Le bizutage de Bimbo

The Fleischer-produced-and-directed cartoons of the 1930's are tremendously trippy feats of classic animation. 'Bimbo's Initiation,' with its endless creativity and absurdist comedy, is emblematic of these free-spirited films, unafraid to be suggestive, violent, and, most excessively of all, balls-to-the-walls weird and wacky. It's practically unpredictable in its madness, one looney laugh after another assaulting the viewer. Its reputation as one of the most surreal cartoons of its time is well-earned, there is little sense to be had: a spark of fire can dance, a sharp blade can lick its lips, creepy cult members can tear off their skin revealing multiple clones of the stereotypically alluring Betty Boop, etc.

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!

When I watch David Lynch movies, I sometimes think he is showing us his nightmares. I often feel that the Betty Boop canon may be David Fleischer's nightmares. In this one, Bimbo, her little dog is the star. He is walking down the street when he fall in a manhole. He finds himself in some weird meeting of some kind of clan. They keep asking him if he wants to join (they are holding boards with nails in them and other weapons). He says no and this leads to one horrible situation after another where he must try to survive. It's a terrifying world but that is the Fleischer way of doing things. There is also a kind of vibration, a kind of rhythmic dance that goes on in these cartoons. I am enjoying these cartoons, fifty years after I saw them as a kid.

Fleischer were responsible for some brilliant cartoons, some of them still among my favourites. Their visual style was often stunning and some of the most imaginative and ahead of its time in animation.

Despite the Betty Boop picture on this page, 'Bimbo's Initiation' is not a Betty Boop cartoon, or at least not one where she is a lead. She does feature here, towards the end in a very nice short appearance that shows her trademark charm, sensuality and adorable factor, and also a bravery and care for Bimbo.

'Bimbo's Initiation' is, as the cartoon's title indicates, very much a Bimbo cartoon, and Bimbo is on top form where one really cares what happens to him and often feels the same emotions as he.

As always, the animation is outstanding (though Betty's different-to-usual character design, like with the ears, is a touch odd), everything is beautifully and meticulously drawn and the whole cartoon is rich in visual detail and imagination. Every bit as good is the music score, which delivers on the energy, lusciousness and infectiousness but also an ominous spookiness and eerie quality that sets the tone of the cartoon brilliantly.

The cartoon also is hugely atmospheric and while terrifying to a child (Fleischer rarely got nightmarish, and this is coming from someone who saw the likes of 'The Cobweb Hotel') it's pretty creepy still through adult eyes as it should be. There are some great ideas, very imaginatively drawn and done with great visual creativity and fluid timing.

Overall, a great nightmarish cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

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.