Bimbo's Initiation

Bimbo's Initiation
Bimbo undergoes a trial
Directed by	Dave Fleischer
Produced by	Max Fleischer
Starring	Margie Hines Walter Van Brunt[1]
Music by	Sammy Timberg
Animation by	Grim Natwick Jimmy Culhane (uncredited) Al Eugster (uncredited)
Color process	Black-and-white
Production company	Fleischer Studios
Distributed by	Paramount Publix Corporation
Release date	July 24, 1931 (1931-07-24)
Running time	6 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Bimbo's Initiation is a 1931 Fleischer Studios Talkartoon animated short film starring Bimbo and featuring an early version of Betty Boop with a dog's ears and nose.^[2] It was the final Betty Boop cartoon to be animated by the character's co-creator, Grim Natwick, prior to his departure for Ub Iwerks' studio.

Plot

During the opening credits, a chorus of college fraternity brothers boasts how easily they will induct Bimbo. Bimbo walks down the street whistling "Go In and Out the Window" and suddenly disappears down an open manhole. A Mickey Mouse look-alike quickly locks the manhole after him.^[3] He slides down a long chute into the underground clubhouse of a secret society. The leader asks Bimbo if he would like to be a member, but Bimbo refuses and is sent through a series of dangerous trials. After each trial the leader repeats the invitation, but Bimbo still refuses. Finally the leader removes his costume to reveal Betty Boop, who charms Bimbo with a dance. Bimbo accepts the invitation, and the other members of the society reveal that they are also Betty. They all celebrate by dancing to the tune of Byron Gay's "The Vamp".

Analysis and recognitions

The surreal, nightmarish atmosphere of Bimbo's Initiation has made it one of the most renowned Fleischer Studios shorts. Leonard Maltin described it as "the 'darkest' of all"^[4] the Fleischers' cartoons. In 1994 it was voted #37 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation industry.^[5]

The cartoonist Jim Woodring identified Bimbo's Initiation as "one of the things that laid the foundation for my life's philosophy".^[6]

Copyright status

The film's copyright was renewed in 1958.^[7]

References

1. Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices from the Golden Age, 1930-70. BearManor Media. p. 330. ISBN 979-8-88771-010-5.
2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 142. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
3. Birth of an Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation by Nicholas Sammond, p. 175
4. Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (New York: Plume Books, 1980), 98.
5. Beck, Jerry (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Turner Publishing. ISBN 978-1878685490.
6. Groth, Gary. "Jim Woodring Interview". The Comics Journal #164 (December 1993), p. 83.
7. "List of Fleischer/Famous Studio Active Copyright Statuses (1927 - 1949) · the Internet Animation Database · About".

External links

• Bimbo's Initiation on the IMDb
• Bimbo's Initiation at the Big Cartoon Database
• Bimbo's Initiation on YouTube
• The song Wanna Be a Member? is a parody written to the tune of the 1919 song The Vamp (or Vamp a Little Lady).