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Betty Boop, Bimbo, Pudgy, and Koko are owned
by, copyrighted by, and licensed
In August of 1930, Betty made her film debut as a canine cabaret singer in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes . She was originally designed to be a girlfriend for Bimbo the dog (modeled after a French poodle). She would become fully human in the 1932 short Any Rags. Her dog ears would become earrings, and now Bimbo was starting to be a supporting character to her. Betty had also achieved the unique distinction of being the only female cartoon character who never served as a foil for a male. As the Hays Office gained more influence over the moral content of films, a more prim Betty was born. By 1934, Betty was wearing more conservative dresses and showing off less leg and cleavage. The racier situations vanished as well, leaving Grampy and Betty's dog Pudgy to propel storylines up until her final appearance in 1939's Yip, Yip, Yippy. During her early film appearances five different women gave her a voice and in mid-1931, the voice most associated with Betty, Mae Questal's, supplied her voice for the first time and continued to do so until the series ended.
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