Bimbo

Mysterious Mose (in Mysterious Mose)

Bimbo's Children

**Bimbo** is one of the main characters in the Talkartoons series, and the most reoccuring, appearing in 37 out of 42 cartoons. He first appeared in Hot Dog, but his first appearance in any Fleischer Studios was in the Screen Songs cartoon, Bedelia. His last appearance in Talkartoons was The Betty Boop Limited, and in any cartoon, I Heard, from the Betty Boop series. He was voiced by Billy Murray.

## History

Bimbo was created in 1929 to replace Out of the Inkwell's character Fitz, and appeared in the Screen Songs series and Talkartoons series often. He went through many different designs, and even appeared as a cat in the 1932 Screen Song, *Wait Till the Sun Shines*, *Nellie*. He appeared with many different girlfriends and wives throughout the two series, but Betty Boop was the most common of them. He made his final appearance in Talkartoons in The Betty Boop Limited. After Talkartoons ended, he appeared in the Betty Boop series along with Ko-Ko the Clown until the cartoon, I Heard, because his interspecies-relation with Betty was considered to risque during the time, which was not allowed after the Hays Code went into effect. He did not appear in any cartoons until the 1989 animated movie, The Betty Boop Movie Mystery. He later appeared in the 2016 Betty Boop comic, although he was not in a romantic relationship with Betty.

## Design

Bimbo has went through multiple designs in the cartoons he appeared in.

His very first design was used in the Screen Songs *Bedelia* and *Prisoner's Song*. He was white, short, and had a pompadour.

His second design was used in the Screen Songs *I'm Afraid to Go Home in the Dark* and *La Paloma*. He had a large bowler hat, a large head, and a small body.

His third design was used in Hot Dog, Fire Bugs, Tree Saps, The Cow's Husband, The Male Man, Twenty Legs Under the Sea, Silly Scandals, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Robot, and Hide and Seek. He was tall, lanky and white. He sometimes sported a bowler hat.

His fourth design was used in Dizzy Dishes, Barnacle Bill, and Ace of Spades. He looked like he did in his first design, but he was black. Only his face was white.

His fifth design was used in Swing You Sinners and Grand Uproar. He was the same as the fourth design, but shorter.

His sixth design was used in Sky Scraping. Up to Mars, Mysterious Mose, and Teacher's Pest. He wore a different hat, he had more white on his face, and he was even shorter.

His seventh design was used in the Screen Song *Mariutch*. He wore a hat, overalls with patches, and he had a handlebar mustache.

His eighth design was used in The Bum Bandit. He looked like his third design, but had the height of his fifth design and his fur was darker.

His ninth design was used in the remaining cartoons starting with The Herring Murder Case. This is his most known design. He looked much different from his other designs, and looked more like a dog.

His tenth design was used in the Screen Song *Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie*. His design was identical to his ninth design, except that since he was a cat in this cartoon, he had a tail.

## Filmography

1. *Hot Dog* (1930-03-29)
2. *Fire Bugs* (1930-05-09)
3. *Dizzy Dishes* (1930-08-09)
4. *Barnacle Bill* (1930-08-31)
5. *Swing You Sinners!* (1930-09-24)
6. *Grand Uproar* (1930-10-03)
7. *Sky Scraping* (1930-11-01)
8. *Up to Mars* (1930-11-20)
9. *Accordion Joe* (1930-12-12) (possibly)
10. *Mysterious Mose* (1930-12-26)
11. *Ace of Spades* (1931-01-16)
12. *Tree Saps* (1931-02-03)
13. *Teacher's Pest* (1931-02-07)
14. *The Cow's Husband* (1931-03-13)
15. *The Bum Bandit* (1931-04-03)
16. *The Male Man* (1931-04-24)
17. *Twenty Legs Under the Sea* (1931-05-05)
18. *Silly Scandals* (1931-05-23)
19. *The Herring Murder Case* (1931-06-26)
20. *Bimbo's Initiation* (1931-07-24)
21. *Bimbo's Express* (1931-08-22)
22. *Minding the Baby* (1931-09-26)
23. *Mask-A-Raid* (1931-11-07)
24. *Jack and the Beanstalk* (1931-11-21)
25. *Dizzy Red Riding Hood* (1931-12-12)
26. *Any Rags?* (1932-01-02)
27. *Boop-Oop-a-Doop* (1932-01-16)
28. *The Robot* (1932-02-05)
29. *Minnie the Moocher* (1932-02-26)
30. *Swim or Sink* (1932-03-11)
31. *Crazy Town* (1932-03-25)
32. *The Dancing Fool* (1932-04-08)
33. *Chess-Nuts* (1932-04-13)
34. *A Hunting We Will Go* (1932-04-29)
35. *Hide and Seek* (1932-05-26)
36. *Admission Free* (1932-06-10)
37. *The Betty Boop Limited* (1932-07-01)