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Billy Boop
Name:
Billy Boop
Age:
1-3
Gender:
Male
Birthplace:
1600 Broadway, New York City, New York
Nationality:
Polish-American
Sexual Orientation:
N/A
Race:
Caucasian
Religion:
N/A
Hair Color:
Black / Blonde / Red / Brown
Eye Color:
Black / Blue
Occupation:
Baby Brother
Billy Boop is Betty Boop's baby brother.[1] He makes his first appearance as her sibling in Stopping the Show, which he can be seen watching his sister perform on stage from the audience. In earlier Fleischer cartoons he had no relation to Betty, for example in the Fleischer Studios cartoon Russian Lullaby he has a complete different origin story and mother.
In Minding the Baby he was called Aloysius and was the baby brother of Bimbo. It was noted that he had "evolved" into a new cartoon figure by the Fleischers.[2] In the animated cartoons, in some cartoons he can speak full sentences, whereas in others he speaks purely in baby babbles.
Billy also appears in the early comic strips. Betty tells her director that she thinks her brother has talent, so he puts him up for a screen test.
Van Twinkle's little brother Percy Twinkle invites Billy over for tea. Taking Percy up on his dare to leap from the roof, Billy winds himself in the hospital. As Percy tells Betty he is "deucedly" sorry, Van is taken aback by his boldness to expect Billy to leap. Billy was always a stubborn child, according to Betty, who is responding to the Twinkles.
After visiting Billy in the hospital, it turns out that Billy asked the nurse to play some games with him. Percy says that Billy's games are rather strenuous affairs. When Percy invited Billy to go hiking, Billy assumed he meant fighting, so Billy beat up Percy. Billy is told by Betty that he ought to emulate Percy's manners and act like a little gentleman.
Billy gets into a fight with Percy. Billy calls Percy a mugg. And that wearing a high hat, a monocle, and gloves was the mark of a sissy. Percy calls Billy a toff in return. Feeling insulted, Percy uses his glove to strike Billy in the face. Content, Percy turns to go. Billy tries to hit Percy, but Betty stops him, explaining that the slap was a common practice in Europe. Billy threatens Betty, saying he won't be happy until he takes Percy out.
Billy is cautioned by Betty that gentlemen strike with their gloves rather than their fists. Billy retrieves a pair of boxing gloves after taking a quick check into his toy box. He locates Percy and renders him unconscious.
In addition, Billy plays a prominent role in the Betty Boop radio series.[3]
In the comics, Billy is a tough little boy who speaks using a deep Brooklyn accent. He would alternate appearing in the strip with Bubby Boop, another of Betty's siblings. He also appears in the 1933 Tokio Shunkodo manga.
He made a cameo appearance in a Popeye cartoon and his final appearance was in Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery. Billy does not appear in Boop! the Broadway spin-off.
Quotes
- Billy Boop: "What? No Dividend!" (Minding the Baby)
- Billy Boop: "Hey... Mister, ya hat!" (Stopping the Show)
- Billy Boop: "Ooo..." (Stopping the Show)
- Billy Boop: "Aww, da da?" (Betty Boop's M.D.)
- Billy Boop: "Da da da." (Betty Boop's M.D.)
- Billy Boop: "You're not my daddy!" (Let Me Call You Sweetheart)
- Billy Boop: "La-la-la-la lollipop!" (Let Me Call You Sweetheart)
- Billy Boop: "Happy Birthday!" (Betty Boop's Birthday Party)
- Billy Boop: "But ah ain't got nuthin to cry about!" (Comic Strip)
- Billy Boop: "Lissen ah'm no sissy!" (Comic Strip)
- Billy Boop: "Meet Poicy Twinkle, Betty. He's Van's kid brother!" (Comic Strip)
- Billy Boop: "Say Poicy yo all oughta be ashamed of yoself yassuh!" (Comic Strip)
- Billy Boop: "Cause your brother Van tells everyone he made a lil gentleman out of yo all! " (Comic Strip)
- Billy Boop: "Oh, yeah? But yo all don't hear Betty goin round sayin that about me!" (Comic Strip)
- Billy Boop: "You don't have to ride in a limousine!" (Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery)
Betty Boop's M.D.
It is not made clear, but Billy and an older version of his father Mr. Boop, make a cameo appearance in Betty Boop, M.D., at Betty's travelling medicine show. Betty clarifies this by calling the old man "dad" and "daddy".
Character Design
In the original cartoons, Billy has a dog-like appearance, black eyes and black hair and he wears a blue bonnet and a blue onesie. His face is shaped like Betty's in some cartoons, and he has a single black cow lick. In Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery, he has brown hair and black eyes, and wears blue roller skates. In newer cartoons, his hair was changed from black to blonde and he has blue eyes. Sometimes he has a "snout" and other times a human shaped button nose.
Voiced by
- Mae Questel (Official / Let Me Call You Sweetheart / Betty Boop, M.D. / Betty Boop Frolics)
- Claude Reese (Minding the Baby / Betty Boop's Birthday Party)
- Bonnie Poe (Betty Boop Frolics)
- Billy Murray (Talkartoons)
Gallery
Filmography
- Screen Songs (1930-1932)
- Talkartoons (1931-1932)
- Minding the Baby
- Boop-Oop-a-Doop
- Stopping the Show
- Betty Boop's M.D.
- Betty Boop's Museum
- Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Leading role, Screen Song)
- Betty Boop's Birthday Party
Trivia
- The character originally made appearances in earlier Talkartoons shorts, most notably Minding the Baby as the baby brother of Bimbo, alongside Bimbo's Mother.
- In the "Betty Boop" cartoons his relation to Betty as his baby brother, is never made clear.
- He has a central role in the Popeye cartoon Sock-a-Bye, Baby, but is often mistaken for Olive Oyl's adopted son Swee'Pea.
- Billy is the possible inspiration for Baby Herman, who appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
- The character speaks in a child-like Brooklyn accent in some of his appearances, whereas in other cartoons he has the voice of a man.
- Billy is one of the many mascots for the Betty Boop Diner.
- In Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery, Billy speaks with a Southern accent.
- Junior and Billy are not the same character. Junior is Betty Boop's nephew. Considering that Betty only has two brothers, Billy and Bubby. It is likely that Bubby is the "father" of Junior. Billy was retired from the series in 1934, and possibly aged, as the Fleischer cartoons make no sense.
See Also
- Billy Boop to Make His Debut (1932)