post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Big Top Bunny (1951)

Big Top Bunny (1951)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Charles McKimson, Rod Scribner, Phil DeLara, Bob Wickersham
Music by Carl Stalling

The reigning animal star of Col. Korny’s Circus is Bruno the Slobokian Acrobatic Bear – the ursine star is a burly biped with a tan body, a chalk white face and a green and red derby, as well as a heavy accent that sounds like it comes from any country behind the Iron Curtain. Bruno’s spotlight reign is threatened when he is given a new performing partner with Bugs Bunny. Bruno is furious at this arrangement and tries to sabotage Bugs during their premiere engagement. Bugs quickly realizes Bruno’s intentions and deftly turns the tables on the arrogant acrobat, ultimately resulting in a big top ejection via a cannon.
Continue reading

post

Bargain Daze (1953)

No one approaches Heckle and Jeckle cartoons expecting art – or, for that matter, coherent storytelling, sophisticated dialogue or an ironic reflection on the emotional palette. But, of course, they were never intended to provide cerebral invigoration or display the fullest spectrum of animated creativity. As the producer of the cartoons Paul Terry once succinctly declared regarding the quality of his work compared to the master of the genre: “Let Walt Disney be the Tiffany’s, I want to be the Woolworth’s.”
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: His Hare-Raising Tale (1951)

His Hare-Raising Tale (1951)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Virgil Ross
Music by Carl Stalling

One of the relatively few Warner Bros. cartoons that mainly consisted of recycled footage from older shorts, “His Hare-Raising Tale” is an amusing endeavor that pointed to a potential scenario shift that, sadly, was never explored in depth.
Continue reading

post

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hare We Go (1951)

Hare We Go (1951)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Warren Foster
Animation by Phil DeLara, Charles McKimson, John Carey, Rod Scribner, J.C. Melendez
Music by Carl Stalling

One of the weaker entries in the Bugs Bunny series, Robert McKimson’s “Hare We Go” opens in the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, where Christopher Columbus is trying in vain to convince the monarchs that the world is round. “It’s-a round like-a my head,” the blonde Columbus declares in his Chico Marx-worthy Italian accent – to which the king bangs his noggin with a mallet, leaving it horizontal while declaring “It’s flat like you’re head!” in the Mexican accent that Mel Blanc used on Jack Benny’s show.
Continue reading

post

The Bootleg Files: Luno

BOOTLEG FILES 859: “Luno” (1963-1965 series of theatrical and television animated shorts).

LAST SEEN: Some of the shorts are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: A few shorts turned up on VHS video.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

You never know what you’ll find on Facebook. The other day, while scrolling through the site I came across a couple of a screenshots from an old cartoon that I didn’t immediately recognize. After reading the captions for the screenshot, I vaguely recalled the production being featured. I looked up the titles and found them on YouTube – and then, I remembered viewing these works during my childhood in the early 1970s.

Continue reading

post

The Bootleg Files: The Woo Song

BOOTLEG FILES 852: “The Woo Song” (2024 music video by Corey Rieman the Dilemma Band incorporating Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie”).

LAST SEEN:
On multiple social media and online video sites.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Not yet.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The underlying “Steamboat Willie” footage has been the subject of complicated copyright actions.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Some day, perhaps.

On New Year’s Day, Mickey Mouse was the center of attention because the copyright for the 1928 animated short “Steamboat Willie” finally expired and the groundbreaking film that helped usher synchronized sound into the world of cartoons was suddenly denuded of copyright protection. Less than two weeks after “Steamboat Willie” officially became a public domain work, footage from the film was incorporated into a bouncy music video for “The Woo Song” from the rockers Corey Rieman and the Dilemma Band.
Continue reading

post

The Bootleg Files: Bailey’s Comets

BOOTLEG FILES 838: “Bailey’s Comets” (1973-74 animated television series).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:
None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No perceived reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

The other week, I saw a posting in a Facebook group devoted to old-time television about a Saturday morning cartoon series called “Bailey’s Comets.” I knew that I watched that program when it was first aired in the 1973-74 season, and while I sort of recalled part of the show’s bouncy theme song I could not remember anything remarkable about the series itself.
Continue reading