Tag Archives: Comedy

Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Porky’s Hare Hunt (1938)

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2023 marks the 85th Anniversary of Bug Bunny’s first animated appearance in 1938’s “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we’re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We’re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too.

Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.

Porky’s Hare Hunt (1938)
Directed by: Ben Hardaway
Produced by: Leon Schlesinger
Music by: Carl W. Stalling
Animation by: Volney White

In 1938, Porky Pig was considered the mascot for Warner Animation, and Merrie Melodies. He’s one of the forefathers of cartoon mascots, the one who always gave us that famous outros from Merrie Melodies cartoons where he proclaims “That’s All Folks!” with his famous stutter. It would only make sense that the debut of Bugs Bunny would be in a short featuring Porky Pig. Originally known as Happy Rabbit, Bugs was created and cultivated by a slew of people including Ben Hardaway, Cal Dalton, and Charles Thorson initially.

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The Bootleg Files: The Hero

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BOOTLEG FILES 823: “The Hero” (1917 short starring Billy West and Oliver Hardy).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A blatant (if effective) rip-off of Charlie Chaplin’s act.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: There is no great call for a Billy West revival.

When Charlie Chaplin’s popularity exploded into superstardom status during the mid-1910s, the demand of his films became greater than his ability to create original new works. To fill the void, a number of comic actors began to dress up in Chaplin’s distinctive Little Tramp costume and make-up and churn out short films of a Chaplinesque nature. Most of these imitators were not that special and their work has been lost to oblivion. But one copycat created a near-perfect facsimile of Chaplin’s act, to the point that his films were occasionally marketed as being genuine Chaplin films.
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Pinocchio (2022)

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Disney continues their latest studio motto of remaking and sequelizing everything that they’ve ever produced. The last being the horrendous “Lion King” CGI remake. Of course the Devil’s Advocate will explain that “Pinocchio” is more of another adaptation (one of three in 2022!) of the 1883 tale, but it’s a remake of the 1940 animated movie. Every character look like their animated counterparts, right down to Tom Hanks as Geppetto. God love Tom Hanks, he certainly tries his best here, and even does his best with the musical number he’s given. But it’s all an uphill battle for a lot of what is established here.

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BAD MOVIE MONDAY: THE STUFF (1985)

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Some movies just stay with you forever no matter what. It’s not like you add them to a Top 10 or even a Top 50 list of your favorite movies, but yet you keep stumbling across it. THE STUFF is like that for me. I’ve seen it at least fifty times, probably more than that, but if you were to ask me why I watch it at least once a year I couldn’t really tell you. I didn’t seek it out at the time, I’m not even a big Larry D. Cohen fan. Yet here I am nearly forty years later still enjoying the hell out of this thing. It stars Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, Paul Sorvino and Scott Bloom, and it was directed and written by Larry D. Cohen. Welcome to BAD MOVIE MONDAY!
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The Bootleg Files: Windy Riley Goes Hollywood

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BOOTLEG FILES 820: “Windy Riley Goes Hollywood” (1931 short starring Louise Brooks and directed by Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle under a pseudonym).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels and as a special feature on a Kino Lorber Blu-ray offering.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A lapsed copyright enables endless dupes.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: It was already on a commercial label, but the public domain dupes never stopped.

The 1931 Educational Pictures short “Windy Riley Goes Hollywood” is not remembered today for its content – which, quite frankly, is terrible – but as a low point in the creative lives of two iconic talents of the silent screen who came into the talkie era with their respective careers in shambles.
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The Bootleg Files: In the Devildog House

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BOOTLEG FILES 818: “In the Devildog House” (1934 short starring Clark and McCullough).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Yes, the spotlight is back on the comedy team of Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough – and why not? For too long, their films have been overlooked – to the point that many of them are either lost or are in archives and cannot be easily accessed.
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