Bimbo (Fleischer Studios)
 | This article needs more citations. (September 2026) |
| Bimbo | |
|---|---|
| Talkartoons/Betty Boop character | |
 Bimbo as seen in Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions (1933) | |
First appearance | "Bedelia" (1930) |
Last appearance | "The Betty Boop Movie Mystery" (1989) |
| Created by | |
| Designed by |
|
| Voiced by |
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| In-universe information | |
| Species | Dog |
| Gender | Male |
Significant other | Betty Boop (girlfriend) |
Bimbo (known as Bimbo The Pup) is a fictional anthropomorphic dog created by animators Max Fleischer, Grim Natwick[3] Sid Marcus[4] and Dick Huemer for Fleischer Studios. He is best known for his role in the Betty Boop cartoon series, where he featured as Betty's main love interest.[5] He is described as a generic dog, or a mix of Pug, Boston Terrier, and Bulldog, and was not based on a specific breed. While the early versions of Bimbo varied, the most recognizable appearance is that of a short, round, black dog.
History
[edit]Bimbo was initially inspired by animation director Dick Huemer's work on Mutt and Jeff, who, when working on the Out of the Inkwell series, decided to give Out of the Inkwell protagonist Koko the Clown a canine companion named Fitz.[6]
Bimbo made his first appearance in Hot Dog (1930) as the protagonist and star of Fleischer's Talkartoons series.[7] He was gradually developed into an amoral everyman to compete with Walt Disney Productions' Mickey Mouse, allowing the character to become popular while Koko the Clown languished in legal turmoil over rights issues.[citation needed] He starred in several famous cartoon shorts of the 1930s, most notably Swing You Sinners!, Minnie the Moocher and Bimbo's Initiation, eventually reuniting with Koko when Albert Weiss gave up rights to the character.
Bimbo was later paired with Betty Boop, a female dog similar to Minnie Mouse, who gained unexpected stardom and popularity to the point Bimbo and Koko were overshadowed.
After Hays Code censorship rules began to strictly get enforced in 1934, Bimbo disappeared from future Fleischer cartoons of the era, due to the implications of an anthropomorphic dog dating a human girlfriend being considered too risqué. Coupled with the fact that everymen like Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Bosko lost their appeal to the audience, Bimbo was quickly retired in 1933 in favor of the Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor series,[8] According to Myron Waldman the character of Pudgy would be created as a replacement for Bimbo the Dog due to his hatred for Bimbo stating:
Bimbo was a big mutt and he spoke and he didn't go well with Betty Boop, you know. I never liked him.
— Betty Boop: The Queen of Cartoons
Revival
[edit]About 56 years after his first absence from cartoons, Bimbo made a reappearance in 1989 as a major co-star in the TV special The Betty Boop Movie Mystery and in First Publishing's 1990 comic Betty Boop's Big Break with more of his original personality intact as a love interest of Betty. He has continued to appear in various Betty Boop merchandise since then and has been reestablished as a mainstay of the series.
In 2016, he appeared in Dynamite's Betty Boop comic mini-series as Betty's best friend with a secret crush on her. He later appeared in the iOS game Betty Boop Dance Card in a 3D look, also voiced by Will Ryan.
Filmography
[edit]All films were directed by Dave Fleischer.
| Title | Animation | Release Date | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedelia | Unknown | 1930-01-04 | |
| I'm Afraid to Go Home in the Dark | 1930-01-30 | ||
| The Prisoner's Song | 1930-03-01 | ||
| Hot Dog | 1930-03-29 | ||
| La Paloma | 1930-04-12 | ||
| Fire Bugs | Ted Sears | 1930-05-09 | |
| Dizzy Dishes | Grim Natwick | 1930-08-09 | |
| Barnacle Bill | Rudy Zamora | 1930-08-31 | |
| Swing You Sinners! | Ted Sears | 1930-09-24 | |
| Strike Up the Band | Al Eugster | 1930-09-26 | |
| Grand Uproar | Seymour Kneitel | 1930-10-03 | |
| My Gal Sal | Willard Bowsky | 1930-10-18 | |
| Sky Scraping | Ted Sears | 1930-11-01 | |
| Up to Mars | Rudy Zamora | 1930-11-20 | |
| On a Sunday Afternoon | 1930-11-29 | ||
| Accordion Joe | Grim Natwick | 1930-12-12 | |
| Row, Row, Row | Seymour Kneitel | 1930-12-20 | |
| Mysterious Mose | Willard Bowsky | 1930-12-26 | |
| Ace of Spades | Rudy Zamora | 1931-01-16 | |
| Tree Saps | Grim Natwick | 1931-02-03 | |
| Teacher's Pest | 1931-02-07 | ||
| I'd Climb the Highest Mountain | Seymour Kneitel | 1931-03-07 | |
| The Cow's Husband | Shamus Culhane | 1931-03-13 | |
| Somebody Stole My Gal | George Cannata | 1931-03-20 | |
| The Bum Bandit | Willard Bowsky | 1931-04-03 | |
| The Male Man | Ted Sears | 1931-04-24 | |
| Twenty Legs Under the Sea | Willard Bowsky | 1931-05-05 | |
| Alexander's Ragtime Band | Shamus Culhane | 1931-05-09 | |
| Silly Scandals | Grim Natwick | 1931-05-23 | |
| My Wife's Gone to the Country | Unknown | 1931-05-31 | |
| The Herring Murder Case | Shamus Culhane | 1931-06-26 | |
| Bimbo's Initiation | Grim Natwick | 1931-07-24 | |
| Bimbo's Express | Unknown | 1931-08-22 | |
| Minding the Baby | Shamus Culhane | 1931-09-26 | |
| Little Annie Rooney | Unknown | 1931-10-10 | |
| In the Shade of the Old Apple Sauce | 1931-10-16 | Lost film. | |
| Mask-A-Raid | Al Eugster | 1931-11-07 | |
| By the Light of the Silvery Moon | Seymour Kneitel | 1931-11-14 | |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | Dave Fleischer | 1931-11-21 | |
| Dizzy Red Riding Hood | Grim Natwick | 1931-12-12 | |
| Any Rags? | Willard Bowsky | 1932-01-12 | |
| Boop-Oop-a-Doop | Dave Fleischer | 1932-01-16 | |
| The Robot | 1932-02-05 | ||
| Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie | Seymour Kneitel | ||
| Minnie the Moocher | Willard Bowsky | 1932-02-26 | |
| Swim or Sink (S.O.S.) | Seymour Kneitel | 1932-03-11 | |
| Crazy Town | Shamus Culhane | 1932-03-25 | |
| The Dancing Fool | Seymour Kneitel | 1932-04-08 | |
| Chess-Nuts | Shamus Culhane | 1932-04-13 | |
| A Hunting We Will Go | Al Eugster | 1932-04-29 | |
| Let Me Call You Sweetheart | Shamus Culhane | 1932-05-20 | |
| Hide and Seek | Roland Crandall | 1932-05-26 | |
| Admission Free | Thomas Johnson | 1932-06-10 | |
| The Betty Boop Limited | Willard Bowsky | 1932-07-01 | |
| Stopping the Show | Roland Crandall | ||
| Betty Boop's Bizzy Bee | Seymour Kneitel | 1932-08-19 | |
| Betty Boop, M.D. | Willard Bowsky | 1932-09-02 | |
| Betty Boop's Ups and Downs | 1932-10-14 | ||
| Romantic Melodies | Seymour Kneitel | 1932-10-21 | |
| Betty Boop for President | 1932-11-04 | ||
| I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You | Willard Bowsky | 1932-11-25 | |
| Betty Boop's Museum | William Henning | 1932-12-16 | |
| Snow White | Roland Crandall | 1933-03-31 | |
| Betty Boop's Ker-Choo | Seymour Kneitel | 1933-01-06 | |
| Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions | Willard Bowsky | 1933-01-27 | |
| Is My Palm Read | Dave Tendlar | 1933-02-17 | |
| Betty Boop's Penthouse | Willard Bowsky | 1933-03-10 | |
| Betty Boop's Birthday Party | Seymour Kneitel | 1933-04-21 | |
| Betty Boop's May Party | Dave Tendlar | 1933-05-12 | |
| Song Shopping | Willard Bowsky | 1933-05-19 | |
| Betty Boop's I Heard | 1933-09-01 |
References
[edit]
- ↑ "1930". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
- ↑ "On the Air Tonight". Ottawa Citizen. May 20, 1932.
- ↑ Worth, Stephen (May 7, 2024). "Exhibit: Grim Natwick In New York". AnimationResources.org. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Hot Dog (1930)". The Internet Animation Database. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall. pp. 28-29. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ↑ "The Dog Days". Fleischer Studios. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
- ↑ Solomon, Charles (1994). The History of Animation: Enchanted Drawings. Outlet Books Company. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-394-54684-1.
- ↑ Collins, Elle (October 7, 2016). "A Quick Primer On Betty Boop And Her World". ComicsAlliance.