Grampy
Encyclopedia
Grampy is an animated
cartoon
character
appearing in the Betty Boop
series of films produced by Max Fleischer
and released by Paramount Pictures
.
Grampy is an ever cheerful and energetic senior citizen with a bald head and a white beard. His primary activities include singing, dancing and building Rube Goldberg
style devices out of ordinary household items. When presented with an unexpected new problem, he will put on his thinking cap (a mortarboard with a lightbulb on top). In short order the lightbulb lights up and Grampy builds a new gadget to solve the problem.
It is not clear whether Grampy is actually related to Betty Boop, because everyone calls him "Grampy" and he seems to be equally affectionate to almost everyone he meets. There is also some inconsistency as to living arrangements. In some shorts like Betty Boop and Grampy and House Cleaning Blues he and Betty live in separate houses; however, in The Impractical Joker he is shown to live in an apartment one floor above hers—suggesting they are neighbors, or that he is perhaps her boarder
.
Grampy appeared in nine of the later Betty Boop cartoons, often having a larger role than Betty. He also made one appearance without Betty, in the 1937 Color Classics
short Christmas Comes But Once A Year.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
appearing in the Betty Boop
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
series of films produced by Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer was an American animator. He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios...
and released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Grampy is an ever cheerful and energetic senior citizen with a bald head and a white beard. His primary activities include singing, dancing and building Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
style devices out of ordinary household items. When presented with an unexpected new problem, he will put on his thinking cap (a mortarboard with a lightbulb on top). In short order the lightbulb lights up and Grampy builds a new gadget to solve the problem.
It is not clear whether Grampy is actually related to Betty Boop, because everyone calls him "Grampy" and he seems to be equally affectionate to almost everyone he meets. There is also some inconsistency as to living arrangements. In some shorts like Betty Boop and Grampy and House Cleaning Blues he and Betty live in separate houses; however, in The Impractical Joker he is shown to live in an apartment one floor above hers—suggesting they are neighbors, or that he is perhaps her boarder
Boarder
A boarder may be a person who:*snowboards*skateboards*bodyboards*surfs*stays at a boarding house*attends a boarding school*takes part in a boarding attackThe term may also refer to*The Boarder...
.
Grampy appeared in nine of the later Betty Boop cartoons, often having a larger role than Betty. He also made one appearance without Betty, in the 1937 Color Classics
Color Classics
Color Classics were a series of animated short subjects produced by Fleischer Studios for Paramount Pictures from 1934 to 1941 as a competitor to Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies. As the name implies, all of the shorts were made in color, with the first entry in the series, Poor Cinderella, being the...
short Christmas Comes But Once A Year.
Filmography
- Betty Boop and GrampyBetty Boop and GrampyBetty Boop and Grampy is a 1935 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop, and featuring Grampy in his first appearance.-Plot:Betty receives an invitation to a party from her elderly relative, Grampy...
(1935) - A Song A DayA Song A DayA Song A Day is a 1936 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop and featuring Grampy.-Synopsis:At Betty Boop's Animal Hospital, various animals have appropriate ailments - a giraffe has a sore throat, a herring is pickled, etc. Morale becomes a problem until Professor Grampy comes...
(1936) - Grampy's Indoor OutingGrampy's Indoor OutingGrampy's Indoor Outing is a 1936 Fleischer Studio animated short, starring Betty Boop and Grampy.-Synopsis:Betty offers to take her nephew Little Jimmy to see the carnival. Before they can leave the house, a thunderstorm blows in, making it impossible to attend the carnival...
(1936) - Be HumanBe Human (1936 cartoon)Be Human is a 1936 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop and Grampy. It is now public domain.-Plot:Betty Boop is incensed at her farmer neighbor's cruelty to his animals...
(1936) - Christmas Comes But Once A YearChristmas Comes But Once a YearChristmas Comes but Once a Year is a 1936 animated short produced by Fleischer Studios and released on December 4, 1936. It is part of the Color Classics series.-Summary:...
(1936) - House Cleaning BluesHouse Cleaning BluesHouse Cleaning Blues is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop, and featuring Grampy.-Synopsis:Betty wakes up after the morning after her birthday party. The house is a shambles, and Betty is not looking forward to cleaning up. She sings the title song while struggling...
(1937) - The Impractical JokerThe Impractical JokerThe Impractical Joker is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop.-Synopsis:Betty Boop is baking a cake, when Irving the practical joker comes for a visit. Betty becomes the victim of such pranks as shaking a false hand and getting squirted in the face...
(1937) - The Candid CandidateThe Candid CandidateThe Candid Candidate is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop and Grampy.-Synopsis:Betty Boop campaigns for Grampy for Mayor who finds out the job isn't as glamorous as he thought....
(1937) - Service with a SmileService with a Smile (1937 cartoon)Service with a Smile is a Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop and Grampy.-Plot:Betty Boop runs the Hi-De-Ho-Hotel. Guests have lots of complaints. Grampy remedies the guests' complaints.-External links:**...
(1937) - Zula HulaZula HulaZula Hula is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop, and featuring Grampy.-Synopsis:Betty and Grampy are on an around-the-world flight when they are forced to crash-land on an apparently deserted island. Betty's upset with their situation, but Grampy quickly invents a...
(1937)