Looney Tunes Collectors Vault Vol. 2*
356 min. / Color & B&W / HD Master Audio English 2.0 / SDH
Warner Archivel Blu-ray $29.98
Available from Movie Zyng
Well, our friends at the Warner Archive outdo themselves yet again with another opening of the Collector’s Vault, featuring 26 cartoons on disc 1 that have never before been available in HD remastered form in a WB cartoon collection, and 25 cartoons on disc 2 remastered for the first time in HD in a WB cartoon collection. In other words, Disc 2 is a collection of restored High Definition cartoons previously available in standard definition, and Disc 1 is a collection of restored HD cartoons not previously available in one of the Golden DVD collections of years ago. Why 51 cartoons? Because they accidentally duplicated a cartoon in Vol. 1 that had been previously available, so they’re making it up to us this time. You have to love these guys, amirite?
As with Vol. 1, the cartoons are presented in alphabetical order and represent a cross-section of directors, stars, animators, and beloved characters from the 1930s through the early 1960s. Last time, we ran through them the way they were presented; for this volume, just to keep it interesting, we’ll group them and make you do a little figuring.
We’ll begin by mentioning that we had a weekend Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies House Party and screened all 51 cartoons in alphabetical order, and the biggest surprise I got was how damn funny the things are. I mean, we KNOW how funny they are, but I wish I’d counted the times we laughed out loud at the gags – it was an impressive number. A fun-filled weekend indeed. And out last word of introduction, in case you don't want to read any further or you have an Acme train to catch: this is, from beginning to end, the best looking, best sounding WB cartoon collection yet. We were entranced.
1930s
Hot take: I love the 1930s WB cartoons and enjoy comparing them to the output of the other studios (after 1940, Warner Bros. had cornered the “best shorts in show” animation-wise, save for the occasional MGM hit). There are a pair offered here, both in color, Country Boy (1935) with a young boy rabbit who can’t behave until he invariably learns his lesson, and Boulevardier from the Bronx (1936), a baseball game between fowls. We liked the bunny one a lot.
1940-1945
Heading into the wartime shorts, and only a couple of these have regrettable characterizations, and they’re Native-American, surprisingly. Seven cartoons in this batch.
Little Blabbermouse (1940) is the one and only cartoon on disc 1 that seemed familiar, mainly because it offers a W.C. Fields mouse, and we’re a big fan of Mr. Fields. The title character is annoying, but that aside, one of our favorites and it looks especially good.
The Heckling Hare (1941) and Bugs Bunny makes his first chronological appearance in this set, making a dumb hunting dog’s life miserable in a fairly good short.
The Bird Came C.O.D. (1942) is a strange one; a delivery cat at the studio runs into a magician’s magic hats full of brutal birds.
The Daffy Duckaroo (1942) is another surprise: this is pretty late for a B&W WB cartoon, isn’t it? It’s also a rather painfully un-PC short with Native Americans.
Hop and Go (1943): A kangaroo who looks and sounds like Goofy (thanks to voice artist Pinto Colvig) battles a pair of Scottish Gophers(!). Unique and pretty funny.
Ain’t That Ducky (1942) offers one of the set’s big surprises: the hunter after Daffy’s little friend is not Elmer, but a parody of character actor Victor Moore, and is actually VOICED by Mr. Moore! Wonder how THAT happened!
Wagon Heels (1945) and here comes Porky, in a remake of an earlier cartoon, which is why a 1945 cartoon (although in color) looks like a 1935 cartoon.
1946-1949
Hang on to your popcorn, fans, we’re just a-gettin’ started, as we lunge into prime WB cartoon territory with 16 cartoons.
Hare Remover (1946) Here’s a twist: Dr. Elmer Jekyll aims to turn Bugs into a monster, but a pesky bear interferes. The final Frank Tashlin cartoon for Warners. We'll admit, we have a fondness for the mad scientist cartoons.
Mouse Menace (1946) Loved this one, too: a very, very clever mouse tortures Porky until the pig gives up and brings in an Acme Robot Cat. Surprisingly, directed by Art Davis, our least favorite director of the “classic Looney Tunes” era, but very funny.
Crowing Pains (1947) Generally speaking, Foghorn Leghorn usually convinces tough li’l Henery Hawk that the stupid dog is chick, I say a chicken, boy, but in this one, he points out Sylvester instead.
Scent-imental Over You (1947) A little Chihuahua puts on a fur coat, not realizing it makes her look like a skunk, which attracts the amorous attention of Pepé Le Pew, of course. We like M. Le Pew and are glad to see him included.
A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948) is a funny take on Aladdin, only with Bugs, a genie who bathes a lot, and a magic lamp. You can’t miss Jim Backus as the voice of the genie.
Bone Sweet Bone (1948) An archeologist’s dog tries to help out his master by retrieving a lost bone from the bulldog next door. Another unique offering from a studio that frequently put together memorable one-shots.
I Taw a Putty Tat (1948) You don’t really need a plot, just gags, when Sylvester goes after Tweety, and the gags and yellow feathers fly fast and furious here.
The Rattled Rooster (1948) An obnoxious worm gets up early to get the bird.
Odor of the Day (1948) To keep from freezing during a blizzard, a dog sneaks into a nice, warm house and into the bed of a skunk who, believe it or not, isn’t Pepé Le Pew, no matter what anybody else says (look at the crest on his head, and note that he doesn’t speak French).
Awful Orphan (1948) One of our favorites, a non-stop stew of laughs as a dog moves in on Porky and won’t leave.
The Pest That Came to Dinner (1948) Nothing personal against termites, except every cartoon I’ve ever seen one in stinks.
You Were Never Duckier (1948) Daffy disguises himself as a chicken to win a chicken contest, believe it or not, and runs into – yep, Henery Hawk. And father!
Bowery Bugs (1949) Oddball cartoon with Bugs telling tales of Old Brooklyn to a dim-witted tourist. As an ex-New Yorker, I have a fondness for this one.
Frigid Hare (1949) Another one the crowd went wild for; Bugs takes a wrong turn on his vacation to Miami Beach (and Jack Warner only gave him 2 weeks!) and ends up protecting a sad-eyed little penguin from a hunter.
Often an Orphan (1949): That rotten dog, Charlie by name, is back to haunt Porky in another screamingly funny offering.
Wise Quackers (1949): Daffy drops onto Elmer’s farm and makes himself t’home, the pest.
1950-1954
Popular characters are in place and the fun and the fur keeps a-flyin’ in these 9 cartoons.
The EGG-cited Rooster (1952) I can’t see Foghorn as a, you should excuse the wording, henpecked husband, but it’s another battle with Henery, and those are always a treat.
Sock a Doodle Do (1952): Foghorn meets a bantam cock who springs into pugilistic mode whenever a bell rings. A socko short.
A Bird in a Guilty Cage (1952) We go through life not knowing the names of cartoons we loved as a kid, and this is the answer to “What’s the one with Sylvester after Tweety in a closed department store?”
Fowl Weather (1953) Non-stop laughs as Granny brings in a dog to guard Tweety from Guess Who.
A Street Cat Named Sylvester (1953) Another funny short; loved the title. Tweety ducks out of the cold and into the cat’s frying pan (if Sylvester has his way).
Dr. Jerkyl’s Hide (1954) This time, it’s Sylvester who drinks the formula and becomes Monster Cat, and with funny results… would be a good pairing with the one where Tweety takes advantage of the formula.
I Gopher You (1954): The Goofy Gophers – Mac and Tosh, if memory serves – are very polite and very funny and in hot pursuit of the produce truck that raided their crops.
Claws for Alarm (1954) A howler! Porky is fast asleep in a haunted hotel, much to the ongoing terror of his cat Sylvester. We remember several of these pairings, and this is the funniest. Another is coming up.
Stop! Look! And Hasten! (1954) There isn’t really a PLOT to Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons to describe, is there? Nevertheless, our audience absolutely screamed with laughter at all of them.
1955-1959
Starting to slow down… but new superstars are comin’! Not the best era for these things unless you’re the Roadrunner and Coyote; 8 were chosen.
Hyde and Hare (1955) Bugs’ turn to deal with the scientist’s formula. Pair them all up for a Halloween special.
Jumpin’ Jupiter (1955) And a follow-up to Claws for Alarm, this time with Porky snoozing while Sylvester meets a space monster.
Pests for Guests (1955) Elmer Fudd buys a used chest of drawers – used by the Goofy Gophers to store their nuts. A delight.
Ready… Set… Zoom! (1955) You surely know the drill by now. The Coyote should see these mishaps comin’.
Boston Quackie (1957) Well, by the late 1950s, under the influence of television, Looney Tunes turned to parodies, like this one, with Daffy as the famous shamus.
To Itch His Own (1958) We like flea cartoons about as much as we enjoy termite cartoons.
Whoa, Be-Gone! (1958) Did I mention that we screamed with laughter at all of the Roadrunners? Audience favorites.
A Waggily Tale (1958) A little kid who is mean to his dog has a dream that HE’S a dog and we’ll see how HE likes it. A bit too cutesy for our tastes but we loved Daws Butler as the dog!
The 1960s
And new stars on the horizon at last in these 9 cartoons.
Fastest With the Mostest (1960): We got a big kick out of the genus and species in these things: Coyote is “Eatibus Anythingus” in one cartoon, for example, and Roadrunner is “Hot-Roddicus Supersonicus”.
The Last Hungry Cat (1961) Several people asked me at work the next Monday what my favorite of the 51 cartoons was, and I pointed to this one: it’s a parody of the TV classic Alfred Hitchcock Presents (one wonders what Hitch thought of being depicted as the silhouette of a swine) with Sylvester’s guilty conscience taking over after he thinks he’s murdered Tweety. A previously-unseen gem that we loved from start to finish.
Mexican Boarders (1962): And here comes the ever-popular Speedy Gonzales with his hilarious cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez, teamed against the Sylvester. Loved this one, too.
Mother Was a Rooster (1962) Charlie the Dog bothers Foghorn Leghorn by bequeathing him an ostrich egg and no, I don’t recall why an ostrich egg is on the farm.
A Sheep in the Deep (1962) Ralph and Sam – wolf and sheepdog, respectively – greet each other every workday, clock in, and then proceed to pummel each other (or, in the case of the wolf, to try to) in a variation of the Roadrunner cartoons (is the wolf a distant cousin of Wile E.?) but we found them no less funny.
Zoom at the Top (1962) Well, how much can we still say about the Roadrunner cartoons?
To Beep or Not to Beep (1963) Ditto, although this one has an hilarious running gag with the Coyote, a catapult, and a boulder with a mind of its own. Probably the best of the Roadrunners, or at least it got the most guffaws.
Woolen Under Where (1963) And in this cartoon, it seems Ralph and Sam are roomies! This was the final one in their series. Too bad.
I Was a Teenage Thumb (1963) Tom Thumb meets King Arthur in a very weird short. Trying to capitalize on The Sword in the Stone, maybe?
The Verdict
Bonus material includes a handful of expert commentary on some of the Disc 2 cartoons, no doubt ported over from the old DVDs. The picture and sound are stunning throughout, and we noticed no flaws. Obviously not the BEST of the Looney Tunes, but definitely one of the best and funniest collections, beginning to end, and the cartoons have never looked better.
We recommend this full throttle, Aristotle.
