Bobby Bumps Starts a Lodge (film #2 on Origins of American Animation). [Category: Early Film & TV]

Bobby Bumps invites his friend, an African-American kid, to join a lodge he has made up on the spot. The initiation involves a blindfold and a goat, but it’s not as scary as you might think. After the black kid cheats on being initiated, he gets trapped by a bear. When Bobby saves him, Bobby gets trapped by the bear and has to be saved. Since they both saved each other, they decide to be initiated together. The black kid is drawn and speaks (in subtitles) in a very racist stereotyped way, yet the fact that he’s Bobby’s friend, is invited to join the lodge, and meets an equal fate to Bobby in the end means that this film was vastly ahead of its time in portraying kids of two different races playing together. This makes it a fascinating piece historically, as well as being a great example of early animation. A 1916 Bray film.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.