Betty Boop & Popeye Animation Cels

Betty Boop was the first female star of animation. She was flirtatious, sweet, and simply charming and had a voice that you'd never forget, provided by actress Mae Questal (with occasional stand-ins). Betty was created by a true pioneer of animation, Grim Natwick. Natwick created Betty in the 1930's while working with the Fleisher Bros producing cartoons for Paramount Studios. Betty was patterned after a star at Paramount named Helen Kane. We were pleasantly surprised several years ago when we asked a long-time friend who shares the same last name as Betty's creator if he was related to the legendary artist and he said, "Oh, you mean Uncle Grim!" We were awestruck! We also learned they were related to the legendary movie actress Mildred Natwick who appeared in such classic films as "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn, and "The Court Jester" with Danny Kaye and Basil Rathbone. It turned out that our friend hadn't spoken to his uncle in many years and was motivated to make contact. Soon following this conversation, our friend took his son to attend Grim's 100th Birthday Party in August of 1990, which was thrown for him by his fans and fellow artists in Hollywood where Grim was hailed all night. Sadly, Grim Natwick passed away shortly thereafter, but we were thrilled that our friend's family got to meet their famous relative.

We've also recently added some Popeye cels below, also based on a King Features comic and cartoon character. Popeye has a long history, dating back to a comic strip in the early 1930's. His cartoon career spans more than six decades. If you're a Popeye fan, you'll find several great pieces of animation art for sale here.