[1] The series had many recurring characters, including Flip's dog, the mule Orace, and a dizzy neighborhood spinster.
The first series he was to produce was to feature a character called Tony the Frog, but Iwerks disliked the name and was subsequently changed to Flip.
After four shorts had been produced (Fiddlesticks, Flying Fists, Little Orphan Willie and Puddle Pranks) MGM picked up the series.
[4] Flip's major redesign is attributed to Grim Natwick, who made a name for himself at the Fleischer Studios with the creation of Betty Boop.
In earlier films, she was consistently a cat, but Natwick made Flip's new girlfriend, Fifi, a human who shared distinct similarities with Betty (even down to her spit curls).
As the series progressed, Flip became more of a down-and-out, Chaplin-esque character who always found himself in everyday conflicts surrounding the poverty-stricken atmosphere of the Great Depression.
Owing to the influx of New York City animators to Iwerks' studio, such as Natwick, the shorts became increasingly risqué.
In Room Runners (1932), Flip, out of cash and luck, attempts to sneak out of his hotel in order to avoid paying his past-due rent.
Flip became largely forgotten by the public in the ensuing years, but the character would make a small comeback when animation enthusiasts and historians began digging up the old Iwerks shorts.
Published "by exclusive arrangement with Ub Iwerks, the originator of the film character, Flip The Frog", it was drawn by Wilfred Haughton, who also drew the early Mickey Mouse Annuals for Dean.
[6] A clip of the character tap-dancing on a turtle from Fiddlesticks is featured on a television set in the music video for Eminem's song "The Real Slim Shady", which a viewer laughs at.
Footage from Room Runners is featured during the intro sequence of the Futurama episode "Children of a Lesser Bog".