Sunday, March 15, 2020

'Bimbo's Initiation' is nightmarish fun

Bimbo's Initiation (1931)
Starring: Billy Murray (voice of Bimbo) and Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A secret society wants Bimbo to join their ranks, and its members won't take no for an answer.


"Bimbo's Initiation" is another one of those 1930s cartoons that starts goofy, turns weird, and dives headlong into the nightmarishly insane before its over. It's also an extremely funny. Further, even by today's standards, this 90-year-old cartoon features some very impressive, almost 3D-feeling animation of Bimbo's trek through the bizarre house of horrors the secret society traps him in after he turns them down. The film's best gag comes at the very end, though, when Bimbo is made an offer to join that no male can refuse!

This fun and freaky cartoon is sure to brighten your day, as well as make you marvel at how it can be so creepy and so amusing at the same time. If you have an interest in pop culture, you'll find added value in the fact that this film is one of the last times Betty Boop appeared in her original anthropomorphic poodle-like form, as well as one of the last time Bimbo had a leading role. Soon, Betty would be redesigned into the character we know today, and Bimbo would be relegated to ever-smaller parts until vanishing from the series entirely in 1934.

Please take a few minutes to enjoy "Bimbo's Initiation", right here in this post. You're also invited to leave comments here if you agree or disagree with my comments, or have an observation you wish to make.


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