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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Horse Hare (1960)

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

In the Old West of 1886, Sergeant Bugs Bunny is tasked with being the sole guard on duty at Fort Lariat while the U.S. Cavalry leaves on a special mission. Once the Cavalry departs, Yosemite Sam – here known as “Renegade Sam” – leads a battalion of considerably incompetent Indian warriors in an attempt to overtake the fort. Needless to say, Bugs easily outwits these intruders while repeatedly humiliating Sam during the battle.
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The Bootleg Files: Swabbies

BOOTLEG FILES 929: “Swabbies” (canceled Disney animated short that survives as an animatic video).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:
None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: This was never meant to be seen publicly.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

The history of the Walt Disney Company is littered with projects that were aborted in various stages of concept and execution. Some of these canceled projects could have been truly fascinating, such as a feature-length animated film based on “Don Quixote.” Other pulled-plug endeavors would have been more than a little peculiar, such as an animated version of “The Catcher in the Rye” with an all-canine cast.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: People Are Bunny (1959)

People Are Bunny (1959)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Warren Batchelder, Tom Ray, Ted Bonnicksen, George Grandpré, David R. Green
Music by Milt Franklyn

Daffy Duck is watching television and dials into “The QTTV Sportsman Hour” where the host promises $1,000 for the first viewer who brings a rabbit into the station. Daffy tries to lure Bugs with free tickets to a television show, but when Bugs declines Daffy grabs a rifle and forces him to travel to QTTV. Once at the station, Bugs and Daffy have separate experiences with game shows – Bugs enjoys a profitable outcome while Daffy’s excursion ends painfully.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: A Witch’s Tangled Hare (1959)

A Witch’s Tangled Hare (1959)
Directed by Abe Levitow
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Keith Darling, Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Richard Thompson
Music by Milt Franklyn

“A Witch’s Tangled Hare” incorporates bits and pieces of William Shakespeare’s plays – along with a character who resembles Shakespeare – into a Bugs Bunny romp that brings back the zany Witch Hazel as the predator. It’s a cute idea for a cartoon, but the execution is off and it quickly becomes a bore.
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The Bootleg Files: Uncle Walt

BOOTLEG FILES 927: “Uncle Walt” (1964 student film that was unavailable for many years).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:
None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A student film made without the clearance of the rights owners of the original classic.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

One of the sad truths of locating films that are either lost or have been otherwise unavailable for decades is that the discovered titles are often far less interesting than the mystique that surrounded them during their absence from view.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Bonanza Bugs (1959)

It is a winter’s night in Dawson City during the midst of the 1896 Gold Rush when a snow-covered Bugs Bunny walks into a saloon and orders a glass of carrot juice. He is carrying a bag of large gold nuggets, but believes they have no value – he mistakes the “karats” of the rocks with the carrots that make up his diet. The villainous Blacque Jacques Shellacque – who is wanted for such crimes as for claim-jumping, pogo-sticking, and square-dance calling – makes multiple attempts to take Bugs’ bag of gold nuggets, but ultimately winds up running off a with a bag of gunpowder that Bugs ignites. Bugs ultimately admits the rocks were merely covered in paint and he drives off in a sled powered by a chihuahua.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Backwoods Bunny (1959)

Backwoods Bunny (1959)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Warren Batchelder, Tom Ray, George Grandpré, Ted Bonnicksen
Music by Milt Franklyn

Bugs Bunny accidentally burrows his way into the Ozarks and decides it would be a fine place for a vacation. His arrival is detected by Pappy and Elvis, a father-and-son pair of buzzards. Pappy is a lazy, obese thing with flies swarming around him, while Elvis is a cheerful dimwit. Elvis volunteers to shoot the “eating rabbit” that turned up, but he is too stupid for the task and Bugs repeatedly humiliates him, to the point of tricking Elvis to repeatedly shoot Pappy.

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