Perry Kate
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Phonearl
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Supelice
Dreadfully Boring
Catangro
After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Bimbo's Initiation" is a black-and-white sound cartoon from almost 85 years ago done by the legendary Dave Fleischer / Fleischer Studios. In this one, Bimbo is the star and Betty only plays a supporting part. Bimbo gets invited by a bunch of mysterious men to join their even more mysterious group. Wanne be a member? Wanna be a member? And even if he refuses to, it seems like he has to go through a great ordeal, many dangerous and scary challenges in order to be accepted. however, in the end he quickly changes his mind when we see that all the mysterious men were actually all Betty Boop in disguise. Really strange cartoon, and unfortunately not too funny except one or two occasions. Not recommended.
MartinHafer
As I watched "Bimbo's Initiation", I was surprised how good the cartoon was as well as how inappropriate it was for younger audiences! In a strangely surreal film, the Fleischer Studio managed to appeal and repel two different audiences! However, despite the title, Bimbo is a dog--Betty Boop's friend and companion--so the film is NOT adult in this regard!The film begins with Bimbo walking down the street when he's tossed down a manhole by a BRIEF appearance of a character that looks exactly like Mickey Mouse! However, he comes and goes so fast--probably so that they wouldn't get sued for using this Disney character! But, since we are in the age of DVDs and computers, stop and look--it IS Mickey!Bimbo falls down this tunnel into a fun-house like world where he is constantly being asked if he wanted to join some secret society or cult. When he says no, they appear to try to kill him in many weird and funny ways. None of it is cute--mostly it looks like a film directed by or inspired by Salvador Dali or a man on LSB (is there a difference?). You just have to see it to understand what I mean. However, if all Betty Boop cartoons were this bizarrely entertaining, I'd seek them out--but unfortunately they are not.FYI--This movie was recently listed by Crack Online on their list of Five Cartoons Way Darker Than Most Horror Movies. And, based on what I saw, I would agree.
Michael_Elliott
Bimbo's Initiation (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Marginally entertaining short has Bimbo falling down a manhole where he ends up in a strange playhouse where some masked people keep asking him if he wants to be a member of their group. Each time he says no they put him through some form of abuse but soon Betty Boop shows up and asks him the same question. In terms of imagination this short has quite a bit of that but in terms of laughs there are very few. I think the film works best as some eye candy because the house is a pretty interesting one and at least keeps the movie going at a good speed. I thought all the tricks were rather clever and this includes the rolling floor and the sequence where Bimbo has to open one door after another. I think the highlight is without question the cameo by Boop and there's no doubt that this short was made before the Hayes Code. The level of pre-code sexuality is quite high as it's obvious Boop is having quite the effect on poor Bimbo who can't control himself. The scenes with Boop shaking her butt and slapping it are hard to forget and easy to see what's going on.
froggy-34
"Bimbo's Initiation" is a gem of a cartoon. It captures the surreal quality of a nightmare-- but the disturbing quality is outweighed by the humor.This is the strange rubbery universe of the Fleischer Brothers at it's best. This is one of the very few cartoons that I can enjoy watching again and again.