Creator and Star of “Abbott Elementary” Quinta Brunson Gears up to Star in Feature Film about Animated Icon Betty Boop
Quinta Brunson is no stranger to iconism. Spending the better half of this decade as the principal lead and one of the creators behind the beloved series “Abbott Elementary,” she knows a thing or two about what it takes to carry the weight of stardom. Now, she is stepping into a new arena of eminence as she takes on a project to adapt the cartoon icon, Betty Boop, for the silver screen.
Quinta Brunson Takes Center Stage
Partnering with the original creators of the iconic Betty Boop, Brunson and her production company, Fifth Chance Productions, have just begun work on their latest ambition, bringing the beloved animated character to the big screen. Working exclusively with Fleischer Productions and Mark Fleischer (the grandson of the original Betty Boop creator, Max Fleischer), Brunson and her team are hoping to bring Betty Boop back to the theatrical circuit, for the first time in nearly a hundred years.
A Cartoon Icon Returns
Betty Boop, the charming, doll-faced ‘flapper,’ emerged in the Depression-era 1930s and was lauded as an ‘overnight hit.’ Inspired by Jazz Age culture and style, Betty’s rise to popularity as an animated icon (which was revolutionary for its time and would influence an entire generation of succeeding cartoon animation) relied on a blend of nostalgia and novelty. She evoked the era of the roaring 20s and the ‘flapper generation,’ which, at the height of the Great Depression in the 30s, gave people cause to reflect on better times. The popularity surrounding Betty Boop at its height earned her a status of virtual celebrity, which was fairly unique to its time, to have an animated character be treated in such a way.
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”BOOP!”
Despite the original Betty Boop motion picture series ending in the 1930s and often engaging in problematic themes (the last one released in 1939 was called “Rhythm on the Reservation” and featured a racist sequence depicting Betty visiting a Native American reservation), her celebrity status lived on and arguably only grew after the original series crashed and burned in the 30s. There was even a recent Broadway show about her, titled “BOOP!,” that came out last year, so her relevance as an icon-status has carried on well into the 21st century.
The upcoming film will star Brunson as Betty Boop and will hone in on her origins through the perspective of her creator, Max Fleischer, focusing on the relationship between Fleischer and Betty, and examining the stakes and pressures of crafting one of the world’s first animated stars.
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