The Real Inspiration And Evolution Of The Betty Boop Cartoon

“Never Just Kids’ Stuff”

As the New York Times notes, the “Minnie the Moocher” short is representative of how different Betty Boop was from the other cartoons of the time. The lyrics to the title song, performed by Cab Calloway, are “about a ‘lowdown hoochie-coocher’ who falls for a coke-addicted pimp named Smokey. He takes Minnie down to Chinatown and introduces her to the illicit pleasures of opium; she spends her time in narcotized daydreams of riches. Not exactly Snow White.” Fleischer Studios obviously took a very different approach to their cartoons than Walt Disney Productions did.