The Winner: Saturn!

Many strange premises populate the old Fleischer studio cartoons, but maybe the strangest the moon auctioning off the planet Earth in “Betty Boop’s Ups and Downs” (1932). There’s no real reason for it to happen other than to spark the string of gravity gags after the bidding war ends.

The moon calls over the nearby planets.



The planets morph into heads to bid on the Earth. First Mars, then Venus, then Saturn. Saturn may have been named for a Roman god but the planet is evidently kosher judging by his accent. Saturn wins the auction (with the lowest bid of $20). He hands over the bag of gelt.



Willard Bowsky and Ugo D’Orsi’s names come up as animators in the rotating Fleischer credit system.