Boop-oop-a-doop, the rubber hose era animated star Betty Boop celebrates 95 years since her first appearance on Aug. 9, 1930.

Betty Boop was initially drawn by animator Grim Natwick during his time working as an animator for Max and Dave Fleischer of Fleischer Studios. She would eventually become a mainstay for the studios alongside characters like Popeye the Sailor Man. As home media wasn't widely available at the time, these animated shorts were often screened in movie theaters before the main attraction. Stretching past the rubber hose era of animation, Betty Boop remained popular through reruns on television and the widespread availability of home media. She even made a brief appearance alongside the main character in the 1988 film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"  

Betty Boop's design is a tribute to the flapper girl style of the Jazz Age in the 1920s. In her first appearance in the animated short, "Dizzy Dishes," Betty was originally drawn as an anthropomorphic dog to act as the girlfriend of another Fleischer Studios character, Bimbo. This design later evolved as her dog ears turned into her hoop earrings for later shorts. Though the inspiration for her character's mannerisms and appearance is mostly attributed to two performers, Helen Kane and Baby Esther. Helen Kane famously sued the animation studios and Paramount after claiming they based the character's likeness and attitude on her. Baby Esther came into play after it was said in court that Helen had copied the acting routine of Baby Esther. It wasn't years later that more evidence popped up to show how Helen truly was the basis for the design of Betty Boop.

Even 95 years later, Betty Boop still has a wide influence. In many animated shows, one will find references to the 1930s shorts scattered here and there, mostly as callbacks to the rotoscope-style animation of characters dancing to the vocals of Cab Calloway. Others equate Betty as a feminist symbol, having broken past the sex symbol status and instead being an active figure in combating conservative norms at the time. Next year, Betty Boop will be entering the public domain, opening the doors for more creative outlets to find ways of bringing life to the animated icon.