Bimbo (known as Bimbo The Pup) is a fat, black and white cartoon pup created by Fleischer Studios. He is most well known for his role in the Betty Boop 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 series, Bimbo from the Fleischer Studios' Betty Boop cartoons 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
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 protagonist Koko the Clown 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, where a prototypical Bimbo says "Follow the ball and join in, everybody!"
Bimbo 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. 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 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 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.
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.
Similarities in other media
In 1932, a character created by Walter Lantz Productions, 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.
Filmography
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Title
!Director
! Release Date
!Distributor
!Film
!Notes
|-
| Hot Dog
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer
| align="center" | 1930-03-29
| rowspan="71" |Paramount Publix Corporation
|thumbtime=28|250px
|
|-
|La Paloma
| align="center" |1930-04-12
|
|
|-
| Fire Bugs
|Dave Fleischer & Fred Sears
| align="center" | 1930-05-09
|thumbtime=26|250px
|
|-
|In the Good Old Summer Time
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" |
|
|
|-
| Dizzy Dishes
|Dave Fleischer & Grim Natwick
| align="center" | 1930-08-09
|thumbtime=10|250px
|First appearance Of Bimbo with Betty Boop
|-
| Barnacle Bill
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer & Rudy Zamora
| align="center" | 1930-08-31
|thumbtime=13|250px
|
|-
|The Stein Song
| align="center" |1930-09-06
|
|
|-
| Swing You Sinners!
|Dave Fleischer & Ted Sears
| align="center" | 1930-09-24
|thumbtime=22|250px
|Inspired by the song "Sing You Sinners."
|-
|Strike Up the Band
|Dave Fleischer & Al Eugster
| align="center" |1930-09-26
|
|
|-
| Grand Uproar
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" | 1930-10-03
|thumbtime=12|250px
|
|-
|My Gal Sal
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" |1930-10-18
|
|
|-
| Sky Scraping
|Dave Fleischer & Ted Sears
| align="center" | 1930-11-01
|thumbtime=26|250px
|
|-
| Up to Mars
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer & Rudy Zamora
| align="center" | 1930-11-20
|thumbtime=14|250px
|
|-
|On a Sunday Afternoon
| align="center" |1930-11-29
|
|
|-
| Accordion Joe
|Dave Fleischer & Grim Natwick
| align="center" | 1930-12-12
|thumbtime=21|250px
|
|-
|Row, Row, Row
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" |1930-12-20
|
|
|-
| Mysterious Mose
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1930-12-26
|thumbtime=11|250px
|
|-
|Please Go 'Way and Let Me Sleep
|Dave Fleischer & Grim Natwick
| align="center" |1931-01-10
|
|
|-
| Ace of Spades
|Dave Fleischer & Rudy Zamora
| align="center" | 1931-01-16
|
|
|-
| Tree Saps
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer & Grim Natwick
| align="center" | 1931-02-03
|
|
|-
| Teacher's Pest
| align="center" | 1931-02-07
|
|
|-
|I'd Climb the Highest Mountain
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" |1931-03-07
|
|
|-
| The Cow's Husband
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" | 1931-03-13
|
|
|-
|Somebody Stole My Gal
|Dave Fleischer & George Cannata
| align="center" |1931-03-20
|
|
|-
| The Bum Bandit
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1931-04-03
|
|
|-
| The Male Man
|Dave Fleischer & Ted Sears
| align="center" | 1931-04-24
|
|
|-
| Twenty Legs Under the Sea
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1931-05-05
|
|
|-
|Alexander's Ragtime Band
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" |1931-05-09
|
|
|-
| Silly Scandals
|Dave Fleischer & Grim Natwick
| align="center" | 1931-05-23
|
|
|-
|My Wife's Gone to the Country
|Dave Fleischer
| align="center" |1931-05-31
|
|
|-
| The Herring Murder Case
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" | 1931-06-26
|
|
|-
| Bimbo's Initiation
|Dave Fleischer & Grim Natwick
| align="center" | 1931-07-24
|
|
|-
| Bimbo's Express
|Dave Fleischer
| align="center" | 1931-08-22
|
|
|-
| Minding the Baby
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" | 1931-09-26
|
|
|-
|Little Annie Rooney
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer
| align="center" |1931-10-10
|
|
|-
| In the Shade of the Old Apple Sauce
| align="center" | 1931-10-16
|Lost Media
|
|-
| Mask-A-Raid
|Dave Fleischer & Al Eugster
| align="center" | 1931-11-07
|
|
|-
|By the Light of the Silvery Moon
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" |1931-11-14
|
|
|-
| Jack and the Beanstalk
|Dave Fleischer
| align="center" | 1931-11-21
|
|
|-
| Dizzy Red Riding Hood
|Dave Fleischer & Grim Natwick
| align="center" | 1931-12-12
|
|
|-
| Any Rags?
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1932-01-12
|
|
|-
| Boop-Oop-a-Doop
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer
| align="center" | 1932-01-16
|
|
|-
| The Robot
| align="center" | 1932-02-05
|
|
|-
|Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" |
|
|
|-
| Minnie the Moocher
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1932-02-26
|
|Features Cab Calloway
|-
| Swim or Sink (S.O.S.)
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" | 1932-03-11
|
|
|-
| Crazy Town
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" | 1932-03-25
|
|
|-
| The Dancing Fool
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" | 1932-04-08
|
|
|-
| Chess-Nuts
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" | 1932-04-13
|
|
|-
| A Hunting We Will Go
|Dave Fleischer & Al Eugster
| align="center" | 1932-04-29
|
|
|-
|Let Me Call You Sweetheart
|Dave Fleischer & Shamus Culhane
| align="center" |1932-05-20
|
|
|-
| Hide and Seek
|Dave Fleischer & Roland Crandall
| align="center" | 1932-05-26
|
|
|-
| Admission Free
|Dave Fleischer & Thomas Johnson
| align="center" | 1932-06-10
|
|
|-
| The Betty Boop Limited
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1932-07-01
|
|
|-
|Stopping the Show
|Dave Fleischer & Roland Crandall
| align="center" |
|
|
|-
| Betty Boop's Bizzy Bee
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" | 1932-08-19
|
|
|-
| Betty Boop, M.D.
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1932-09-02
|
|
|-
|Betty Boop's Ups and Downs
| align="center" |1932-10-14
|
|
|-
|Romantic Melodies
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" |1932-10-21
|
|
|-
|Betty Boop for President
| align="center" |1932-11-04
|
|
|-
|I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" |1932-11-25
|
|
|-
|Betty Boop's Museum
|Dave Fleischer & William Henning
| align="center" |1932-12-16
|
|
|-
| Snow White
|Dave Fleischer & Roland Crandall
| align="center" | 1933-03-31
|
|
|-
| Betty Boop's Ker-Choo
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" | 1933-01-06
|
|
|-
|Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" |1933-01-27
|
|
|-
|Is My Palm Read
|Dave Fleischer & Dave Tendlar
| align="center" |1933-02-17
|
|
|-
| Betty Boop's Penthouse
|Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" | 1933-03-10
|
|
|-
| Betty Boop's Birthday Party
|Dave Fleischer & Seymour Kneitel
| align="center" | 1933-04-21
|
|
|-
| Betty Boop's May Party
|Dave Fleischer & Dave Tendlar
| align="center" | 1933-05-12
|
|
|-
|Song Shopping
| rowspan="2" |Dave Fleischer & Willard Bowsky
| align="center" |1933-05-19
|
|
|-
|Betty Boop's I Heard
| align="center" | 1933-09-01
|
|
|}