No Mundo da Carochinha

"Hoppity Goes to Town" was the second and last full length animated feature made by Max and Dave Fleischer, who created a parallel universe to Disney. While Disney's films are well remembered today, both of the Fleischer films "Gulliver's Travels" and this one are forgotten.

"Hoppity" is a spellbinding original, not an adaptation like the first picture. That is a major plus, one would think. No, the critics, rarely on the Fleischers' sides to begin with, tore into them for this. Yes, the story is not as tight as "Gulliver", but how can you hate a film that flaunts itself so joyfully?

It is filled with great musical numbers and a very involving story, which would be a crime to reveal. The characters are lovable and charming and there is heart in this film.

The Fleischers' really outdid themselves here and never quite did so again. Most of their time would be devoted to one-reelers after this tanked at the box office. It's a shame they didn't continue making features. Who knows? Their next attempt may have become the masterpiece they were aiming for.

**** out of 4 stars

Mr. Bug Goes to Town was one of those films that I grew up hearing about, however a copy could never be obtained until now. I just watched this film on DVD and thought it was a delightful and charming film, with wonderful animation, a good plot and great songs. If this film was made by Disney then the film would be considered a classic, however because it was made by a little known film studio that is long gone, the film has slipped through the cracks.

The film was made by the Max Fleischer studios at their Miami, FL studios and was released through Paramount Pictures. The film was to have had its premiere on Dec. 7th, 1941, the date of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Though this probably did hurt the release of the film, the film did play at some movie theaters for up to a year as evidenced by doing some research. The film was called a family favorite by most of the major American newspapers. The film continued to be re-released about every year or so, usually around holidays like Easter, at least in major cities.

In the mid 1950s, this film was re-released under a new name "Hoppity Goes to Town," named after the lead character in the film.

The film is a true period piece, capturing a slice of Americana as it was back in the late 30s and 1940's. The animation is great, and many of the characters are very cute. The animation of the humans in the film is via the rotoscope process, meaning that actors were filmed and then that footage was traced over by animators, giving the movement a very real look.

The Fleishcher studios were one of several animation studios making animated cartoons back in the 30s and 40s. While some of the Fleischer characters like Betty Boop, Popeye and the Superman cartoons are better known, the work of the studio is more or less forgotten.

Almost as a whole the body of work of the Fleischer studios are in the public domain. All of the Superman cartoons are public domain, all but one of the "Color Classics" series are public domain, and the film "Gulliver's Travels" is also in the public domain. This film never appears to have been released in the US on VHS or DVD but was released in Europe. However some looking around on the internet can very quickly produce you with a copy. I recommend the search.

I was born the year this movies was made. Watched it first on T.V. in the early 50's when there were only three channels, and only black and white. As an adult I remembered the movie and the music. Not being able to remember the title, I had to search through many catalogs before finding the film. I have shown it at home to my children, and now my many grand-children. I never get tired of watching it, and the children love it. No matter how many time they watch it, they still laugh loudly, and listen intently during the music. The story line is great, the animation is unbelievable compared to todays computer animation, the color us bright and crisp, and the music is fantastic. If I could have only one movie, this would be it.

Although never received well critically, this is a truly beautifully animated movie. This film, made at the outbreak of WW2 was one of the first 5 full length animated films ever made, and displays superb animation. Excellent too is the way human castoffs are used by the insects. Unfortunately the character of the principal villain is weak and two dimensional, and the story suffers as a result. The songs, however, are among the best I can recall in any animated film, and "Castle in the air" has to be one of my all time favorites. Unfortunately Max Fleisher was not as independent as Walt Disney, and as a result was never given an opportunity by Paramount to make another animated feature. However, the two that Fleisher was able to release will continue entertaining us for generations to come.

I have never read a review of this film that doesn't dump on it to some extent for not being Disney, or not being modern, or what have you. Like Rodney Dangerfield, this piece never did "get no respect." I understand that the date of its premiere was December 7, 1941! Needless to say, people in this country had other things on their minds. Having just found a used laserdisc of it, I viewed it for the first time since seeing it on television as a kid, and for anyone who fondly remembers seeing it like that, it's a powerful shot of nostalgia. While appropriately cartoonish, the drawing and animation is satisfyingly rooted in the real, physical world enough to make the figures and backgrounds come alive. So many of the "animation festival" pieces you see seem to be drawn by left handed gorillas, and the characters are rendered as formless blobs. But the glowing color palette, and the fine drawing and animation of "Hoppity" is a real treat to the eye. A very good-looking film. Moreover, it is just full of period charm (something which can be appreciated even by people like me, who were not around during that time). The characters, even the villains, are just so damn cute, and I should think anyone with an affinity for the earlier Disney animation (e.g. pre-World War II) would get a kick out of it. If you remember it fondly from years past, as I did, its a special treat. I just wanted to put in a few more nice words about this sweet, simple relic of the past.