Saturday Cartoons - Election Year Edition
August 27, 2016 2:23 PM Subscribe
It's hard to believe America has never had a woman President, considering that in 1932, theaters across the country were showing the campaign film "Betty Boop for President", which contained many gags that seem just as relevant today. Then in 1948, the same animation studio recycled some of the content for the Popeye cartoon "Olive Oyl for President".
via Miss Cellania, who should have been elected Blog Queen years ago
via Miss Cellania, who should have been elected Blog Queen years ago
I remember both these cartoons well!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:11 PM on August 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:11 PM on August 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
I could definitely see George Burns as "First Gentleman"...Popeye less so.
Certain things struck me about the Betty Boop toon. Her opponent was "Mr. Nobody", declaring "who's gonna solve all our problems? Nobody!" And when she morphs into a caricature of Herbert Hoover (the incumbent in 1932), am I the only one who thinks she/he looks a little like Hillary? The other caricature was Al Smith, the Democratic Nominee in 1928 (apparently it was produced well before FDR was nominated, even though it didn't hit theaters until the week of the election) and her/his promise was"I won't talk on the radio", very odd in the context of FDR's 'Fireside Chats'.
The Betty cartoon's depiction of partisan division showed the Democrat Donkeys saying "yes" and the Republican Elephants saying "no" half the time and the other half the other way around. In the Olive cartoon, the Donkeys were always"yes" and the Elephants always "no". That's what 16 years of a Democratic President will do...
And don't forget that Mae Questel did the voices of Betty AND Olive in the two toons. (She was essentially the Queen of Cartoon Voices before June Foray was old enough...)
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:21 PM on August 27, 2016 [9 favorites]
Certain things struck me about the Betty Boop toon. Her opponent was "Mr. Nobody", declaring "who's gonna solve all our problems? Nobody!" And when she morphs into a caricature of Herbert Hoover (the incumbent in 1932), am I the only one who thinks she/he looks a little like Hillary? The other caricature was Al Smith, the Democratic Nominee in 1928 (apparently it was produced well before FDR was nominated, even though it didn't hit theaters until the week of the election) and her/his promise was"I won't talk on the radio", very odd in the context of FDR's 'Fireside Chats'.
The Betty cartoon's depiction of partisan division showed the Democrat Donkeys saying "yes" and the Republican Elephants saying "no" half the time and the other half the other way around. In the Olive cartoon, the Donkeys were always"yes" and the Elephants always "no". That's what 16 years of a Democratic President will do...
And don't forget that Mae Questel did the voices of Betty AND Olive in the two toons. (She was essentially the Queen of Cartoon Voices before June Foray was old enough...)
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:21 PM on August 27, 2016 [9 favorites]
The song at the beginning of the Betty Boop cartoon sounds like Battle Cry of Freedom (a Union song from the Civil War), but that doesn't make sense. Am I mishearing it, or am I missing some context?
posted by Hactar at 7:46 PM on August 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Hactar at 7:46 PM on August 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
or am I missing some context?
Apparently, according to Wikipedia,
A modified Union version was used as the campaign song for the Lincoln-Johnson ticket in the 1864 presidential election, as well as in elections after the war, such as for Garfield in the 1880 U.S. presidential election.
posted by zabuni at 7:57 PM on August 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Apparently, according to Wikipedia,
A modified Union version was used as the campaign song for the Lincoln-Johnson ticket in the 1864 presidential election, as well as in elections after the war, such as for Garfield in the 1880 U.S. presidential election.
posted by zabuni at 7:57 PM on August 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
I've heard "Battle Cry of Freedom" used as Generic Fanfare/Parade music in other, more recent cartoons. It was definitely Public Domain in 1932, and not used in the recent past ("for Garfield in the 1880 U.S. presidential election") so Paramount's music department obviously considered it 'safe'.
As for current cartoon characters running for President, there's that other Garfield... I don't know when this page of the garfield.com site was made up (it's not currently linked from the home page, but Google puts it near the top of searches for "Garfield President"), but when I saw "You Could Do Worse", I thought "THAT's where Dirty Donald got it from!" Also scroll down for one of his campaign promises: "Paint the White House Orange".
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:24 PM on August 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
As for current cartoon characters running for President, there's that other Garfield... I don't know when this page of the garfield.com site was made up (it's not currently linked from the home page, but Google puts it near the top of searches for "Garfield President"), but when I saw "You Could Do Worse", I thought "THAT's where Dirty Donald got it from!" Also scroll down for one of his campaign promises: "Paint the White House Orange".
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:24 PM on August 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
(Now MeFi's Own Miss Cellania)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:28 PM on August 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:28 PM on August 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
(Now MeFi's Own Miss Cellania)
Finally!! I had some email correspondence with Miss C over 10 years ago and suggested that she join the 'Filter. She didn't (she was already getting paid to write for other sites) but she did start using us as a source. Later requests for kickbacks fell on deaf ears.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:41 PM on August 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Finally!! I had some email correspondence with Miss C over 10 years ago and suggested that she join the 'Filter. She didn't (she was already getting paid to write for other sites) but she did start using us as a source. Later requests for kickbacks fell on deaf ears.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:41 PM on August 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
I vividly remember both of those toons thanks to "Sally Starr's Popeye Theater" She also featured Three Stooges shorts and Betty Boop toons. Then after that it was American Bandstand!
/my god I'm getting old!
posted by james33 at 3:24 AM on August 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
/my god I'm getting old!
posted by james33 at 3:24 AM on August 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
If we want to throw in newspaper cartoons, Bloom County had Bill the Cat run for president.
I think comedians are a bridge too far, but I remember Pat Paulson, who had recently been on Laugh In, doing a satirical run for president. (Satire was easier to spot back then. Now it's gotten blurry.)
posted by puddledork at 6:54 AM on August 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think comedians are a bridge too far, but I remember Pat Paulson, who had recently been on Laugh In, doing a satirical run for president. (Satire was easier to spot back then. Now it's gotten blurry.)
posted by puddledork at 6:54 AM on August 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The "Mister Nobody" sequence in the Betty Boop cartoon is a spoof of a popular song of the early 20th century.
posted by kewb at 7:36 AM on August 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by kewb at 7:36 AM on August 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Oh no, not another election thread!
posted by Captain l'escalier at 1:52 PM on August 28, 2016
posted by Captain l'escalier at 1:52 PM on August 28, 2016
Shhh... don't tell them we're here or we'll get overrun. This is election + cartoons + before-you-were-probably-born nostagia.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:03 PM on August 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:03 PM on August 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I hadn't realized what a hard-core sexist Popeye was! Yes, caught the Hillary-Like bits. Of course Hillary wasn't in politics when these cartoons came out.
I wasn't even born. A lot of cartoons really were propaganda. Being raised in the kind of home I was raised in, I was made aware of this early on, but could still enjoy the silly cheesiness of it all.
Frankly I was much more fond of Betty Boop. Even more so since learning that she was in fact based on a Black person.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 5:33 PM on August 28, 2016
I wasn't even born. A lot of cartoons really were propaganda. Being raised in the kind of home I was raised in, I was made aware of this early on, but could still enjoy the silly cheesiness of it all.
Frankly I was much more fond of Betty Boop. Even more so since learning that she was in fact based on a Black person.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 5:33 PM on August 28, 2016
I Go Pogo. But I think the gist of this post isn't so much "cartoons for President" as it is "fictional women for President".
posted by The otter lady at 11:01 PM on August 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by The otter lady at 11:01 PM on August 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Modest House at 3:01 PM on August 27, 2016 [3 favorites]