Bimbo's Initiation



"We are the members of Do-It-Or-Die! Dee-I, Dee-I, Dee-I! Watch us make Bimbo, as easy as pie! Dee-I, Dee-I, Dee-I! We are, tough you bet! Filled with college pep! Bring him on, we cry! Dee-I, Dee-I, Dee-I! B! I! M! B! O! BIMBO!"

- The opening song.

Voted No. 37 on The 50 Greatest Cartoons list, Bimbo's Initiation is a 1931 Fleischer Studios short in the Talkartoons series, centered on the cartoon dog Bimbo (with a few appearances of ), who happens to be a victim of an underground cult called Do-It-or-Die, who for whatever reason want him to "be a member", forcing him to go through a series of life-threatening situations. Hilarity naturally ensues.

This short is in the public domain and can be viewed here.

""Hello May! I've got a bone to pick with you!""
 * Animation Bump: Several scenes in this short have moving backgrounds.
 * By the Lights of Their Eyes
 * Deranged Animation
 * Dem Bones: The skeleton that pops up in one of the doors pictured above--who happens to be talking to a friend.


 * Early Installment Weirdness: 's Art Evolution wasn't quite completed yet.
 * Gainax Ending:
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Well, if there was a radar to dodge in the first place during the early 1930s. The crap in question is a burning rope, which was a recurring gag in the early Fleischer cartoons. Some have speculated that it's a visual metaphor for burning weed. Which wouldn't be too hard to assume, considering this is the Fleischers we're talking about here.
 * Interspecies Romance: Between Bimbo and -- or perhaps not, as  still has puppy dog ears at this point, and may be intended to be a dog.
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: The mouse that puts a lock over the manhole that Bimbo falls into looks suspiciously like a more famous mouse who was just becoming popular at the time...
 * Random Events Plot
 * Rubber Hose Limbs: Which look especially strange on.
 * Shout-Out: Those doors or doors very like them show up in Forbidden Zone.
 * Unfortunate Name: Of the linguistic drift variety. Back in the 1930s, "Bimbo" was slang for "tough guy."