Product Details

• Actors: Betty Boop
• Format: Animated, Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 8
• Studio: Republic Pictures
• VHS Release Date: January 20, 1998
• Run Time: 780 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630417330X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,846 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Boop it up with the silver screen's original sultry siren in this classic collection from the famed Fleischer Studios. Released just in time for Mother's Day giving, the collection contains more than 13 hours of original Betty Boop cartoon shorts--115 in all--on 8 videocassettes. The deluxe "Collector's Edition Library Case" packaging is designed to be displayed with the spines creating the unforgettable face of this curvaceous cartoon queen. The collection also includes the exclusive Betty Boop "Boopliography," a booklet containing intriguing inside information on this popular cartoon and a special tribute from Richard Fleischer, son of modern animation pioneer and Betty Boop creator Max Fleischer.

Volume 1: The Birth of Betty (54 min.)
Beginning with her 1930 debut in Dizzy Dishes as a canine cabaret singer, the wide-eyed wonder winks and wiggles her way to stardom in one hilarious adventure after another. These early films show her evolution into the vivacious vamp she would become, and also feature a special introduction from Max Fleischer's son, Richard.

Volume 2: Pre-Code (108 min.)
Betty turns up her megawatt star power in a racy round of pre-Hays Code adventures, from her oh-so-hot hula with the Royal Samoans to her daring bareback escapades under the big top. The curvaceous cutie then brings down the house in a jazzy collage of cartoon classics featuring a cavalcade of performances by Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Rudy Vallee, and Ethel Merman.

Volume 3: Surrealism (110 min.)
Take a surrealistic journey into the wonderfully weird world of the Fleischer Studios, where everyday objects take on a loopy life of their own. Then the antics continue when the saucy siren of the silver screen embarks on adventures ranging from a Booped-up birthday party to a supernaturally silly visit with a psyched-out psychic.

Volume 4: Musical Madness (106 min.)
The madcap musical merriment continues with a treasure trove of toe-tapping tunes starring America's spit-curled sweetheart. Then join cartoondom's resident vamp for a rollicking romp through a cornucopia of classic fairy tales, from a close encounter with Mother Goose to a nasty scrape with a very big, very bad wolf.

Volume 5: Curtain Call (110 min.)
It's showtime once again as America's sassiest scene stealer shines in merry musical tributes to Fanny Brice, Jimmy Durante, Maurice Chevalier, and more. She then teams up with the lovable, lighthearted professor known as "Grampy" for some most mechanical misadventures, from one goofy gaggle of gadgets to the next.

Volume 6: Betty's Boys (108 min.)
You can be sure that wherever the boys are, Betty's sure to follow. Prepare to meet a new bushel of Betty's best buddies, including Little Jimmy, Henry, the funniest living American, and the Big Boss himself. From perilous predicament to flat-out flirtation, Betty always gets her man.

Volume 7: Betty's Travels (100 min.)
Pack your bags and fasten your seat belts as Betty sets out on a whirlwind series of jaunts by plane, train, and automobile. Also prepare to meet Betty Boop's precious pet pooch, Pudgy. Cuddly, enthusiastic and loyal to the core, Pudgy became Betty's constant companion and was at her side for more than three years.

Volume 8: Betty & Pudgy (94 min.)
The canine comedy continues in this chronicle of the adventures of Betty Boop and her cuddly companion, Pudgy the pup. Whether experiencing the first blush of true love or cutting loose with a classroom of funky barnyard pals for some swingin' scat in music school, Pudgy's always ready for an adventure. Also features closing comments from Max Fleischer's son, Richard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Best and Worst of Betty Boop, December 13, 1999

By	Scott Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Betty Boop: The Definitive Collection" documents the highs and lows of this classic cartoon character. The eight-volume set includes virtually every Boop short from 1930 to 1939, even her cameo appearances in Max and Dave Fleischer's "Screen Song" cartoons. The first four volumes focus on the Depression-era, pre-Hays Code period, with plenty of freewheeling surrealism and risque humor from Betty, Bimbo and Ko-Ko the Clown. "Minnie the Moocher," "Snow White" and "I Heard" remain animation classics, featuring terrific music by Cab Calloway and Don Redman. Of course, you're also stuck with the remaining four volumes, which focus largely on the toned-down, more domesticated version of Betty Boop during 1935-39. There are a few gems in these later volumes, such as the cartoons with Grampy the inventor, but many miss the mark - particularly those featuring Betty's cute dog, Pudgy. If you're a Boop completist, the "Definitive Collection" is a must. Otherwise, you may want to buy a more selective Fleischer compilation, such as the excellent "Betty Boop Confidential" or "Betty Boop: Special Collector's Edition."

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good package for the "true" collector., September 28, 2000

By	M. Kenny "Phatman" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This Betty Boop collection is very good and a must for a true Betty collector but the videos are available separately and certain volumes may be of more interest to individuals and thus a better buy. The buyer can purchase the volumes with content of interest to him/her. An example is the volumes with Pudgy the Pooch, NOT of interest to most Betty fans. There are problems with this collection, the first is it is incomplete though this is probabaly due to the fact that some films are lost (maybe forever). There is no color, even on the cartoons that were made in color. Finally I feel the films should have been in chronological order rather than the "catagory" volumes used ("pre-code", musical, etc.) This would have allowed viewing the changes in the characters as they occured and would also have allowed fans of a certain era to by the period they wanted. Other than these it is a good collection and the picture quality is very good and the sound, in most cases, is very good and un-tampered-with (cleaned up but without adding new sounds). For Betty fans it is a good buy.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black and White and Boop All Over!, December 26, 2002

By	Bill Cross (Clermont, FL United States) - See all my reviews

"Definitive" is an excellent word to describe this most complete collection of cartoons from one of the most enduring stars of 1930's Hollywood.

It is missing only a handful of Boop cartoons, but those are believed lost forever and have never surfaced on any video collection that I'm aware of. In addition, the prints are generally struck from the best, uncut copies available. The collection also includes several "politically incorrect" cartoons that are never shown on any of the cable networks, and the set also includes a brief video history of Betty narrated by Max Fleischer's son, director Richard Fleischer. Despite an earlier reviewer's assertion, only one Betty cartoon was ever filmed in color - "Poor Cinderella" - and it appears here in all it's two-color glory.

Without a doubt, the early cartoons that feature Betty teamed with boyfriend Bimbo and Koko the Klown are head and shoulders above the rest, especially when teamed with a Cab Calloway song. "Bimbo's Initiation" and "Snow White" are perhaps the finest examples of the surrealistic style of cartoon the Fleischer Brothers excelled at. "Is My Palm Red" is Betty at her risque best, before the Hays Office censors toned down her act. Of the latter shorts, only those with Grampy rise above the pedestrian. Alas, Betty went to cartoon heaven not with a bang, but with a whimper.

For any fan of animation in general and Betty in particular, this collection is THE "must-have!"