I’m Not Bad- I’m Just Drawn That Way

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Long before Jessica Rabbit uttered that immortal line, even cartoon pinups were struggling. Today the animated cheesecake has gone through some changes.

In the 1950’s sex wasn’t so obvious and trying to air sex was very illegal to almost impossible. In Come Max Fleischer and Tex Avery to kick some sexy into kids cartoons. I can still hear J. Edgar shutter in his grave.

Betty Boop - The Mother of Cartoon Cheesecake
Based on the exaggeratedly adorable voice and looks of 1920 scat singer Helen Kale (the originator of the boop-poo-pidoo-poo line in the hit, later covered by Marilyn Monroe “I Want to Be Loved by You”), Betty Boop burst on to the scene at the end of 1930. Wikipedia says:

“Betty Boop is important to animation history for being the first cartoon character to fully represent a sexual woman. Other female cartoon characters of the same period showed their panties regularly, like Minnie Mouse, but were not fully defined in a woman's form. All other cartoon "girls" were merely clones of their male co-stars, with alterations in costume with the addition of eyelashes and a female voice. Betty Boop wore short dresses, high heels, and a garter belt. Her breasts were suggested with a low, contoured bodice that showed cleavage. In her cartoons, male characters tried to sneak peeks at her while she's changing, or simply walking along minding her own business.”

Around the mid 30’s Betty had been tamed by The Production Code Censorship. Turned into well-dressed housewife/career girl, Betty never survived beyond 1937. Of course, we all know Betty from her huge merchandise revival, which began in the 1980’s!

Red Hot Riding Hood - Rebelling Against Tradition
Created by Preston Blair in 1943, this little cartoon hottie was inspired by Betty Grable. The short was directed by Tex Avery. Avery was a rebel in he’s own field, stretching the limits as far as he could, both in animation and story telling.

Jessica Rabbit - Bringing Sexy Back

Appearing, for the first time, in 1988, in the landmark film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Jessica Rabbit changed the face of female cartoons forever, proving there are many ways to exaggerate a cartoon and make a point. Jessica is a mixture of many retro pinups, such as Veronica Lake and Ritta Hayworth. If you look closely at Red Hot Riding Hood, you can definitely spot some Preston Blair influences, in her debut performance, as well.

Holli Wood - Imagination has Left the Building
(Sorry for the terrible sound, it’s the only clip I could find :( )
Preston Blair Lives, or maybe, he’s joining J. Edgar in the grave-rolling scene. “Cool World” signifies the decadence of cartoons, as we knew them. Holli Wood looks very much like Red Hot Riding Hood, in her debut song and dance, but lives no room for the imagination.

Drawn Together - The Death of Betty Boop and the Rise of Foxxy Love
Pinups Just aren’t what they used to be. Some will lament, some will just roll with the times. But “Drawn Together” makes a point with it’s over-wight Betty-Boop look-a-like, Toot, and it’s new sex-symbol Foxxy Love. While Toot is the pathetic and out of date character, Foxxy is a super cool modern woman. Diversity shows and that’s another blessed addition to the cartoon pinup, as far as I’m concerned. However, I’ve yet to see a new sexy classic, the likes of Jessica Rabbit, taking center stage.

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