Celebrate Grandparents Day with Betty Boop & Grampy!

Click here to watch Betty and Grampy

It's Grandparents Day, the perfect day to celebrate the love and wisdom bestowed upon us by those special people who come into our lives as simply as Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Pop-pop, Bubby and Pawpaw, Oma and Opa, or Grammy and Grampy. Call them what you will, more often than not, we all know that our own Grandparents are, without a doubt, the absolute best in the world!

At Fleischer Studios, we're celebrating this very special holiday with Betty and Grampy (1935), the first screen appearance of that wacky, wonderful and just plain unstoppable genius called simply Grampy.  

From the moment he burst to wonderful life, Grampy was the quintessential grandparent: wise, warm, always ready for fun and full of surprises.

Grampy's ingeniously complicated inventions are often referred to as "Rube Goldberg" machines. As it turns out, this may be no coincidence. Goldberg, a cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor was already well known by the time Grampy first appeared in 1935.

Goldberg was so well-know that by 1931 the Merriam-Webster dictionary had already adopted the phrase "Rube Goldberg" as an adjective defined as accomplishing something simple through complicated means.

Interestingly, Goldberg was born on July 4, 1883 - just two weeks before Max Fleischer himself was born on July 19, 1883!

Many believe Grampy is based chiefly on Max himself, which is also possible. Max, like Grampy, was a life-long tinkerer and inventor with numerous patents to his name. Although he is best remembered for his inventions and innovations in the area of animation, Max actually held a number of patents for some very Grampy-like inventions, including a "Never-Wind" clock!

Max Fleischer himself would go on to become much-beloved grandfather of six, all of whom called him "PopMax." He even lived long enough to meet and enjoy many of his sixteen great-grandchildren before passing away in 1972. 

Of course the important thing is that, wherever he came from, Grampy - like most grandparents - holds a very special place in our hearts. We hope you enjoy Betty and Grampy, and share it with someone who makes your heart dance.

And if you need even MORE Grampy, check our YouTube Channel for even more fun-filled films featuring that irrepressible scamp, Grampy!