Disc News: Looney Tunes get second Blu-ray boxset

Disc Announcements, News

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are getting upgraded once more with Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 arriving on October 16. Fifty more cartoons gain the detail to the classic animation. Pork Pig’s stutter can now enjoy a surround sound mix. This is a perfect Blu-ray to break out on a Saturday morning when you want fun mindless entertainment rather than news shows and infomercials. Here’s the press release with all 50 titles from Warner Home Video:

BURBANK, CA., (August 1, 2012) – What’s up doc? More classic Looney Tunes greats on Blu-ray(TM) & DVD! Get set for another fun-filled installment of Warner Home Video’s (WHV) Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, which is set for release October 16, 2012. Titled Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2, this compilation will showcase 50 all-time favorite cartoon shorts which have been digitally remastered and restored. Available just in time for the holiday gift giving season, Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 will be sold on Blu-ray which retails for $44.98 SRP and on standard DVD, which retails for $26.99 SRP. The Blu-ray includes a cartoon guide with rare images compiled by animation historian Jerry Beck and a disc comprised entirely of bonus material.

Some of the best and most enduring theatrical shorts from the Looney Tunes franchise are featured on the highly-anticipated release of Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2. That wascally wabbit and the rest of the gang are back in an all-star collection that features 50 of some of the franchise’s greatest shorts. The selection contains a variety of memorable works, by some of the most renowned animators in cartoon history including Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Robert McKimson, Friz Freleng and others. Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 is aimed at adult collectors of animation.

Disc one offers a collection of 25 signature cartoon shorts featuring an all-star line-up of some of the best-known Looney Tunes characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Pepe Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales and others. Three featured cartoons, A Wild Hare, Tabasco Road and Mexicali Shmoes are Academy Award(R) nominated shorts (Best Short Subject, Cartoons, 1941, 1958 and 1960). The Blu-ray disc is loaded with bonus featurettes, commentaries by animation experts and alternative audio tracks.

Disc two is comprised of 25 shorts, including a collection of memorable one-shot classics such as Hollywood Steps Out, which features cartoon versions of such legendary actors as Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable and many others. Also included is the war-themed Russian Rhapsody and Rocket-Bye Baby, a Chuck Jones-directed short about a Martian baby who’s accidentally sent to Earth. Featured also are the complete collections of cartoons starring some of Looney Tunes notable but seldom seen characters such as Nasty Canasta, Cecil Turtle, Beaky Buzzard, A. Flea and others. This disc also includes the complete collection of Chuck Jones’ hunting trilogy, a set of three cartoons which star Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd (Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck!). This disc presents a special favorite selected by cartoon fans in an online poll: Bugs Bunny in Wabbit Twouble. The Blu-ray disc is packed with bonus featurettes, commentaries by animation experts and alternative audio tracks.

Disc three, which is only available in the Blu-ray of the release is devoted entirely to special content and rarities from the vault. Hours and hours of extras include several documentaries with expert commentary and behind-the-scenes information from popular animators, famous directors, animation historians and celebrated devotees. Lost cartoons from the World War II era, including Private Snafu and Seaman Hook, rare Leon Schlesinger staff Christmas Party films, documentaries covering Friz Freleng and Tex Avery with bonus Freleng Captain and the Kids cartoons and a selection of Tex Avery’s best cartoons from MGM are also included.

Looney Tunes cartoons have been entertaining consumers for generations with popular, enduring characters that continue to capture the hearts of viewers” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Vice President Family & Animation Marketing and Partner Brands. She added, “We think Looney Tunes fans will be really pleased with the variety of selections we’ve included on this compilation, which range from highly-popular favorites to some lesser seen gems. This release has something for everyone. It’s a must-own title for animation lovers.”

LOONEY TUNES PLATINUM COLLECTION VOLUME TWO

DISC 1
A Wild Hare
Buckaroo Bugs
Long-Haired Hare
Ali Baba Bunny
Show Biz Bugs
The Wise Quacking Duck
What Makes Daffy Duck?
Book Revue
Deduce, You Say
Porky In Wackyland
You Ought To Be In Pictures
Porky In Egypt
Back Alley Oproar
Little Red Rodent Hood
Canned Feud
Gift Wrapped
Birdy And The Beast
Home, Tweet Home
Going! Going! Gosh!
Zipping Along
Scent-Imental Romeo
The Foghorn Leghorn
The High And The Flighty
Tabasco Road
Mexicali Shmoes

DISC 2
Wabbit Twouble
Rabbit Fire
Rabbit Seasoning
Duck! Rabbit, Duck!
Drip-Along Daffy
My Little Duckaroo
Barbary-Coast Bunny
Tortoise Beats Hare
Tortoise Wins By A Hare
Rabbit Transit
Porky’s Hare Hunt
Hare-Um Scare-Um
Prest-O Change-O
Elmer’s Candid Camera
Bugs Bunny Gets The Boid
The Bashful Buzzard
The Lion’s Busy
Strife With Father
An Itch In Time
A Horsefly Fleas
Hollywood Steps Out
Page Miss Glory
Rocket-Bye Baby
Russian Rhapsody
Dough Ray Me-Ow

DISC 3 (Included in Blu-ray Only)
King-Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution
Tex Avery, the King of Cartoons
Friz on Film
ToonHeads: The Lost Cartoons
Real American Zero: The Adventures of Private Snafu
The World of Leon Schlesinger
Friz at MGM
The Best of the Rest of Tex
Private Snafu
Mr. Hook

Available at Amazon.com.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.