Looney Tunes Collector's Vault
Volume 1
Warner Bros.
356 min. / Color & B&W / 1.37:1 / DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono / SDH
Warner Archive Blu-ray $24.99*
The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies continue on Blu-ray in a new series, following the three-set Platinum Collection and the four-set Collector’s Choice editions (plus one-shots for Bugs Bunny and a mouse cartoon collection). Disc 1 is labeled that it’s cartoons never before on DVD or Blu-ray; that is an error, it was supposed to say “in a previous Looney Tunes collection,” as some of the cartoons can be found as bonus material on various Warner Bros. DVD releases, just not in such high quality. Disc 2 is 25 cartoons making their Blu-ray debut. Each disc contains the cartoons in alphabetical, not chronological, order, nice for variety’s sake.
My comments on each one follows; an * indicates that the cartoon features the “Blue Ribbon” opening credits, because when the cartoons were re-released, apparently the original credits were destroyed, sadly. That’s followed by the year of release, whether it’s a Looney Tunes or a Merrie Melodies (that meant something in the 1930s, nothing in the later cartoons), and the director(s).
DISC 1: Cartoons making their Blu-ray debut and not found previously (with one exception) in a Looney Tunes DVD collection.
Bars and Stripes Forever (1939 MM, Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton) It’s the great escape from Alcarazz prison, a doghouse with bars for curs. The jailor is a parody of Hugh Herbert, a very annoying character comic from those days.
Beauty and the Beast (1934 MM, Friz Freleng) It’s nightmare time for a little girl who ate too much before bedtime in this surrealistic masterpiece (Humpty Dumpty is full of ducks!) that looks great in Cinecolor (a lesser palette than was available when Disney had exclusive rights to three-strip Technicolor). A wow.
A Day at the Zoo * (1939 MM, Tex Avery) One of those plotless, gag-filled revues that they used to throw at us occasionally, although this does feature the prototype Elmer Fudd, who can’t stop torturing lions. Several laugh-out-loud moments.
The Dixie Fryer (1960 MM, Bob McKimson) Generally, we prefer the earlier cartoons but this is a pretty good Foghorn Leghorn offering as he outwits a pair of hillbilly buzzards looking for a meal (“I’m a ROOSTER, not a ROASTER!”).
Double or Mutton (1955 LT, Chuck Jones) Ralph and Sam, the sheepdog and wolf who clock in before starting their day trying to hurt each other, are always a treat, but this was an accidental inclusion – it was also included on one of the Collector’s Choice editions. Warners tells us they’ll make it up to us with a 26th cartoon on the next volume.
Each Dawn I Crow * (1949 MM, Freleng) An overly-dramatic rooster thinks that Elmer is intent on an overly-dramatic rooster dinner for Thanksgiving in this overly-dramatic short. Not surprisingly, earlier included as a bonus for the film Each Dawn I Die.
Easy Peckin’s * (1953 LT, McKimson) An obnoxious fox is after chickens but can’t get past the tough-guy rooster. We never minded these one-shots that appear to be pilots for possible new characters, but this one isn’t too good, and why are there so many imitations of Charles Boyer in these old cartoons?
Feather Dusted (1955 MM, McKimson) Foghorn is back, trying to be a good dad to the Widder Hen’s nerdish son, and failing miserably. A classic.
A Fox in a Fix * (1951 MM, McKimson) A fox (not the same one we saw previously) pretends to be a dog to get at the chickens in this stunningly unfunny cartoon.
Good Night Elmer (1940 MM, Jones) Loved this one! It’s virtually a silent one-reel comedy, and I don’t recall Elmer Fudd having any lines at all, an oddity since he’s best known for his voice. A gem.
The Goofy Gophers * (1947 LT, Bob Clampett started, Art Davis finished) Those two polite guys are fatter and greyer here than they would be in later cartoons. Loved the Shakespearean dog.
I’d Love to Take Orders from You (1936 MM, Tex Avery) These 1930s cartoons look SO great in 1080p. Based on a song by Warren & Dubin, the adventures of a little scarecrow and his papa. Loved it.
A Kiddies Kitty * (1955 MM, Freleng) A little girl badly wants a cat, so she adopts Sylvester when he ducks into her yard to escape a dog. Very strange to see Sylvester looking cat-sized (the little girl can carry him around) but the cartoon itself is hilarious, one of the funniest in the entire set.
Let It Be Me * (1936 MM, Freleng) Parody of 1930s crooners, and we never cared for cartoons with parodies of 1930s crooners. This is another one that absolutely is on DVD, we just watched it with Follow the Fleet.
Of Fox and Hounds * (1940 MM, Avery) “Which way did he go, George?” A clever fox and dense Willoughby the dog in an okay cartoon.
Quackodile Tears (1962 MM, Art Davis) Generally speaking, Mr. Davis is our least favorite of the classic LT/MM directors, but this cartoon is a scream, featuring a henpecked Daffy Duck hatching an egg.
Ready, Woolen and Able (1960 MM, Jones) Ralph and Sam are back, and in this one, we actually get to see the sheepdog’s eyes.
Robin Hood Makes Good * (1939 MM, Jones) A gaggle of juvenile squirrels play Robin Hood in this rather Disneyesque offering. This is one of the few cartoons on the set that I didn’t think looked as good as it should have, maybe because the other cartoons really pop out of the screen.
The Squawkin’ Hawk * (1942 MM, Jones) That pesky young chicken hawk makes his debut, strangely enough without Foghorn.
Terrier-Stricken (1952 MM, Jones) Nervous Claude the Cat has to deal with a very frisky puppy in another cartoon that we roared with laughter all the way through.
Tweet and Lovely (1959 MM, Freleng) Sylvester lives in an inventor’s house and so has a variety of unusual weapons to launch at Tweety in this funny cartoon.
Tweety’s Circus (1955 MM, Freleng) Well, with these things in alphabetical order, this was bound to happen: two Tweetys in a row, in this case. The first one was better; Sylvester is after Tweety under the Big Top but only succeeds in pissing off the other acts.
Two’s A Crowd (1950 LT, Jones) Claude and the frisky dog are back, and it’s still hilarious.
Wild about Hurry (1959 MM, Jones) And the disc closes with a pair of Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Biggest laugh here is the Roadrunner’s Latin designation (“Batoutahelius”).
Zip ‘n Snort (1961 MM, Jones) You know, the sound effects really should get more mention in Warner Bros. cartoons. They’re marvelous. Just listening to this cartoon is funny.
DISC 2: Cartoons previously found in Looney Tunes DVD collections, making their high definition debut.
Ain’t She Tweet * (1952 LT, Freleng) Sylvester has tenacity, we’ll give him that much: he’s after Tweety, who seems relatively safe in a yard full of bulldogs. Tons of gags in this one, all of them hilarious.
Banty Raids (1963 MM, McKimson) By 1963, the juice was running out, but this cartoon is better than most for the period, I guess. It’s about a beatnik rooster charming the hens. And is it just me, or is the title a bit racy?
Birth of a Notion * (1947 LT, Clampett / McKimson) Daffy’s too lazy to fly south, but his winter abode happens to be the home of mad scientist Peter Lorre. And who is Leopold the Dog? Never heard of ‘im.
Bye Bye Bluebeard * (1949 MM, Davis) Porky is terrorized by a mouse pretending to be an escaped lunatic in this typical not-too-funny-but-awfully-weird Art Davis cartoon.
Cat-Tails for Two * (1953 MM, McKimson) George and Junior tangle with a super-sonic mouse named Speedy Gonzalez in the latter’s debut (he doesn’t look or act much like he would in later cartoons, but he’s just as fast).
Daffy Dilly * (1948 MM, Jones) A dying millionaire offers $1M to anyone who can make him laugh, and here comes Daffy with Joe Miller’s Joke Book. We’ve always liked this one.
Daffy Duck and Egghead (1938 MM, Avery) Egghead is hunting, what else, a duck. The narrator does much of the heavy lifting in this one, but the restoration is beautiful – this may well be the best-looking short in the entire set, and when all the hunters fire simultaneously, it rattled my walls. Great stuff.
Gee Whiz-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z (1956 LT, Jones) Starts slow, but gets better as it rolls along, and we get to see the Coyote as a green version of Batman.
Gonzales’ Tamales (1957 LT, Freleng) Speedy is back, this time battling Sylvester, so I guess he wasn’t cancelled due to political correctness after all.
Hare Conditioned (1945 LT, Jones) The 35th cartoon and finally that Oscar-winning rabbit shows up (the first of three straight Hare titles). Bugs is bent for taxidermy thanks to a guy doing a Great Gildersleeve impersonation (which Bugs comments on). Not too good.
Hare Trigger (1945 MM, Freleng) First Yosemite Sam cartoon; he’s a train robber with a bunny in his path to success. Very funny, and Bugs imitates Tweety!
Hare Trimmed (1953 MM, Freleng) Another Yosemite Sam, this time showing off his redesigned face and beard, so you can compare it with the previous cartoon. Granny is in this one, and there’s another Boyer impersonation.
Horton Hatches the Egg * (1942 MM, Clampett) This cartoon, based of course on the Dr. Seuss classic, is one of the all-time greats and it looks and sounds sensational here, but the “suicide” of the Peter Lorre fish is so out of place that I’d always hoped Warner Bros. would give us an edited version to show the kids and YEAH, I know these cartoons are not suitable for children and are intended for the adult collector – says so on the packaging.
Little Boy Boo (1954 MM, McKimson) Foghorn and that silent but very, very smart chick of Miss Prissy’s is back, this time playin’, I say playin’, baseball. Very funny and hat’s off to the creative writing staff who kept turning out fresh ideas.
Much Ado about Nutting (1953 MM, Jones) A little red squirrel who is adorable in that “Chuck Jones” way is trying to crack open a coconut and not having much luck in this wonderful cartoon.
Odor-Able Kitty * (1945 LT, Jones) Pepe Le Pew makes his official debut, more or less. This cartoon looked rather flat to me, it doesn’t sparkle like the other remasters.
Past Perfumance (1955 MM, Jones) Pepe again, and by the way, I have a friend who is actually from France and she advised me that she was shocked the first time she saw a Pepe cartoon and he had a French accent – that would make no sense where she’s from, so he’s got an ITALIAN accent in the dubbed French cartoons! Who knew?!?
Porky’s Duck Hunt (1937 LT, Avery) This the only B&W cartoon on the set and it looks and sounds great, but it sure is LOUD. Oh, and it’s the first Daffy cartoon, although he wasn’t named that quite yet.
Rabbit Punch (1948 MM, Jones) If you’ve seen one Bugs Bunny boxing or wrestling cartoon you’ve seen ‘em all, but they remain amongst his most popular and this one is very funny and colorful.
Red Riding Hoodwinked (1955 LT, Freleng) Mid-50s style with Tweety, Sylvester, and Granny. The Big, Bad Wolf seems to change from brown to grey at one point, or is that just how he looks against different backgrounds?
Rhapsody Rabbit (1946 MM, Freleng) Bugs is giving a piano recital and is interrupted by a boogie-woogie mouse in this gem, which came out about the same time as Tom & Jerry’s version, Cat Concerto. A cartoon coincidence, or something… sinister?
Snow Business (1953 LT, Freleng) I’d never seen this one that I can remember, and it’s terrific: Sylvester and Tweety are besties until they’re snowed in and the cat has to forage for food (guess who?) but the comic gem of it all is a homicidal mouse who is trying to eat Sylvester. Honestly, Sylvester is the true star of this set, all of his cartoons are uproarious.
Tom Turk and Daffy (1944 LT, Jones) Story by “The Staff,” it says. Hmmm. Not a good one, no wonder nobody wanted credit. Daffy is attempting to hide a turkey, until he isn’t.
Two Crows from Tacos (1956 MM, Freleng) And this one lacks voice credits; a pair of lazy Mexican birds are after a grasshopper. Terrible, and it seemed to inspire dozens of similar cartoons Freleng would do a decade later with his own DePatie-Freleng animation house.
Zoom and Bored (1957 MM, Jones) And we finish with another Roadrunner & Coyote cartoon, with the gags coming so fast I could scarcely catch my breath.
All in all, a terrific value and a wonderful collection of cartoons to add to the growing stock of Blu-ray vintage animation. There is no bonus material, but with 50 cartoons, I’m not complaining. Because there is no set theme and the cartoons are in alphabetical order, it’s a varied and vibrant cornucopia of laughs and colorful characters.
Balconeers of all ages are looking forward to further trips to the Collector’s Vault!
