Bimbo's Initiation

Anyone familiar with the history of animation knows the name of Grim Natwick, responsible for one of cinema's greatest short cartoons in the history of film, July 1931's "Bimbo's Initiation." Natwick's legendary career is most recognizable in Walt Disney's 1937 "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" where he was the lead animator in the first feature film cartoon. Earlier, he was responsible for designing Betty Boop, one of 1930s most popular on-screen animated characters. Max Fleischer, president of Fleischer Studio, said he wanted a girlfriend for his popular cartoon dog Bimbo, so Natwick came up with the flapper nightclub singer sporting a pug nose and dog ears. From Betty's introduction in August 1930 "Dizzy Dishes" to July 1931's "Bimbo's Initiation," Natwick was in charge of Betty's look in the ten cartoons she appeared with Bimbo.

The Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin-native had a knack for drawing at an early age. He specialized in sheet music cover art after graduating from New York City's National Academy of Design. Future film director Gregory La Cava (1936 "My Man Godfrey"), a school chum of Natwick's, first suggested the artist go into the film cartoon business at William Randolph Hearst's animation studios where La Cava was the supervisor. He did, launching a fifty-year career in the animation field. He worked for several cartoon studios, including Fleischer's, Ub Iwerks', where he animated a number of "Flip The Frog" cartoons and ran Ub's studio, and Walt Disney's, becoming the head animator for his "Snow White" production.

As he was was drawing "Bimbo's Initiation," Natwick knew it was the last cartoon he would sketch Betty Boop and her boyfriend dog. Fleischer Studio assigned him to other projects, so he wanted his final Bimbo effort to go out with a bang. It turned out "Bimbo's Initiation" has been acknowledged as one of cartoons' greatest works. The surreal-like short has the pup falling through a manhole into a secret society's underground clubhouse. Throughout his attempts to escape, he asked by its leader of its freaky-appearing membership club if he wants to join. After several minutes of heart-pounding sequences, including Betty's surprise appearance, the cartoon ends in a complete surprise as to whom belongs to this society. Voted #37 in the 'Fifty Greatest Cartoons' ranked by professional animators, "Bimbo's Initiation" had been credited by cartoonist Jim Woodring (the creator of "Jim" magazine) as "one of the things that laid the foundation for my life's philosophy."

Natwick's career reads like a "Who's Who" in drawing circles, not only originating Betty Boop, but also animating Mickey Mouse in 1940 Disney's "Fantasia," Mr. Magoo, Popeye, Felix the Cat, among a host of other characters. He lived to be 100, and is remembered by the South Wood County Historical Museum in his hometown of Wisconsin Rapids showcasing many of his works.

"Bimbo's Initiation" is a gem of a cartoon. It captures the surreal quality of a nightmare-- but the disturbing quality is outweighed by the humor.

This is the strange rubbery universe of the Fleischer Brothers at it's best. This is one of the very few cartoons that I can enjoy watching again and again.

As I watched "Bimbo's Initiation", I was surprised how good the cartoon was as well as how inappropriate it was for younger audiences! In a strangely surreal film, the Fleischer Studio managed to appeal and repel two different audiences! However, despite the title, Bimbo is a dog--Betty Boop's friend and companion--so the film is NOT adult in this regard!

The film begins with Bimbo walking down the street when he's tossed down a manhole by a BRIEF appearance of a character that looks exactly like Mickey Mouse! However, he comes and goes so fast--probably so that they wouldn't get sued for using this Disney character! But, since we are in the age of DVDs and computers, stop and look--it IS Mickey!

Bimbo falls down this tunnel into a fun-house like world where he is constantly being asked if he wanted to join some secret society or cult. When he says no, they appear to try to kill him in many weird and funny ways. None of it is cute--mostly it looks like a film directed by or inspired by Salvador Dali or a man on LSB (is there a difference?). You just have to see it to understand what I mean. However, if all Betty Boop cartoons were this bizarrely entertaining, I'd seek them out--but unfortunately they are not.

FYI--This movie was recently listed by Crack Online on their list of Five Cartoons Way Darker Than Most Horror Movies. And, based on what I saw, I would agree.

This is a BImbo cartoon and quite an odd one it is too. Betty Boop makes a relatively brief appearance towards the latter half of the short and at the end and her look is slighly different in this early short. Exceedingly strange things happen throughout to say the least! Great fun but definitely an acquired taste. In print and available. Well worth watching. Recommended.

Bimbo's Initiation (1931): An early Max Fleischer cartoon starring the studio's pre-Betty Boop star, Bimbo. A strange, cocky, decidedly urban character, Bimbo went through many character designs and voices during his early films. By this film the little dog had settled into the design he would keep until he was eclipsed by Betty Boop's popularity in the mid-thirties . Like many of the Fleischer's Depression era cartoons, "Bimbo's Initiation" is filled with desperate characters dealing with an unstable, even hostile universe. After being swallowed by a manhole and locked in by a demonic Mickey Mouse (evil Mickey Mouses were rampant in the early Fleischer cartoons) Bimbo finds himself in a dungeon inhabited by a psuedo-Masonic group with chamberpots on their heads who chant,"Wanna be a member, Wanna be a member?" When Bimbo refuses, he is thrown into a labyrinth filled with surrealistic tortures while the Lodge brothers continue to chant, "Wanna be a member...?" Does Bimbo relent? Watch the cartoon and find out! No spoilers here!