Betty Boogie's Avatars
I don't see many people talking about it, but one of the more interesting and most definitely the cutest characteristic of recent South Park is Trey Parker's daughter voicing some specific characters. Most viewers might not even realize how much impact she has on the actual show. For instance, when she has favorite pop songs, Trey makes sure to include them in the episodes, such as Humble in S21E1 or when she got into horse dressage, Trey made an episode about it (S25E4), and he specifically stays up to date about current children's trends through her.
I'm here to take you on a journey of the characters she played, so naturally first comes Ike.
Ike Broflovski
Ike had a lot of voice actors, famously voiced by the children of crew members. Betty's been voicing Ike since season 20, and that might just be a reason why Ike had such a big role in that season, since Trey evidently loved making his daughter say the silly obscene things Ike said. She started doing the voice when she was 3 years old, just like Ike is. And while she gained other roles, she still does Ike at the age of 10 in S26.
Hannah Williams
Interestingly this first grader, Hannah, has been a background character since S9, waaay before Betty was even born. But she was never named and she never said a word. That changed, when in S21E2 she is singing at a school talent show, voiced by Betty.
In S22 she continues voicing Ike and also she provides sound for the priest call whiste. ("I love Jesus! I love Jesus!")
As of S23 she is also credited for voicing the PC Babies, most prominently Riley, and a vegan boy, who might be a first or second grader, she is also Menorah in S24, the daughter of future Eric.
However an interesting shift happens at the end of The Return of Covid, in which we meet an entirely new character, Heather Williams (also mistakenly addressed as Heather Thomson before her on-screen appearance) who is decidedly a new fourth grader created specifically for Betty to voice.
We first see her watching Terrance and Phillip and eating ice cream. Then the boys (as adults from the future) blackmail her with a photo of her farting, since she can get Denver Nuggets tickets from her dad. Then she becomes a recurring character in S25, keeping the idea that whenever Trey thinks a line would be funnier if it came from the mouth of an actual child, he invited Betty to say it.
In Pajama Day she calls PC Principal a fascist and appears to be friends with Wendy and Millie. And she dares to argue with Eric about the correct pajama terminology at a kids meeting. In The Big Fix, she is seen in the main fourth graders' classroom, arguing with Stan, and it's clear Trey enjoys Betty opposing with his characters specifically.
I wonder if there's some history behind her voicing two characters named Williams. We know she played a girl called Harper at the South Park 25th Anniversary Concert specifically named after one of her friends, so Williams might be the surname of one of her friends as well. Soon, Heather fades into the background without any explanation, after the show seemingly decided to make her a regular, she gets replaced. Why?
It seems like when Betty got 9 years old, Trey decided she should get a permanent character. Perhaps for that idea, they had a better design to use...
Back in S24, before either Heather Williams or Menorah Cartman got introduced, there was a Lil' Qties member who has never appeared before. She was specifically designed by Betty, seemingly already created to serve as her avatar (and I applaud Trey's bravery to represent her daughter as an anti-vaccine character).
Still, I forgot about her, kept waiting for Heather Williams to have a role in S26, and instead when Stan's family buys a japanese toilet, which girl voiced by Betty shows up?
The blonde girl with the black jacket and bow. And she's officially named Betsy now. The personality is the same as Heather Williams: an assertive, outspoken girl who lashes out at Trey's characters without ever being talked back to. Except she is a different character in-show, and therefore none of the development and experience Heather had in the episodes count anymore. While both of them had exactly one season at this point, I believe Betsy is here to stay, since she is designed by her, named after her, so unlike Heather, she is a more personal avatar.
Betsy already seems to be friends with Nelly, Nichole, Bebe, Red, and to a lesser extent, on friendly terms with Wendy (although I can imagine their strong personalities would clash at some point), I hope they decide to expand upon her character and make her a mainstay. And it seems like that's the intent. Especially after Trey's father's day cake had Betsy's face on it. My theory is that Heather was supposed to stay relevant, but they just chose the Betsy design after a trial year. So if nothing else would change in their real life, I think it's safe to assume we can count on Betsy returning.
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