The film will trace the evolution of Betty Boop through the perspective of her creator, Max Fleischer.
First it was Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig turning Barbie into a billion-dollar cultural conversation. Now, Quinta Brunson is walking through a similar door and bringing Betty Boop with her.
The Abbott Elementary creator, showrunner and Emmy award winner just announced that she is developing and starring in a Betty Boop feature film and the internet has not fully recovered from the news yet. Honestly neither have we.
As Variety confirmed exclusively, Quinta will develop and star as Betty Boop in a feature film adaptation of the nearly century-old animated icon. Brunson’s company Fifth Chance Productions will partner with Mark Fleischer — grandson of Betty Boop creator Max Fleischer — and Fleischer Studios on the project. It is currently in development and overseen by Fifth Chance’s head of creative affairs, Erin Wehrenberg. And this is not a cameo or a simple voiceover situation. Quinta is playing Betty Boop as a full live-action lead, and she is also developing the entire project through her own production company. A boss in control of her own career and we love to see it.
What makes the storytelling angle especially compelling is that this film is not simply going to follow Betty Boop’s adventures the way audiences might expect. The film will trace the origin and evolution of Betty Boop through the perspective of her creator — Fleischer — examining the relationship between the artist and his creation. As he navigates the creative and commercial pressures of building one of the world’s first animated icons, they are focused on the icon that begins to take on a life of its own. So Quinta will be playing both sides of that relationship in some capacity, which is the kind of layered creative challenge that a lesser talent simply could not carry.
Brunson addressed the project directly and her statement made clear that this decision came from a place of genuine fascination with the history.
“Betty Boop is one of our nation’s most beloved cartoon characters, yet somehow still remains pleasantly niche,” she said. “She has had a quiet but undeniable impact on culture for nearly a century. After Erin and I met with Mark and learned more about his grandfather’s creation of Betty, I realized there was a much deeper story to tell. One that could be explored in a way that feels refreshing, subversive, and timeless, much like Betty herself.”
Mark Fleischer was equally enthusiastic about the pairing.
“When Quinta first approached me with the unique concept of a movie about the relationship of my grandfather, Max Fleischer, and his creation, Betty Boop, I was breathtaken,” he said. “Quinta so embodies Betty’s love of life, intelligence, humor, sassiness and compassion that the relationship between her as Betty and Max burst into life at its mere mention.”
As AV Club noted, Betty Boop is especially on the cultural radar right now — with a public domain horror adaptation in development and last year’s Broadway musical Boop! bringing the character to a whole new generation of fans. Brunson’s announcement landed at a moment when the world is already paying attention to this particular icon.
It marks Betty Boop’s first theatrical motion picture appearance in a starring role since the 1930s, when she emerged from Fleischer Studios’ groundbreaking Talkartoons series to become the first and only animated independent female movie superstar of her era. And Quinta — the first solo Black woman to win the Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series and the first Black woman to win the Emmy for outstanding lead comedy actress since 1981 — is the person who gets to bring her back. The bar for this film is already sky high and she already told us she has no intention of missing.
