Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Volume 1

Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. You know the characters: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweety, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd. You love the cartoons, with the hilarious gags and sharp dialogue, the superb animation and design, the great voice acting and music. Well, let me tell you this: If you're looking for these cartoons on DVD, GET THIS SET and this set alone. The Looney Tunes Golden Collection features 56 cartoons from the 1940s and '50s, fully restored from the original negatives (so that they look better than you've ever seen them on TV). The cartoons will be uncut, so you'll get to see the gags they won't show on TV: the suicide gags in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" and "Tortoise Wins By a Hare," the Russian-Roulette game at the end of "Ballot Box Bunny." And the set includes an incredible number of extras, including: audio commentaries by animation experts and voice actor Stan Freberg (who provides the voice of Pete Puma in "Rabbit's Kin" and Junyer Bear in "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears"); excerpts from TV shows and recording sessions; storyboards; featurettes; a new documentary on the making of Looney Tunes; music-only tracks for Carl Stalling's musical scores; and more, much, much more than I can list here.

It's hard to believe, but Warner Brothers is reportedly not sure that these cartoons can sell. This set is a test to see whether DVD collectors are in the market for Looney Tunes fully restored and presented with in-depth extras. If the set sells well, there will be more big boxes like this one, with still more cartoons (including earlier classics that are still in the process of restoration). If it doesn't sell, all we'll get is bare-bones samplers aimed at kids alone. So don't buy the bare-bones "Premiere Collection," a poorly presented kid-oriented release with no extras and only half of the cartoons on this set. Get the Golden Collection, and you'll not only get the extras, but you'll get Bugs posing as conductor Leopold Stokowski ("Leopold!") and getting revenge on an arrogant opera singer in "Long-Haired Hare"; Daffy and Porky battling Marvin the Martian for control of Planet X in "Duck Dodgers in the 24 & 1/2th Century"; Porky and Sylvester dealing with psycho-killer mice in "Scaredy Cat"; Bugs playing against an entire baseball team by himself in "Baseball Bugs"; Daffy as the host of the game show "Truth or AAAAAGGGGH!" in "The Ducksters," and on and on and on. 56 cartoons. Great extras. Help make "The Looney Tunes Golden Collection" a best-seller and you'll not only be helping the cause of classic animation on DVD, you'll be getting some of the best comedy films ever produced, animated or live-action. You'll be getting fascinating extras and supplements. You'll be getting hours and hours of great entertainment. What could be better than getting great entertainment in a good cause? Buy this set, and if enough people do, we'll get to see more sets of Bugs, Daffy, and the rest, to enjoy at home as often as we want -- and believe me, we'll want to watch it often.

Animation legend Chuck Jones had a mythic set of ground rules for his ingenious Road Runner series: the setting was always the desert, the characters never spoke, the Road Runner never left the road, the Coyote never caught the Road Runner, etc. A similar set of rules seems at work in THE GOLDEN COLLECTION introductory DVD presentation of Warner Bros. animated shorts. Here is the breakdown:

1. The majority of the fifty-six motion pictures included are artistically valuable and the collection as a whole is a sheer delight which belongs in the library of anyone who loves classic cartoons. The set includes such masterpieces and popular favorites as "Duck Amuck", "Bully for Bugs", "Deduce You Say", "Fast and Furry-ous", "Long-Haired Hare", "Rabbit of Seville", "Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit Seasoning", "The Scarlet Pumpernickel", "Wabbit Twouble" and "Duck Dodgers in the 24-1/2 Century". All the films, even the weakest, deserve preservation, restoration and DVD availability.

2. The selection of complete shorts spans two decades (1940-59), according to year of initial theatrical release. This means that the heyday of Porky Pig (1936-39) is excluded, along with the historic Harman-Ising period (1930-33) and such early characters as Bosko, Buddy and Foxy. On the other hand, the set is also free of material from the Warner cartoon studio's years of decline (1960-64) and decay (1965-69).

3. Within the 1940-59 span is an intensive focus on the six-year "middle" period 1948-53, when the Warner cartoons were at their technical zenith. Fully half of the films in the collection were released during the three peak years of 1949-51 (ten in 1950 alone). The high degree of concentration allows for appreciation of the studio output of a particular era, lent contrast and variety by the broader context.

4. The star of the show is unquestionably Bugs Bunny, with twenty-one cartoons. There is an adequate amount, for a starter set, of Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Seymour & Tweety. Key films of the Road Runner, Pepé Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn and Speedy Gonzales are duly included. Important supporting characters like Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam and Marvin the Martian are well-represented, and the Tasmanian Devil makes a token appearance. The bill is rounded out with a few one-shots and curios.

5. The individual directors at Warner's animation studio are as notable as its character stars. A full twenty-five of the films (almost half) are by superstar director Chuck Jones. Most of the rest are directed by Friz Freling, with several by Robert McKimson and one by Arthur Davis. Only three films are directed by the great Bob Clampett.

6. There are no films directed by the legendary Tex Avery, who departed the studio in the early 1940's, or the influential stylist Frank Tashlin.

7. All cartoons are voiced by the amazing Mel Blanc.

8. All cartoons are scored by Music Director Carl W. Stalling or his immediate successor.

9. Most notable of the anomalies is the poor showing of the ultra-popular (and ultra-"violent") Road Runner, with only one episode (albeit his debut); while tired old Foghorn Leghorn encores with an undistinguished late episode -- rather than, say, "The High and the Flighty", his memorable pairing with Daffy Duck. In keeping with Rule #6, Avery's Oscar-nominated classic "A Wild Hare" (1940), the first "true" Bugs Bunny cartoon, is supplanted by Jones' "Elmer's Candid Camera", a rare prototype from earlier that year which features the debut of Elmer Fudd and the still-evolving Wascal Wabbit. And the extras, in their mania for completeness, include the animated excerpts from the feature films TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS and MY DREAM IS YOURS twice each, but only one version is digitally restored.

10. Not all of these Golden Era cartoons are masterpieces or true classics, but the less exceptional films included represent the high standard against which the extraordinary stand out. A technically crude quota quickie like McKimson's "Rabbit's Kin" shines because voice artist Stan Freburg's endearingly dumb Pete Puma character is memorable. A couple of genuine duds (Davis' "Porky Chops", for instance) have been thrown in for good measure, and even these serve to offset the overall excellence of the remainder.

11. Organization is minimal, with most of the Bugs Bunny material on Disc One, Daffy and Porky on Disc Two, and the others in an "All-Star" free-for-all on Discs Three and Four. The cartoons are presented in seemingly random order, but this very randomness is exactly how audiences experienced them both in theaters and on television.

12. The hours of extras are an embarrassment of riches.

13. Such beloved masterpieces as "Beanstalk Bunny", "Duck, Rabbit, Duck!", "Robin Hood Daffy", "The Singing Sword", "The Three Little Bops", the Oscar-Winning Rabbit's "Knighty-Knight Bugs", and (supremely) "One Froggy Evening" and "What's Opera, Doc?", have been withheld for future DVD editions. The set is designed to whet the appetite for more and leaves the grateful viewer with much to look forward to.

14. THE GOLDEN COLLECTION is worth more than its cost in dollars and is an infinitely better investment than the cheap alternate "Premiere Collection", which simply duplicates Discs Three and Four with no extras. The Premiere Collection is kiddie fodder for the undiscerning bargain-store shopper and is to be avoided by anyone concerned with art and popular culture. High sales of the vastly superior Golden Edition will determine future releases, so buy 'em up and give 'em to your friends. CARTOONS ARE FOR EVERYONE.

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in the fantastic "Deduce You say"; a WB takeoff on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in this version you have Daffy as the famous Sherlock Holmes and Porky Pig as Watson. The dialogue and atmospheric setting in this one are amazing and VERY funny; when they go to the local pub looking for the Shropshire Slasher, Daffy leans back on the bar and orders "hot buttered gin" with a dozen darts stuck in his beak, the price of annoying one of the female bar patrons. When the object of their search finally makes an appearance, Porky interviews him and elicits the information thusly: "Name, my good man?" "Shropshire Slasher." "Occupation?" "Shropshire Slasher." Doesn't get any better than this; these cartoons are absolutely hilarious, and this collection has some real gems,
my personal favorite being "Feed the Kitty" a Chuck Jones masterpiece, involving an English Bulldog and his tiny kitty friend. When Marc Antony (Bulldog) first encounters kitty, he barks furiously, instead of running away the kitty purrs and rubs up against him. It is mutual love at first sight, and although Marc Antony endeavors to hide his little friend, eventually he is caught red-handed. There is a scene of the lady of the house baking cookies, and the kitty has been hiding in the batter bowl; when Marc Antony looks through the window, all he sees is the mixing bowl operating a a furious pace, and thinking his kitty has been chopped to bits, emits a tortured howl and collapses in grief on the sidewalk...when the lady comes out and lets him back in she gives him a cookie...unfortunately the cookie is in the shape of a kitten! Thinking it is his friend, he puts it on his back, where the real kitty used to ride, and then his chin quivers and he breaks down in really inconsolable sobbing. Then the kitty, unhurt, walks up to him and purrs and rubs his chin; Marc Antony is overjoyed! In the end, he is allowed to keep his kitty. This is a pure joy to watch.
"Dripalong Daffy" is a riot; Porky Pig as sidekick and comic relief to Daffy Duck, who becomes sheriff of Gower Gulch, (an inside joke/reference to the nickname for the WB Studio, located in what was then known as Gower Gulch...) and they enter the local saloon looking for a villian, who, when he enters the salon, demands his "usual." This is a frightening concoction that necessitates the bartender donning Asbestos gloves, face shield and a special apron; then tongs! The mixture is so volatile it emits tiny explosions, adn then, when ice is added, the cubes jump out of the glass and run away screaming...The bad guy downs this appalling drink and his only reaction is his hat does a backflip. Daffy demands his own; the results are somewhat different; he turns all shades of the rainbow, including PLAID and POLKA DOTS, then walks arounfd like a mechanical doll and then recites Mary Had a Little Lamb in a child's high pitched voice...the showdown is wonderful; all kinds of amazing camera angles, and shots from high hotel windows, and the ominous clanking of spurs...this is strongly reminiscent of "High Noon" and is simply terrific.
"Wearing of the Grin" is one of the most surreal cartoons ever to emerge from the amazing minds of the WB animators; this is Salvador Dali come to life...Porky Pig, travling through Ireland, becomes lost and tired in a thunderstorm and seeks refuge at a local haunted castle, and the caretakers, O'Pat and O'Mike, clay pips firmly upside down in their mouths, come and assist Porky and get him a "nice soft bed" for the night...but first the O'Pat and O'Mike characters split up and we see they are actually 2 Leprechauns...and one of them asks Porky "Have you seen my other half, sir?" There they are, 2 separate Leprechauns, and one of them says to Porky "Isn't this sight enough to make the heart stand crossways in ye?" Porky goes into shock and they put after his head hits the pillow, Porky falls asleep and has a Dali nightmare...the end of which he is sentenced to the wearing of the green shoes. These shoes are tap shoes and force him to dance and dance uncontrollably; finally he wakes up and escapes from the castle.
"Water Water Every Hare" is another great one; Bugs falls asleep and is carried out of his rabbit hole by a rain storm and is deposited at the nightmare Castle of the Evil Scientist, (a miniscule version of Boris Karloff) whose castle conveniently has a neon sign stating "Evil Scientist" flashing off and on...once inside, Bugs is going to be used for his brain to go into the cranium of the enormous metal robot the scientist has
built....Naturally,m Bugs has some objections to this and thre scientist enlists the aid of the Monster..this is a great character, covered with hair and complete with sneakers! Bugs finally corrals the Monster and shrinks him down to about three inches; he packs his bags and leaves in disgust...when the scientist returns, Bugs breaks a bottle of chloroform and chases Bugs in a hilarious slomo chase. saying "come.....back......here..........you........rab....bit."

Great stuff, a must have, and wait 'til you see what's coming next! Check it out:

Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour, The - Golden Collection Volume 2 - Complete List of Cartoons!

Last March we reported on a heads-up from Warner Bros. that The Looney Toons - Golden Collection Volume 2 would be out later in 2004. Now we've gotten a lot more info for you!

In the not-too-distant future, Warner Home Video will announce a release date in late October or early November, for another 4-DVD box set. This time around it will contain 60 cartoon shorts ranging from 1936 to 1958. Included is another disc of just Bugs Bunny 'toons, plus a LOT of favorites from The Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote, AND a large group just from Sylvester & Tweety! It sounds like Warner listened to the fans who missed seeing more of those particular match-ups on the first release. Also on-board are the first ("Tortoise Beats Hare") and last ("Rabbit Transit") stories in the Bugs Bunny/Cecil Turtle (a.k.a. Cecil Tortoise) trilogy, the middle one of which ("Tortoise Wins By a Hare") was on the first DVD set.

Hare-Brained Hypnotist" (Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd - 1942)
"Little Red Riding Rabbit" (Bugs Bunny - 1944)
"Stage Door Cartoon" (Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd - 1944)
"Hare Conditioned" (Bugs Bunny - 1945)
"Rhapsody Rabbit" (Bugs Bunny - 1946)
"The Big Snooze" (Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd - 1946)
"Slick Hare" (Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd - 1947)
"Bugs Bunny Rides Again" (Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam - 1948)
"Gorilla My Dreams" (Bugs Bunny/Gruesome Gorilla - 1948)
"Bunny Hugged" (Bugs Bunny - 1951)
"French Rarebit" (Bugs Bunny/Louis and Francois - 1951)
"Baby Buggy Bunny" (Bugs Bunny/Baby-Faced Finster - 1954)
"Hyde And Hare" (Bugs Bunny - 1955)
"Broom-Stick Bunny" (Bugs Bunny/Witch Hazel - 1956)

"What's Opera, Doc?" (Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd - 1957)
"Beep Beep" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1952)
"Going! Going! Gosh!" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1952)
"Zipping Along" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1953)
"Stop! Look! and Hasten!" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1954)
"Guided Muscle" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1955)
"Ready.. Set.. Zoom!" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1955)
"Gee Whiz-z-z-z!" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1956)
"There They Go-Go-Go!" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1956)
"Scrambled Aches" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1957)
"Zoom And Bored" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1957)
"Whoa, Be-Gone!" (Road Runner/Coyote - 1958)
"Porky In Wackyland" (Porky Pig - 1938)
"Old Glory" (Porky Pig - 1939)
"Book Revue" (Daffy Duck - 1946)
"Show Biz Bugs" (Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck - 1957)
"Kitty Kornered" (Porky/Sylvester - 1946)
"Tweety Pie" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1947)
"Back Alley Op-Roar" (Elmer Fudd/Sylvester - 1948)
"Bad Ol' Putty Tat" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1949)

"All a Bir-r-r-rd" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1950)
"Room And Bird" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1951)
"Tweet Tweet Tweety" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1951)
"A Bird In A Guilty Cage" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1952)
"Ain't She Tweet" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1952)
"Gift Wrapped" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1952)
"Snow Business" (Sylvester/Tweety - 1953)
"You Ought to Be in Pictures" (Daffy/Porky - 1940)
"Duck Soup To Nuts" (Daffy/Porky - 1944)
"Baby Bottleneck" (Daffy/Porky - 1946)

"The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" (Daffy Duck as "Duck Twacy" - 1946)
"I Love To Singa" ("Owl" Jolson - 1936)
"Have You Got Any Castles?" (1938)
"Katnip Kollege" (Johnny Cat - 1938)
"Hollywood Steps Out" (1941)
"The Heckling Hare" (Bugs Bunny/Willoughby - 1941)
"Tortoise Beats Hare" (Bugs Bunny/Cecil Turtle - 1941)
"The Dover Boys at Pimento University or 'The Rivals of Roquefort Hall'" (1942)
"The Hep Cat" (Hep Cat - 1942)
"Corny Concerto" (Doc and Champ - 1943)
"Rabbit Transit" (Bugs Bunny/Cecil Turtle - 1947)
"Mouse Wreckers" (Hubie and Bertie/Claude Cat - 1948)
"Bear For Punishment" (Henry, Ma, & Junyer Bear - 1951)
"Cheese Chasers" (Hubie and Bertie - 1951)
"One Froggy Evening" (Michigan J. Frog - 1955)
"Three Little Bops" (1957)

Best line from "What's Opera Doc:" (Elmer Fudd)"Oh Brunhilde, you're so wuvwy...."

(Brunhilde Bugs)"Yes I know it, I can't help it..."

And we still have Pepe Le Pew and Foghorn Leghorn to come, just to name a couple!!! OH BOY!