Betty Boop in Japan (1935)

Everyone knows that Japan loves Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse and Snoopy, but did you know that Betty Boop was popular in Japan before any of them? It's true.


I think it is because Betty Boop could speak Japanese... No. Really. I'm not making it up. Watch this cartoon and see for yourself. In it, she sings in Japanese and dances. Her Japanese is pretty darned good too!

In fact, Betty Boop is still popular in Japan today! I sometimes see her on girl's fashions and in stores on posters and handbags. 


Did you also know that Betty Boop flew to Japan in 1935 and did a stage show? Yep. 


Here is a 1935 Max Fleischer produced Betty Boop cartoon called "A Language All My Own." Max Fleischer was famous for Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Superman and Popeye. Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHTUHT4kAOY

Wikipedia says about this cartoon:


The studio produced this short after discovering that Betty was very popular in Japan. Animator Myron Waldman, worried that Betty's gestures might offend the conservative Japanese audience, asked a group of Japanese college students to review his work. Having Betty sing in Japanese also allowed her to slip a racy comment past the Hays Office: one of the lyrics in the Japanese song translates to "Come to bed with me and we'll boop-oop-a-doop!"


"Come to bed with me and we'll boop-oop-a-doop" Indeed!


Please enjoy this 5 minute cartoon from a simpler time from yesteryear! This is so charming. You don't get any more eclectic than this!

Betty Boop? You kidding me? I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating rice crackers!

Superman Sabotages Imperial Japanese Navy Cartoon from 1942 in Color!

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Once again, this weekend, digging through the treasure chest that is the Internet Archives, I find an interesting treat from a day long gone by. It's a 1942 Superman cartoon in color - and in great condition - that was made right smack dab in the middle of World War II when Germany and Japan were looking very powerful.

The byline description reads:

Superman is responsible for several acts of sabotage at the Yokohama Navy Yard in Japan. Lois Lane is held hostage but Superman saves the day. Animation by William Bowsky and William Henning. Music by Sammy Timberg. Produced in 1942.


Now, I am not a fan of Superman at all (when I was a kid, I only read Marvel comics!) and this comic is pure US military propaganda; but it is enjoyable to watch and consider how the world has changed.

DOUBLE CLICK TO SEE FULL SIZED IMAGE

DOUBLE CLICK TO SEE FULL SIZED IMAGE

Also, how the heck did Lois Lane get into Yokohama in 1942 is anyone's guess but it is a very enjoyable 4 minute cartoon. Superman: Eleventh Hour! Enjoy!

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Keywords:
Superman, World War II,  Cartoon, Marketing Japan, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, 1942, Mike Rogers, Internet Archives, Yokohama