Bimbo is a fat, black and white

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

pup created by

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

. He is most well known for his role in the

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

cartoon series, where he featured as Betty's main love interest. A precursor design of Bimbo, originally named Fitz, first appeared in the ''

Out of the Inkwell ''Out of the Inkwell'' is an American major animated series of the silent era produced by Max Fleischer from 1918 to 1929. History The series was the result of three short experimental films that Max Fleischer independently produced from 191 ...

'' series.

History

Bimbo was initially inspired by animation director Dick Huemer's work on ''

Mutt and Jeff ''Mutt and Jeff'' was a long-running and widely popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns". It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newsp ...

'', who, when working on the ''Out of the Inkwell'' series, decided to give protagonist

Koko the Clown Koko the Clown is an animated character created by Max Fleischer. He first appeared as the main protagonist in ''Out of the Inkwell'' (1918-1929), a major animated series of the silent era. Throughout the series, he goes on many adventures with hi ...

a canine companion. Bimbo has the distinction of being the first known cartoon character in history to ever have fully animated dialogue, as seen in the 1926 short ''

My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sl ...

'', where a prototypical Bimbo says ''"Follow the ball and join in, everybody!"'' Betty and Bimbo

Bimbo later became the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

and star of Fleischer's ''

Talkartoons ''Talkartoons'' is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1932. History For the Fleischer brothers, the transition to sound was relatively easy. With the new contrac ...

'' series, positioned as a rival to

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

, making his first named appearance as Bimbo in ''

Hot Dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...

'' (1930), though Bimbo's design would not become standardized until around 1931. The name Bimbo was chosen because in the 1920s the word was mostly associated with men who liked to fight. He starred in several famous cartoon shorts of the 1930s, most notably ''

Swing You Sinners! ''Swing You Sinners!'' is a 1930 animated cartoon short, produced by Fleischer Studios as part of the ''Talkartoons'' series. The cartoon is notable for its surreal, dark, and abstract content. Plot Bimbo is seen late at night, trying to stea ...

'', ''

Minnie the Moocher "Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz- scat song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over a million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed (" scat") lyrics (for example, "Hi De Hi De Hi ...

'' and ''

Bimbo's Initiation ''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. It was the final Betty Boop cartoon to be animated by the character's co- ...

''. Bimbo became a less prominent character after his girlfriend Betty Boop gained unexpected stardom and popularity with fans, with the ''Talkartoons'' cartoon retooled to give her top billing as the ''Betty Boop'' series in 1932. After

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

rules began to strictly get enforced in 1934, Bimbo disappeared from future Fleischer cartoons of the era, due to the implications of an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

dog dating a human girlfriend being considered too risqué.

Revival

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''. Then 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.

Similarities in other media

In 1932, a character created by

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

, a dog named

Pooch the Pup Pooch the Pup is a cartoon animal character, an anthropomorphic dog, appearing in Walter Lantz cartoons during the studio's black-and-white era. The character appeared in 13 shorts made in 1932 and 1933. Biography In 1931, Walter Lantz was enco ...

appeared as the star of his own cartoon shorts. Pooch greatly resembled Bimbo's design; in 1933, Pooch was redesigned even further to look more reminiscent of his Betty Boop counterpart.

Partial filmography

References

{{Reflist Fleischer Studios series and characters Television series by U.M. & M. TV Corporation Anthropomorphic dogs Male characters in animation Film characters introduced in 1930 Fictional anthropomorphic characters Comedy film characters