Every Bugs Bunny Ever: The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Phil Hall

The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)
Directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble
Story by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Ken Harris, Tom Ray, Richard Thompson, Bob Bransford, David R. Green
Music by Milt Franklyn

Bugs Bunny burrows underground on a trip to Palm Springs, with Daffy Duck following him. Somehow, they wind up in the Himalayas. Daffy is exasperated by Bugs’ poor sense of direction and decides to burrow his way home, but winds up encountering the Abominable Snowman. This oversized creature is strong but cheerfully dimwitted, and he is too eager to have a pet rabbit that he wants to name George.
Continue reading →

Cool Cat (1967)

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Phil Hall

Notable for introducing the first new characters in the brief (1967-69) era of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts cartoons, “Cool Cat” debuted the eponymous feline and his predator, the bumbling Briton Col. Rimfire, in a variation of the Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd hunting romps. The only difference here is that Cool Cat is blissfully unaware that Col. Rimfire is pursuing him. Even more peculiar, the feline star mistakes the colonel’s vehicle – a metallic pink elephant on wheels – for being a real pachyderm and he has a running one-way conversation with the machine.
Continue reading →

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Lighter Than Hare (1960)

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Phil Hall

Lighter Than Hare (1960)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Friz Freleng
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy, Arthur Davis, Virgil Ross
Music by Milt Franklyn

From a human resources perspective, one must admire Yosemite Sam’s occupational versatility. Originally conceived as a desperado, he later worked as a pirate ship captain, a prison guard, a Hessian mercenary, a sheik, a medieval knight, and in “Lighter Than Hare” he is an extraterrestrial invader. Nice work if you can get it, eh?
Continue reading →

Disneyland Dream (1956)

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Phil Hall

One of the funkier aspects of the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry is the inclusion of extraordinarily obscure amateur works alongside Hollywood productions. In 2008, a home movie made in Connecticut in 1956 by Robbins Barstow called “Disneyland Dream” was added to the National Film Registry alongside such classics as “Foolish Wives,” “The Invisible Man,” “The Asphalt Jungle,” “Flower Drum Song,” “Deliverance,” and “The Terminator.”
Continue reading →

The Bootleg Files: Ten From Your Show of Shows

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 933: “Ten From Your Show of Shows” (1973 compilation of sketches from the landmark TV series).

LAST SEEN: On the Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS video and LaserDisc.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It has fallen out of circulation.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Briefly included as a special feature in a now out-of-print DVD.

In 1973, movie audiences were treated to a genuine oddity: a feature film consisting of sketches from a television comedy show that were broadcast in the early 1950s but not seen in the ensuing years. The show in question was “Your Show of Shows,” a 90-minute revue program that dominated Saturday prime time viewing from 1950 to 1954 and lifted its stars Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris into A-list stardom.
Continue reading →

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: From Hare to Heir (1960)

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Phil Hall

From Hare to Heir (1960)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Friz Freleng
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy, Art Davis, Virgil Ross
Music by Milt Franklyn

In Merry Olde England, things are anything but merry at Bedlam Manor where Sam, Duke of Yosemite, discovers he is penniless after his uncle, the King, discontinued his allowance. Sam takes out his anger on his accountant-servant by slamming the man’s nose in a large book.
Continue reading →

Conrad the Sailor (1942)

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Phil Hall

For every Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck that becomes a pop culture icon, there are countless cartoon characters that get tested in one or a few shorts before being dropped for lacking versatility and viability. Conrad the Cat, a yellow bipedal feline created by Chuck Jones, is an example of a character that was jettisoned after failing to immediately click on the screen.
Continue reading →