discovers that Waldo merely wants her to be a maid in his parents' house. At the end, Betty apologizes to Freddie for ignoring him and gives him a kiss. To Freddie's dismay, however, she then gets a call from Hollywood to do a screen test.

Cast

Soundtrack

Sung by Desiree Goyette
Sung by Desiree Goyette
Sung by Ron Friedman
Sung by Desiree Goyette
Sung by Desirée Goyette
Sung by Desirée Goyette and Sean Allan

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References

  1. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 345–347. ISBN   0-8108-2198-2 . Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 317. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.