Bimbo is a fat, black and white

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

pup created by

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was 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 in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

. He is most well known for his role in the

Betty Boop Betty Boop is a cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She originally appeared in the '' Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pic ...

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 animated film series of the silent era. It was produced by Max Fleischer from 1918 to 1929 and was called ''The Inkwell Imps'' at the end of that period. History The series was the result of three short ...

'' series.

History

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

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

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

Koko the Clown Koko the Clown is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer. His first appearance 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 adven ...

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!", typically shortened to "My Old Kentucky Home", is a sentimental ballad and regional anthem of Kentucky. It was written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firt ...

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

and star of Fleischer's ''

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

'' series, positioned as a rival to

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

, making his first named appearance as Bimbo in ''

Hot Dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

'' (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!'', '' Minnie the Moocher'' 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-c ...

''. 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 th ...

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 governmen ...

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 to ...

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'' 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 William Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor, musician and singer. He provided the voice of Petrie in the 1988 animated film '' The Land Before Time''. He was also known for his voice work as Eugene Meltsner in t ...

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 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972, and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures. The studio was originally formed as Universal Carto ...

, a dog named Pooch the Pup 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 Animated characters introduced in 1930 Film characters introduced in 1930 Comedy film characters