Changes

In 1921 the Fleischers took the ''Inkwell'' series and opened their own studio, adding ''Song Car-Tunes'' (1924-26), which were silent shorts meant for audience participation, aided by a bouncing ball over the lyrics to keep tune.  It was also during this time that they were competing with Disney, who’s [[Mickey Mouse]] was proving to be a money-making commodity; Disney would introduce ''Steamboat Willie'' in 1929, the first animated cartoon short with sound.  The Fleischers would follow this film with a sound short of their own, ''Dizzy Dishes'' in 1930, and bring to the screen their hugely-popular creation, Betty Boop.

In 1921 the Fleischers took the ''Inkwell'' series and opened their own studio, adding ''Song Car-Tunes'' (1924-26), which were silent shorts meant for audience participation, aided by a bouncing ball over the lyrics to keep tune.  It was also during this time that they were competing with Disney, who’s [[Mickey Mouse]] was proving to be a money-making commodity; Disney would introduce ''Steamboat Willie'' in 1929, the first animated cartoon short with sound.  The Fleischers would follow this film with a sound short of their own, ''Dizzy Dishes'' in 1930, and bring to the screen their hugely-popular creation, Betty Boop.

Betty was a late-1920’s flapper, with a large head sporting a short, spit-curled hairdo and a tiny mouth, set on top of a curvaceous body; a baby-doll voice (provided by actress Mae Questel) finished her off.  Betty would star in many successful shorts, reaching her peak in 1935, before declining in popularity and ending in 1939.  In part, the Production Code of the 1930’s tamed the sexual-suggestiveness given in the first Betty Boop films, resulting in a reason for her decline.

Betty was a late-1920’s flapper, with a large head sporting a short, spit-curled hairdo and a tiny mouth, set on top of a curvaceous body; a baby-doll voice (provided by actress Mae Questel) finished her off.  And she attracted some controversy of her own, for in much of the Fleischer films the stories are not so much character-driven as they are dark, violent, and sexually-suggestive.  In ''Bimbo’s Initiation'' (1931), Bimbo (Betty Boop’s dog) is in an underground place, suffering a series of tortures by characters wearing chamber pots on their heads; in ''Snow White'' (1933) Betty and Ko-Ko are in a haunted, dark cavern filled with ghosts, one of which is a rotoscoped [[Cab Calloway]].  In these darker films there is also the occasional presence of evil rats bearing somewhat of a resemblance to Mickey Mouse, in keeping with the competition with Disney.  Dispite the risque, Betty would star in many successful shorts, reaching her peak in 1935, before declining in popularity and ending in 1939.  In part, the Production Code of the 1930’s tamed the sexual-suggestiveness given in the first Betty Boop films, resulting in a reason for her decline.

===Popeye===

===Popeye===

Ironically, the character that caused the biggest reason of her decline was the introduction of Popeye, which Betty had introduced in the 1933 short ''Popeye the Sailor''.  Based upon characters created by [[Elzie Segar]], Popeye, Olive Oyl, and the lumbering Bluto typified the Fleischers’ uniqueness from Disney,  in which the idiosyncrasies of the animators came into prominence, and depended on which team was drawing.  In addition, voice actors dubbed the sound on the finished films, which differed from Disney’s use of a pre-recorded sound track; the result was ad-libbing without much concern for the coordination of the sound with the lip movements, and in Popeye’s case resulted in the character’s famous improvised mutterings.

Ironically, the biggest reason of her decline was a character the Fleishers had Betty herself introduce in the 1933 short ''Popeye the Sailor''.  Based upon characters created by [[Elzie Segar]], Popeye typified the Fleischers’ uniqueness from Disney,  in which the idiosyncrasies of the animators came into prominence, and depended on which team was drawing.  In addition, voice actors dubbed the sound on the finished films, which differed from Disney’s use of a pre-recorded sound track; the result was ad-libbing without much concern for the coordination of the sound with the lip movements, and in Popeye’s case resulted in the character’s famous improvised mutterings.

Changes were made to the character prior to putting him on celluloid.  Gone were most of the population comprising the ''Thimble Theater'' strip from which Popeye was originally created; retained were Olive Oyl, Bluto, and J. Wellington Wimpy, a ner-do-well with a penchant for hamburgers.  Popeye was portrayed as a wisecracking sailor who tended to stay out of trouble, only to fight back when "I had all I can stans, an'I can stans no more!", in his own special mangaling of the English language.  Possibly the biggest benefit came as a result of the spinach growing industry reporting increased demand; prior to the Fleischers adding a can of spinach before a fight, Popeye gained his strength by rubbing the Wishing Hen in Segar's strip.  Several major spinach growing areas responded to the new fortune by erecting statues of Popeye in his honor.

Changes were made to the character prior to putting him on celluloid.  Gone were most of the population comprising the ''Thimble Theater'' strip from which Popeye was originally created; retained were Olive Oyl, Popeye's long-suffering on-and-off girlfriend; Bluto, his lumbering nemesis; and J. Wellington Wimpy, a ner-do-well with a penchant for hamburgers.  Popeye was portrayed as a wisecracking sailor who tended to stay out of trouble, only to fight back when "I had all I can stans, an'I can stans no more!", in his own special mangaling of the English language.  Possibly the biggest benefit came as a result of the spinach growing industry reporting increased demand; prior to the Fleischers adding a can of spinach before a fight, Popeye gained his strength by rubbing the Wishing Hen in Segar's strip.  Several major spinach growing areas responded to the new fortune by erecting statues of Popeye in his honor.

 

In much of the Fleischer films the stories are not so much character-driven as they are dark, violent, and sexually-suggestive.  In ''Bimbo’s Initiation'' (1931), Bimbo (Betty Boop’s dog) is in an underground place, suffering a series of tortures by characters wearing chamber pots on their heads; in ''Snow White'' (1933) Betty and Ko-Ko are in a haunted, dark cavern filled with ghosts, one of which is a rotoscoped [[Cab Calloway]].  In these darker films there is also the occasional presence of evil rats bearing somewhat of a resemblance to Mickey Mouse, in keeping with the competition with Disney.

==Decline==

==Decline==