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• Mr. Bug is wonderful!

  • Joey
  • 10/23/12

  Thank you TCM for airing this wonderful & rare animated feature. As a fan of Max & Dave Fleischer, I grew up watching old Popeye & Betty Boop cartoons. I loved seeing this and I hope you air it again soon. Thank you TCM for bringing out the kid in me, one more time!

• Wonderful early animated feature

  • Jane
  • 10/23/12

  Like its Fleischer/Paramount predecessor Gulliver's Travels (1939), Mr. Bug Goes to Town concerns a miniature world threatened by encroaching giants. Animators love to tell this story - think of Secret of NIMH, Antz, Finding Nemo, etc. - and it's no wonder why. Gulliver's Travels, while an accomplished film in its own right, gets a bit hung up on the rotoscoped Gulliver and doesn't really draw the viewer into the Lilliputians' world. Here, the Fleischers improve on their formula and make Mr. Bug's tiny universe really come alive with inventive POV shots, immersive backgrounds, and creative editing. The storytelling and character animation is dynamic, if a bit flat in spots. Some sequences feel like stretched-out Silly Symphonies-type shorts with lots of insipid hap-hap-happy music and looped animation, but the big-meets-little action sequences, especially a scene where Bugville is invaded by a hockey game, more than make up for these slow bits. Not quite Disney-calibre, but you can tell that the Fleischers had Disney's innovative spirit. Makes you wonder what would've happened if the Fleischers had been able to truly compete with Disney.

• Mr. Bug goes to Town

  • Dashiell Barnes
  • 10/22/12

  An easily forgettable animated cult film from the Fleischer's. All the character's are common stereotypes, & the protagonist is too gullible & chipper to the point of stupidity. The Capra-like story is weak & easily predictable. Will easily provide entertainment for children, but is an otherwise passable. I give it a 2/5.

• Mr. Bug Delivers(1941)

  • nshepard
  • 10/21/12

  Brilliant Animation, Exquisitely Executed , the Fleischer Brothers, Max & Dave deliver a beautiful Animated Classic ! While the subject matter,"bugs" who have problems living on a planet populated with many species , Man is the biggest obstacle, is not high on my list it is very entertaining. Hoppity returns to find that since a "fence" came down the humans have been disturbing the various "bug" properties and that relocation is of the utmost importance. Unknowingly competing with rival C. Bagley Beetle for the affection of Honey Bumble , Hoppity risks his life for the ones he cares . 5 stars out of 5. Well done Brothers.

• hoppity goes to town

  • glynis
  • 10/21/12

  i grew up watching this movie every year on television in chicago. it is a magnificently animated story that uses everyday objects in very imaginative ways. as a child, it helped me understand that anything can be used in many ways and, i believe, was the catalyst for what grew into a full-blown imagination! gather the kids and start the process. this will be one to own! thanks, tmc, for bringing it back for us!

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