Critical assessment of Binko cartoons is virtually impossible, since no film has survived. Jack Zander, who with Lou Zukor is one of the two remaining Grey staffers, remains wryly dubious as to what their quality would have been. Still, many of the animation drawings found in the Grey basement are brimming with life, character and humor, and some, such as the chorus of fey, feline eunuchs from Arabian Nightmare, take gleeful advantage of the pre-Production Code freedom that animators of the time enjoyed.

In the final accounting, it is unlikely that the Grey cartoons would have posed a serious threat to either Mickey Mouse or Betty Boop. But if the business sense and determination of Romer Grey had been equal to the talent of his young animation staff, Binko the Bear Cub might have joined the lower-tiered, but still respectable ranks of Cubby Bear, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Flip the Frog.

Instead, Binko stands as one of the few real surprises of animation history.

Michael Mallory has written over 100 articles about animation, past and present, for such publications as Comics Scene, Animation, In Toon, Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Millimeter. He is also the author of the book Hanna-Barbera Cartoons.