"Mr. Bug Goes to Town" - Part 6

(a.k.a. "Hoppity Goes to Town" and "Bugville")

-WATCH THE MOVIE THROUGHOUT FROM THE BEGINNING... UNLESS YOU STOPPED SOMEWHERE IN ANY PART AND WANT TO GO BACK TO THE PART AND CONTINUE.-

When I was posting stuff on Google Video with Pinnacle Studio 8, I posted the rare George Lucas / John Korty / Charles Swenson film "Twice Upon a Time", the posting was a rising success and caused the film's cult status to rise overtime (including increased sales on Amazon.com's Used and New section of the VHS and marvin8723's restored version).

Two months after, I felt like posting "Jetsons: The Movie", it gotten 200 views in one day before it was removed shortly after, but it did start the Google Video Poop series which were the early baby-steps of YTPGod. Now this year, comes a grasshopper named Hoppity.

It was originally meant to be an adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck's The Life of the Bee, but the Fleischers were unable to get the rights to the book, and the studio came up with its own story inspired by The Life of the Bee instead and also added from Capra-esque elements.

"Mr. Bug Goes to Town" was beset by problems early on. To produce their first animated feature, "Gulliver's Travels", the Fleischers had moved their studio from New York City to Miami, Florida, and expanded their staff, at great expense. Immediately after "Gulliver" was completed and released, the studio began development on a second feature, eventually going into production on "Mr. Bug".

The studio was already deeply in debt, and the Fleischers were forced to sell their studio to Paramount mid-way through production on Mr. Bug, on May 24, 1941. Paramount kept the Fleischers in production, but they were required to deliver unsigned letters of resignation to Paramount, to be used at the studio's discretion, as the brothers were growing apart.

"Mr. Bug" was originally going to be released on November of 1941, but since the Fleischer's rival, Disney, released "Dumbo" weeks earlier, Paramount changed the date to December of the same year, but "Mr. Bug" unfortunately went into a, then unrealized, trap of terrible timing. Having the misfortune of opening two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, "Mr. Bug" was a financial disaster and led to the ousting of Max and Dave Fleischer, from the studio they had established in 1919, and reorganized the company as Famous Studios.

Paramount later re-released "Mr. Bug" as "Hoppity Goes to Town", Today, the "Hoppity" version is in public domain with multiple re-releases on home video (with inferior image quality) throughout the 70's to it's recent DVD release by Legend Films, which they re-titled the film again to "Bugville", though Paramount (or Warner Home Video which has recently released the Fleischer Popeye cartoons) has yet to release a proper DVD release.

Now with it's YouTube arrival, the "Hoppity" version was used instead of it's recent DVD accident, and let's hope that eventually Warner or Paramount releases the film in the DVD treatment it deserves: a special edition or a special double-dip pack-in with "Gulliver". But for now, it's time to watch it on YouTube. So, grab some popcorn or some gummy worms (If you want to bring out a coincidence) and enjoy "Mr. Bug Goes to Town"...

Mr. Bug / Hoppity (C) 1941 Paramount Pictures
-The releases on home video were owned by Legend Films, Republic Pictures, Goodtimes Home Video, and several independent companies.-

Oh and before I forget...

Get your own copy here: http://www.nostalgiafamilyvideo.com/