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Minnie the Mermaid
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Name |
Minnie the Mermaid |
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Gender |
Female |
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Species |
Mermaid |
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Family |
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Voiced by |
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First Appearance |
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Last Appearance |
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Minnie the Mermaid is a minor Fleischer Studios character that appears in the 1930 animated Talkartoon titled Barnacle Bill. She is a Mermaid who lives at the bottom of the sea with the other Mermaids. She seems to be based on the 1923 song "Minnie the Mermaid: A Love Song in Fish Time" by George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva.
Minnie's character design seems to be a caricature of the wise cracking, blonde bombshell "Mae West,"[1] who by the late 1920s was a famous playwright and sex-symbol.
In Minnie's 1932 re-design she looks identical to Betty Boop. Only her beauty spot has moved from her chin to her eye. Beauty spots are considered to enhance attractiveness and are key features on most vamps and starlets. A few examples would be Marilyn Monroe, Clara Bow, Goldie Hawn, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Lil' Kim and Elizabeth Taylor and especially flappers of the 1920s and 1930s.
Minnie's singing voice, including the others "Mermaids", were provided by Margie Hines, the voice of Betty Boop. They sound identical to Nancy Lee, who was also voiced by Hines in that cartoon.
Minnie hasn't been seen since, she lastly appeared with both Betty Boop and Bimbo, when both of them went to visit her at the bottom of the sea.
Trivia
- Originally it was unknown which one of the Mermaids in the cartoon was Minnie, until an official Fleischer Studios artwork was found by "Betty Boop Wikia Fandom" confirming this. Minnie is an alternative version of Betty Boop, a happy-go-lucky flapper girl who likes to have fun, only she's a mermaid, an aquatic creature with the tail of a fish and upper body of a female human.
- There's another Mae West caricature[2] that appears in the Popeye series nicknamed "April North" by fans.