Poob Eht Nioj

Back before Betty Boop was made over as an attractive "It Girl" she served as the butterfaced canine girlfriend of a cartoon funny animal known as Bimbo, named as such because he was kind of stupid. Today the perjorative Bimbo normally refers to an airheaded female but it used to apply exclusively to less-than-intelligent males.

Bimbo starred in many cartoons before the much sexier and more adult Betty Boop took over the entire show and Bimbo was thrown into limbo. You can't call yourself an aficionado of animation if you have never seen Bimbo and his pals in action.

Bimbo's Initiation is a classic cartoon released in 1931 and it is one trippy, surreal nightmare. Bimbo is kidnapped and forced to endure a labyrinth of torture in order to escape his fate. With the advent of interactive entertainment in a later era this same theme is the basic plot of every video game ever made. I won't spoil the ending, but basically it involves sex.

In the animation style of the time the characters can't hold still and jerk and twitch uncontrollably as if they are barely able to restrain themselves from leaping at your throat. The inanimate objects in every scene throb with sadistic menace and evil glee. I can't imagine any children in the theatre back then not being traumatized by the imagery in this toon. Cinema fans will quickly recognize some scenes and elements as showing up in later animation and films, particularly one that was homaged in the Twilight Zone movie from several years back.

You can watch Bimbo's Initiation at Vintage Tooncast. Keep the lights on.

Tags: Animation Betty Boop