"The Hunting Instinct" is an episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. It aired on October 22, 1961.
Synopsis[]
Ludwig Von Drake hosts this episode, since Walt feels this noted expert on everything can shed some light on the subject of why man hunts. Von Drake has brought his assistant Herman the Bootle Beetle to help demonstrate the finer points of hunting.
Featured cartoons[]
- Bootle Beetle
- The Pointer
- Clown of the Jungle
- The Lone Chipmunks
- R'Coon Dawg (theatrical version only)
- Tiger Trouble (theatrical version only)
- The Plastics Inventor
- Contrary Condor (theatrical version only)
- The Fox Hunt
- Rugged Bear (theatrical version only)
- No Hunting (TV version only)
- Donald's Camera (1982 reairing only)
- Father's Lion (1982 reairing only)
Trivia[]
- This episode has been released theatrically overseas, with four more cartoons added to expand the show to feature-length, although removing No Hunting. This version was also the version used when the program was shown on The Disney Channel.
- United Kingdom: July 20, 1962
- France: October 11, 1962 (alongside Nikki, Wild Dog of the North)
- Italy: March 27, 1963
- Mexico: November 7, 1963
- Finland: December 6, 1963
- Japan: June 19, 1965
- In 1982, an alternate version of the program, retitled Man's Hunting Instinct, was aired on the anthology series, which by then was showing on CBS as Walt Disney. This version features new dialogue by Von Drake. In addition, only Bootle Beetle, The Pointer, The Lone Chipmunks, Rugged Bear, and No Hunting are reused from the original program (including the theatrical version). On the other hand, this program also features two new cartoons not shown on the original TV airing or the theatrical version: Donald's Camera (replacing Clown of the Jungle, although Donald's Aracuan Bird-induced meltdown voice is oddly audible in the background at the end) and Father's Lion.
- The Japanese laserdisc version, released in 1985, is radically different from the original program. The opening credits, reused from the theatrical release, cut off after the "Starring" credit. Then, during the opening wraparound scene, as Ludwig Von Drake starts the film, it goes straight to the first short (Bootle Beetle). All of the shorts are unedited, complete with opening and closing title cards, but the rest of the wraparound scenes with Von Drake are gone.