Betty Boop (with dog's ears) is entertainer in a restaurant for dogs; a waiter joins the floor show to the neglect of patrons.
Barnacle Bill (Bimbo) is a sailor on a ship that has just come into port. As soon as he can get off the ship, he heads for Nancy Lee's (Betty Boop) house. When he gets there he begins knocking on her door. Bimbo and Betty begin singing the lyrics to a tame version of "Barnacle Bill the Sailor." The actions of the film follow along the song's storyline, with Barnacle Bimbo romancing Betty and then leaving her to go back to sea. Like many early Fleischer Studios films, this film was inspired by a popular song, a version of "Barnacle Bill" written in 1928 by Frank Luther & Carson Robison and performed by Hoagy Carmichael.
Betty is startled awake in her bed on a stormy night. She searches for the cause of the shock while she sings the song. Then, unexplainable phenomena start happening in the house. Mysterious Mose (Bimbo) appears, and sings part of the song. Bizarre cartoon creatures appear and, at first, sing and enhance Mose's "mysterious" image. Quickly, however, the antics become frightful even to Mose. The film escalates into chaos, which ends when Mose bursts, revealing him having been an automaton (full of cogs and springs) the whole time.
Bimbo prepares to rob a train that he has forced to stop. He then sings "The Holdup Rag." A ferocious bearded cowboy emerges, eats the barrel of Bimbo's gun, and, pulling off his beard and costume, reveals himself to in fact be his wife Dangerous Nan McGrew, whom he had abandoned. She then throws Bimbo into the locomotive, disconnects it from the rest of the train, and they drive off.
In a vaudeville act, Betty Boop (with dog's ears) sings "You're Drivin' Me Crazy;" Bimbo sneaks into the show and runs afoul of a stage hypnotist.
Betty Boop (with dog's ears) is moving; Bimbo comes with his moving van and is smitten with her. Songs: "Moving Day," "Hello Beautiful."
Bimbo's minding his baby brother, but neighbor Betty Boop (with dog's ears) wants him to come over and play.
Betty Boop is queen of the Masquerade Ball. She get annoyed by the king of the ball. Bimbo does Italian scatting to confuse the king. Bimbo and the king pull on Betty's arms. Her skirt goes up, showing her underwear and her two garters. But a little creature pins the dress. Then, Betty flips a coin to see if the king or Bimbo wins her affections, but doesn't really work. So the king and bimbo fight with wooden swords. Bimbo loses and is taken away by a knight, but Bimbo soon realizes it is Betty and asks him to marry her.
Betty works in the big top as a lion tamer and a tightrope walker. Another of the other circus attractions is Koko the Clown. While performing on the highwire the villainous ringmaster lusts for Betty as he watches her from below, singing "Do Something," a song previously performed by Helen Kane.
A sinking ship leaves three survivors on a life raft: Bimbo, Koko and Betty Boop. Good news/bad news: they're rescued by a pirate ship...
A live action chess game becomes a chaotic, animated quest for the favors of Betty Boop. Betty comes to life as the black queen and Bimbo becomes the white king. The black king, Old King Cole, wants Betty for himself and carries her away to his castle. Bimbo must come to her rescue, with the assistance of Koko and the other chess pieces. When Bimbo breaks into the castle, he engages Old King Cole in a fight, which results in King Cole's death, with Bimbo, Betty, Koko and the other chess characters parading along the chess board. The two men playing chess are shown to have been playing the game for so long that they grow large beards with a spider in a web between the two beards. The battle contains elements of chess, bowling, football and boxing. Koko appears briefly as part of Bimbo's team of animated chess men.
Amorous hunters Bimbo and Koko set out to bag some furs for coat-loving Betty Boop, but things don't turn out the way they'd planned...
Betty is the owner and operator of the Bizzy Bee, a popular lunchwagon in the city. Even though the only item on the menu is hotcakes, the place is always packed, thanks to Betty's cute face. A running gag centers around a hippo vainly requesting that someone "please pass the sugar;" in the end, he is inundated with sugar.
After a short live action performance by the Royal Samoans, Bimbo appears on screen playing a ukelele while riding in a motorboat. The motorboat goes faster and faster, until it crashes into a tropical island. Bimbo flies into the air and lands in another boat, this one containing a topless (except for a strategically placed lei) and dark-skinned Betty Boop. Bimbo and Betty, after nearly falling down a waterfall, are flung from the boat into a clearing surrounded by hostile trees, who torment the two. A group of savages appears, but Bimbo disguises himself by painting his face and sticking a bone in his hair. Bimbo is treated as an honored guest, and to a performance of Betty dancing the hula. A sudden rainstorm washes off Bimbo's disguise, and he and Betty make a hasty escape from the angry savages. After another rapid boat ride, Bimbo and Betty ride up the Mississippi River, where they attempt to kiss in private behind an umbrella (with a convenient hole).
Betty runs for the office of President against Mr. Nobody.
Betty Boop and Bimbo run away from home, but that night they are scared by a chorus of ghosts singing the title song.
After a live action introduction featuring Louis Armstrong and his orchestra, the short opens in the jungle, with Betty being carried on a litter by Bimbo and Koko. A horde of African savages descends on the trio, and runs off with Betty. Koko and Bimbo try to find the missing Betty, but end up in the cannibals' cooking pot. They climb a tree and escape, but are pursued by the enormous disembodied head of a savage (with the voice of Louis Armstrong). Koko and Bimbo eventually find Betty tied to a stake, surrounded by dancing natives. Koko and Bimbo help Betty escape by firing porcupine quills at the savages. The trio races off, hotly pursued by spear-tossing natives. The three finally reach safety after crossing a mountain, whose erupting peak flings the savages into space.
A magic mirror, with a face resembling Cab Calloway, proclaims Betty Boop to be "the fairest in the land", much to the anger of the Queen. The Queen orders her guards Bimbo and Koko to behead Betty. With tears in their eyes, they take Betty into the forest and prepare to execute her. Betty escapes into a frozen river, which encloses her in a coffin of ice. This block slips downhill to the home of the seven dwarfs, who carry the frozen Betty into an enchanted cave. Meanwhile, Koko falls down a hole and arrives at the same cave, where the evil Queen turns him into a grotesque creature, all while singing the St James Infirmary Blues. With her rivals disposed of, the Queen again asks the magic mirror who the fairest in the land is, but the mirror explodes in a puff of magic smoke that returns Betty and Koko to their normal states and changes the Queen into a hideous monster. The queen monster chases the protagonists until Koko grabs its tongue and, with one mighty yank turns it inside out. Betty, Koko, and Bimbo dance around in a circle of victory as the film ends.
As the cartoon proper begins, a lion on roller skates (made of rabbits) rushes from his guard post atop a mountain, racing into a nearby village crying "Look out! The Old Man of the Mountain!" The lions warning sparks a mass exodus of the other animals who pack up their things and start to flee as the lion continues to warn "Look out! The Old Man of the Mountain!" In time, Betty Boop emerges from a guest house in order to find out what is going on. She confronts a passing owl, who in song describes the Old Man of the Mountain, a predatory hermit who threatens the livelihood of the villagers, particularly the women. Despite the owl's warnings, Betty is curious and declares, "well, I'm going to see that old man of the mountain", and starts a trek up the mountainside. She passes several people fleeing from the Old Man, including a woman pushing a carriage with her triplets--who look suspiciously like the Old Man of the Mountain. When Betty gets to the top of the mountain, the Old Man of the Mountain emerges from behind a rock. Over twice as tall as Betty, the Old Man backs the girl into his cave and, as Betty fights off his advances, begins to sing with her a duet of (Calloway's) "You've Got to Hi-De-Hi." Betty loosens up and joins in, and the two begin to flirt with each other. After his first verse, the Old Man looms menacingly over Betty. "Whatcha gonna do now?" Betty asks, frightened. "Gonna do the best I can," the Old Man replies, launching into a jazzy dance routine. The Old Man and Betty continue to dance together, but when the song is over, the Old Man makes a lustful grab for Betty, who runs for her life back down the mountainside. The Old Man makes chase, and grabs Betty just long enough to catch hold of her dress, which Betty jumps out of. As Betty finds refuge behind a large tree in her underwear, her dress comes to life and slaps the Old Man before running back to its owner. Betty climbs the tree to apparent safety, but as the Old Man comes
Sun bonneted Betty Boop takes a train to "Rudy Valley" where she gains weight and Rudy Vallee performs the title song with Bouncing Ball.
The surreal, nightmarish atmosphere of Bimbo's Initiation has made it one of the most renowned Fleischer Studios shorts. Bimbo is walking down the street when he suddenly disappears down an open manhole. He lands in an underground clubhouse of a secret society. The song Wanna Be A Member? is parody lyrics written to the 1919 song The Vamp (or Vamp A Little Lady).
Bimbo is a mechanic whose girlfriend (not Betty) agrees to marry him if he wins a fight against "One-Round Mike." Quick as a wink, he transforms his car into a robot to help him in the ring!
Betty Boop and Bimbo take a wild streetcar ride to Crazy Town, where birds swim, fish fly, and everything else reverses normal behavior.
Betty, Bimbo and Koko are the owners of a travelling medicine show. They are selling "Jippo", an all-purpose health tonic. Koko's contortionist display doesn't convince the local townsfolk to open their wallets, but Betty gets the whole town eager to buy their product. Even though it's only water, drinking the tonic causes everyone to exhibit strange side-effects, from unusual hair growth to rapid de-aging.
A destitute Betty is evicted from her home. As she leaves, a for sale sign appears on the property. As the camera pulls back, more and more signs appear, until the whole Earth is for sale. The moon and the planets start bidding on the Earth, and argue over who has made the highest bid. An irate Saturn uses a magnet to eliminate gravity, pulling Betty and everyone on Earth into space.
An elephant punctures a rubber tree, whose spraying sap turns the whole town rubbery. Betty and the gang use their new found limberness to dance and sing.
Betty Boop, sleepless on a freezing night, builds a nice hot fire which proves too much of a good thing; in a dream she visits Hell, sings "Hell's Bells, " and makes Hell freeze over!
Betty Boop and Koko dabble in dentistry, complete with laughing gas.
Koko and Bimbo visit Betty Boop's penny arcade, Bimbo to flirt with Betty; but his turn at the shooting gallery becomes a hunting trip.
Koko is recruiting customers for a 50 cent sightseeing tour of the museum. Betty is Koko's only passenger. Betty gets locked inside by accident. The skeletons from the displays come to life and chase Betty, until she is finally rescued by Bimbo.
For customer Betty Boop, psychic reader Prof. Bimbo conjures up an adventure on a haunted tropical island in his crystal ball.
At Bimbo's Experimental Laboratory, Bimbo and Koko concoct a variety of compounds and elixirs. Their scientific experiments are interrupted when they see a bathing-suit clad Betty taking a shower on the roof of her penthouse. Distracted by Betty as she sings "Penthouse Serenade," the two fail to realize the chemicals they've mixed are still on the boil, one of which turns into a Frankenstein-style monster. The creature sees Betty, and crosses over the phone wire to menace Betty. Betty sprays the monster with flower spray, which turns him into a harmless dancing flower. Betty giggles and says, "You nutty dope fiend!"
It's Betty's birthday, but she's in the kitchen washing dishes and wishing she had a man. Betty's pals, including Bimbo and Koko, throw her a party.
Betty, Koko, and Bimbo drive at the auto races; Betty has a cold, and her sneezes help her win.
To the tune of Rubinoff and his orchestra, Betty Boop and feathered friends try to save a baby bird from the booze-swilling Tom Kats Club.
A Bouncing-Ball rendition of the title song features animated cats.
Daredevil sign painters Bimbo and Koko like what they see through the window of Betty Boop's Dancing School, and stay for a lesson.
The miners at Never Mine go to Betty Boop's Tavern (a jazz-jumpin' place) for lunch; back in the mine, Bimbo delves into weird realms.
Betty Boop, auditioning bandleaders for a college swing dance, "discovers" a cleaning woman who resembles Betty Grable.
