When the Motion Picture Production Code came into full effect in mid-1935, forcing filmmakers and studios to tone down racy, violent, and political material in their films, the Betty Boop cartoons lost much of their edge... and their popularity with audiences declined. The Fleischer Studios began casting about for ways to bring this series forward into the new age.
One of the ways they sought to find new audiences for Betty Boop was to introduce new characters into her world, some of which would even get top billing and sometimes even muscle her out of her own show. One such character was Professor Grampy, an inventor with a talent for turning everyday objects into wonderous gadgets. Grampy starred or co-starred with Betty in ten cartoons between 1935 and 1937. The was voiced primarily by Jack Mercer (who can also be heard as the voice of Koko the Clown in a number of Betty's earlier adventures). Each Grampy cartoon follows the same formula--Betty has a problem, Grampy solves it by making creative contraptions from items at hand--so they can get a bit repetitious if you watch more than a couple at a time.
This page lists all the cartoons featuring Grampy (including the one in color, "Christmas Comes But once a Year"). Click on a title to read a review of the individual episode, and even watch them straight from the posts.
One interesting fan theory about Grampy is that he's Koko the Clown in retirement. It's a theory I like, because it means that Betty's old friends didn't completely disappear once she gave up her wild ways and became domesticated.
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