"Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery" (also known as "The Betty Boop Movie Mystery") is a Betty Boop TV special made by BIG Pictures and King Features Entertainment that aired on June 25, 1989. The special tries to emulate both the classic Fleischer art style as well as the overall cartoony feel from her original shorts.
While Betty Boop (Melissa Fahn), Bimbo the dog and Koko the Clown search for stardom in Hollywood, they end up getting involved in a ploy to prevent a diamond from being stolen.
Tropes Used In This Special:
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Instead of being black furred, Bimbo the dog has blue fur. Many other colorful animals can be seen as well.
- Banana Peel: Dan slips on a banana on a plate that was sitting on the counter.
- Bar Slide: Dan slides down the diner's counter which leads to him being honey and feathered.
- Bigger on the Inside: The prop department is shown to be a small trailer but is noticeably bigger on the inside.
- Blinded by the Light: Betty manages to escape from Sam Slade and Miss Green by holding the diamond in a beam of sunlight creating a blinding flash.
- Car Meets House: The cop car drives through Lola DaVille's mansion, creating a hole, but it does this while exiting the house from the inside.
- Circling Birdies: Sam Slade get knocked out by the chandelier with circling stars and planets around his head (a bird tweeting sound effect can still be heard).
- Circular Drive: There's a shot of what appears to be a line of limos dropping off people at Lola DaVille's mansion, then the camera pulls back to reveal one circular limousine that picks up guests on one side of the roundabout and drops them off at the other.
- Continuity Cameo
- The long-legged ghost that Koko turned into in Snow White (1933) can be seen at the masquerade party.
- The Old Man of the Mountain is shown during the intro.
- The telegram man towards the end is Wiffle Piffle, a character who appeared in a late Betty Boop short, "Whoops! I'm a Cowboy".
- The baby shown in the ending scene in the diner is from multiple early shorts under multiple names including Billy Boop and Aloysius.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The trio are now in color, with the exception of Koko who still maintains his black and white palette.
- Everything Talks: Keeping with the spirit of Betty's original shorts, pretty much every object comes to life, far too many to list.
- Expy: Sam Slade is clearly modeled after Sam Spade.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: Sam Slade allegedly gets knocked out by one.
- Floating in a Bubble: Betty sits on a giant bubble which propels her in the air.
- Frame-Up: Betty gets framed for stealing Lola DaVille's diamond.
- Greasy Spoon: "Diner Dan's", where Betty, Bimbo and Koko work at the beginning and end of the special.
- Hammerspace: Koko pulls a car out of his hat, although it was a gelatinous liquid at first before forming into a car.
- Hardboiled Detective: Sam Slade.
- Killer Gorilla: Not a killer but Dan the Gorilla is pretty foul tempered, at least until the end.
- "King Kong" Climb: Sam Slade does this in a fake city.Sam Slade: No one makes a monkey out of Sam Slade!
- Lights Off, Somebody Dies: A non murder variation with someone shooting down the lights at the party and using the darkness to steal Lola DaVille's diamond and plant the gun in Betty's hand.
- The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: Betty's mirrored reflection tells her "not to blow it" before she performs at the party.
- Meaningful Name: A film director named Maxwell Movieola.
- Mistaken for Exhibit: The prop room worker was mistaken for a mask at first, which is easy to do since he was sitting in a room filled with hanging masks with his head sticking out of a hole in the wall.
- Mythology Gag:
- Giant Inkwells can be seen near Koko in the prop room, looking directly from the Out of the Inkwell series.
- Betty wears her hula wear from Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle and Popeye the Sailor.
- Not a Mask: The trio mistake Lt. Snuffer for the masked man and Bimbo and Koko try to pull his non-existing mask off by the nose and ears.
- Panty Shot: When Betty first appears in the diner, her skirt gets snagged in-between some dishes she's carrying showing her bloomers, but she quickly unsnags it.
- Perp Sweating: The police shine a light on Betty and tell her to sing, so she does.
- Road Trip Across the Street: A gag shows different guests coming out of limos when entering the party, but a zoom out shows that it's single limo being driven in a perfect circle.
- Rube Goldberg Device: Bimbo and Koko create one in the diner's kitchen to wash dishes and transport food.
- Sentient Vehicle: Most cars shown in the special have a face and are capable of talking.Sam Slade: (getting out of a Taxi) And keep the nickel for a tip.Taxi: Cheapskate.
- Sexy Backless Outfit: Betty wears a violet version of her iconic dress.
- Miss Green wears a similar looking green dress.
- Sexy Silhouette: When the lights at the party go out, the light of the window shows Betty's silhouette through her dress.
- Singing Telegram: Betty receives one from Dan begging for Betty, Bimbo and Koko to return working at his diner.
- The Speechless: Even though Koko has talked plenty of times in the original cartoons, in this special Koko is a silent character.
- Split-Screen Phone Call: One of these is shown during Betty and Sam Slade's phone call.
- Source Music: A piano plays dramatic music while Miss Green tries to steal the diamond from Betty.
- Stock Visual Metaphors: Sam Slade is sleeping while dreaming about a log being sawed ("sawing logs" being slang for sleeping).
- Tailfin Walking: The nameless fish has zero problems walking on land on her tail fin.
- Tar and Feathers: Dan gets honeyed and feathered.
- Tutti Frutti Hat: Betty wears a bowl of fruit on her head while wearing a Carmen Miranda-esque outfit.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: A guest at the party turns out to be Lt. Snuffer of the police; his fellow policeman were also disguised at the party as well as a cop car hidden as a table for holding a punch bowl.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: While using a payphone, Betty retrieves a change purse from the front of her dress.
- Wingding Eyes: Koko's eyes turn into hearts when he first sees Lola DaVille.
