Max and Dave Fleischer’s rarely seen, but fantastically inventive 1941 feature Mr Bug Goes To Town will be screening on UK TV this week, under its 1950s NPA television print title of Hoppity Goes To Town. The second and final feature from the Fleischers, after Gulliver’s Travels in 1939, the film’s relative obscurity comes from the fact that it opened on December 7th 1941, and was up against Disney’s Dumbo in theaters. Though it never entered the public’s subconscious in the way the early Disney pictures have, Hoppity remains a surprisingly hard to find title for animation fans, the last official quality release being a Republic Pictures LaserDisc (right). An engaging little movie that easily stands up today as a classic of animation, Mr Bug: Hoppity Goes To Town really does deserve the deluxe DVD treatment soon. For those who can catch it, the complete film is scheduled to run on BBC 2 at 11am, this Friday, June 4.
Mr Bug! The original "bug's life" Hoppity to air in the UK