He starred in several famous cartoon shorts of the 1930s, most notably Swing You Sinners!, Minnie the Moocher and Bimbo's Initiation.īimbo 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.Īfter 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. The name Bimbo was chosen because in the 1920s the word was mostly associated with men who liked to fight. 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, where a prototypical Bimbo says 'Follow the ball and join in, everybody!' Betty Boop and Bimbo seen together in Minnie the Moocher (1932).īimbo later became the protagonist and star of Fleischer's Talkartoons series, positioned as a rival to Disney's Mickey Mouse, making his first named appearance as Bimbo in Hot Dog (1930), though Bimbo's design would not become standardized until around 1931. A precursor design of Bimbo, originally named Fitz, first appeared in the Out of the Inkwell series.īimbo 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 protagonist Koko the Clown a canine companion. He is most well known for his role in the Betty Boop cartoon series, where he featured as Betty's main love interest. Bimbo as seen in Bimbo's Initiation (1931)ĭrummer ('Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery')īimbo is a fat, black and white cartoon pup created by Fleischer Studios.

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