Little Bo Peep - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

In O. Henry’s romantic story “Madame Bo-Peep, of the Ranches” Octavia Beaupree comes to the Rancho de las Sombras in Texas, the only real property she inherits after the bankruptcy and death of her husband, Colonel Beaupree. Her old friend and unsuccessful admirer Teddy Westlake who works at the ranch as a manager calls her by the name of Mother Goose's heroine, the Mexican workers call her “La Madama Bo-Peepy” and the ranch becomes known as “Madame Bo-Peep's ranch”. Finally, Octavia accepts Teddy’s proposal, he chants the first quatrain of the nursery rhyme, after the third line she draws his head down, whispers in his ear and the story ends with the words “But that is one of the tales they brought behind them.”

• Bo Peep is the female lead in the 1934 film Babes in Toyland. The character also appears in the 1961 film version, but not as a leading character.
• The character appears as "Bo Peep," a ceramic doll, in the animated film series Toy Story.
• In the 1950s, comedian Johnny Standley recorded a line-by-line commentary on the poem, titled "It's in the Book." He ridicules what he sees as the simplistic attitude of the person addressing Bo Peep, and ends his commentary up with "wagging their tails: Pray tell, what else could they wag?!?" behind them. Did we think they'd wag them in front?!!?"
• In the anime Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo she is given the name "Little Bobobo-Peep."
• In the continuity of the Fables comic book from Vertigo, she is the wife of Peter Piper, and lives in Fabletown's northern branch, the "Farm." Her story, along with that of Peter and his evil brother Max (the future Pied Piper of Hamelin), is told in Bill Willingham's novel Peter & Max: A Fables Novel.
• In the 1980's television series, The Dukes of Hazzard, the Daisy Duke character used the name, "Bo Peep" as her CB Radio handle.
• In the 2006 animated film Hoodwinked!, when the Wolf (Patrick Warburton) interrogates his informant, a sheep named Woolworth, Woolworth describes Red Puckett (Anne Hathaway) as a "sweet gal, not like that Bo Peep", complaining that "that brat put up an invisible fence, I tasted metal fillings for a week!"