The SmarK DVD Rant for Looney Tunes: The Golden Collection
This is one that people have been bugging Warner Brothers for FOREVER. I mean, it’s practically their trademark, as Bugs Bunny is one of those rare characters to go beyond mere cartoon character and into icon territory. Of course, with the release of the Looney Tunes movie this year, it’s probably not surprising that they picked now to start flooding the market with DVD releases of classic Warner cartoons, but cynical marketing ploy or not, it’s still pretty cool of them.
The Film
I’m sure unless you’ve been living under a rock all your life, you’re well acquainted with the works of the boys from Termite Terrace. Helmed by Leon Schlesinger in the 40s until his retirement after World War II, the Warner studios pumped out anarchic and groundbreaking animation with the help of brilliant directors like Tex Avery, Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng. This set collects 56 of those cartoons (out of a library of more than 1000, an amazing output for a 10 year period) in a 4-disc set.
While they could have simply dumped 100 cartoons on the same 4 discs, it’s apparent that Warner went the extra mile here to not only improve the presentation of the toons, but to educate the viewer about the history and creation of them, as well. For instance, having watched them all and listened to the commentaries and documentaries, I now know the differences in the directing styles of, say, Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, or Bob McKimson. Obviously most casual viewers of these cartoons, who were only exposed to them via syndicated shows like The Bugs Bunny & Roadrunner Show, are only vaguely familiar with the names of the creative people behind them, but the DVDs really take you behind the scenes and show you the talented (and crazy) people who pumped them out at an amazing clip to compete with Disney.
It’s also kind of a sad story told by the documentaries, as the Warner suits abruptly shut down the cartoon division in the early 60s, citing the influence of television and need for cheaper programming options. Time has shown that to be a truly retarded move, as the Looney Tunes properties still generate revenues for the studios into the millions and continue to delight and influence children (and the young at heart) the world over, at a fraction of the cost of the average movie.
These four discs are a selection of cartoons intended to represent a cross-section of the Looney Tunes, but it’s actually really heavy on Bugs Bunny, even on the two “All-Stars” discs. And you thought HHH was bad. The weird thing is that even though Bugs is the most well-represented on the set, his most famous (and best) cartoon, “What’s Opera Doc?”, is missing here. Also, the shorts aren’t in any order at all, as they skip from later efforts back to early versions of the characters and back again.
I’m not gonna review every cartoon, but I’ll just give you the highlights from each disc.
Disc One: Best of Bugs Bunny
– Baseball Bugs
– Rabbit Seasoning
– Long-Haired Hare
– High Diving Hare
– Bully For Bugs
– What’s Up Doc?
– Rabbit’s Kin
– Water, Water Every Hare
– Big House Bunny
– Big Top Bunny
– My Bunny Lies over the Sea
– Wabbit Twouble
– Ballot Box Bunny
– Rabbit of Seville
Okay, obviously there’s a lot of heavy-hitters here. The set kicks off with “Baseball Bugs”, a brilliant parody of baseball featuring Bugs getting himself into trouble by mouthing off to a baseball team and ending up playing every position himself. The “slow ball” still cracks me up. “Rabbit Seasoning” is one of many classic clashes of wits between Bugs and Daffy (and you can guess who wins that one), although it’s not the most famous one of their series. This one features Bugs twisting pronouns around to screw with Daffy (“Do you want to shoot him now or wait until you get home?”) as they evade Elmer Fudd. The superior “Rabbit Fire”, with a famous exchange that everyone knows, is on the Daffy disc. “Long Haired Hare” features Bugs involved in a war with a blowhard opera singer, and again the commentary here is terrific, illustrating how a director like Chuck Jones would treat Bugs as a counter-revolutionary rather than an antagonist. He’s a bunny just minding his own business, until someone tries to screw with him, and then it’s ON. “High Diving Hare” is a masterpiece of Friz Freleng minimalism, as the entire cartoon revolves around gags about Yosemite Sam getting tricked into climbing up a ladder and diving into a pool of water. The commentaries from Michael Barrier really illustrate the differences in characters and how certain directors (like Friz) favored certain villains (like Sam) because of their directorial style. “Bully For Bugs” is the Bugs v. The Bull cartoon, of course, and it shows how deep the art really was, as they apparently recorded audio from real bullfights from the crowd, and the designs are really beautiful. It really shows the kind of artistic talent you needed to succeed in the cartoon field. It also sports one of the funniest gags ever, with Bugs’ final revenge on the bull. “Rabbit’s Kin” is notable for introducing Pete Puma, a one-shot villain who actually ended up more popular than some recurring characters, with a running gag that of course became famous (“How many lumps did you want?”). “Water, Water Every Hare” is a weird and dark cartoon that introduces the sneaker-wearing armless monster, who switched from mad scientist to mad scientist in the years following. “Big Top Bunny” features Bugs dueling in the circus with a Russian bear (not Ivan Koloff) who is paranoid about losing his spot. Wonder if HHH watched a lot of cartoons? “Wabbit Twouble” is one of the early prototypes of the Elmer-Bugs feud (back when Elmer was much fatter and Bugs had a more pro-active approach to being a pest) and it’s still incredibly funny, as Elmer tries to vacation and Bugs hassles him. “Ballot Box Bunny” is a Yosemite Sam cartoon, as he and Bugs are cast as political opponents, and it features one of the great Yosemite Sam quotes (“Well I speak LOUDLY, and I carry a BIGGER stick and I use it!” *wham*). I find it interesting that not only are these funny on a cartoon violence level, but much more verbally witty than we may have remembered from childhood. Finally, the operatic “Rabbit of Seville” (but not the more famous “What’s Opera Doc”) as Bugs tortures Elmer “Figaro” Fudd, in song form.
This disc is obviously the big one of the set, but there’s three more to go!
Disc Two: The Best of Daffy & Porky
As usual, Daffy gets shafted by the establishment, as he really warrants his own disc. No wonder he’s so paranoid. This disc actually contains some of the best cartoons ever created, though, and they star DAFFY, not Bugs, so he can feel vindicated by that.
– Duck Amuck
– Dough for the Do-Do
– Drip-Along Daffy
– Scaredy Cat
– The Ducksters
– The Scarlet Pumpernickel
– Yankee Doodle Daffy
– Porky Chops
– Wearing of the Grin
– Deduce, You Say
– Boobs in the Woods
– Golden Yeggs
– Rabbit Fire
– Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century
“Duck Amuck” is by far the star of this set, and probably one of the famous cartoons ever made, as Daffy is just trying to make a cartoon and the artist starts screwing with his head, leading to a famous reveal at the end. This one is notable for unprecedented things like breaking the fourth wall, as when Daffy acknowledges his own status as a cartoon character and addresses the artist, as well as the audience, and it’s just so brilliantly anarchic and weird that if you’re not laughing your head off every time you see him repainted in rainbow tones because he wasn’t specific enough when he asked for “color!”, then you have no sense of humor. And speaking of anarchic and weird, “Dough for the Do-Do” features Porky Pig traveling to Wackyland to find the last Do-Do bird, and walking into something out of Robert Esche’s nightmares. “Drip-Along Daffy” is the archetypal Daffy & Porky cartoon, with Daffy as the idiot would-be hero and Porky as the voice of reason, although the king of Porky & Daffy shorts, “Robin Hood Daffy”, is only available on the new “Adventures of Robin Hood” DVD which came out a couple of months ago. “The Scarlet Pumpernickel” is a tour-de-force of literary humor, with Daffy of course spoofing the Scarlet Pimpernel and all the supporting players getting bit parts. “Yankee Doodle Daffy” is an older Daffy & Porky cartoon, kind of an obscure parody of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (which no one these days is gonna get) and basically features Daffy doing various song-and-dance acts for a befuddled Porky Pig. “Wearing of the Grin” is a solo Porky short, as he vacations in Ireland and pisses off a pair of paranoid leprechauns. “Deduce, You Say” is Daffy as Sherlock Holmes and Porky’s sarcastic Watson is hilarious (sample gag: A giant knife lands in front of Daffy’s face with a note listing the killer’s name and address, and he yells out “A clue!” in a triumphant voice, to which Porky drolly comments “I don’t know how you do it, Holmes”). “Golden Yeggs” features Daffy taking on the mob, as he gets mistaken for the goose for the laid the golden egg. Of course, it’s a amazing what you can do with a gun to your head. I’m actually kind of surprised Rocky and Mugsy haven’t made a comeback with the recent rise of mafia movies again. “Rabbit Fire” is the most purely genius of the cartoons on this disc, featuring another battle of wits between Daffy & Bugs, leading to the most famous verbal sparring match between them (say it with me — “RABBIT SEASON!” “DUCK SEASON!”) and a hilarious punchline to the whole thing. It’s a one-joke cartoon, basically, but when a gag works that well, you might as well beat it to death. Finally, a cartoon that actually indirectly influenced the creation of Star Wars — the sci-fi parody tour-de-force “Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century”, which bombed upon initial release but became an underground cult sensation among early sci-fi geeks (like George Lucas) and over the years became one of Daffy’s signature films.
Disc Three: Looney Tunes All-Stars
This one is more of a mixture of stars, although Bugs is still all over it.
– Elmer’s Candid Camera
– Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears
– Fast and Furry-ous
– Hair-Raising Hare
– The Awful Orphan
– Haredevil Hare
– For Scent-imental Reasons
– Frigid Hare
– The Hypo-Chondri-Cat
– Baton Bunny
– Feed the Kitty
– Don’t Give Up The Sheep
– Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid
– Tortoise Wins by a Hare
You’ll notice that the first two cartoons are Bugs Bunny vehicles, although the Three Bears are ostensibly the stars of the second one, with Bugs just playing the Goldilocks part. “Fast and Furry-ous” is in fact the first Coyote & Roadrunner cartoon, and the only one on this set, which is a CRIME. They were truly Chuck Jones’ masterpieces and are woefully underrepresented here. This first one comes out of the womb fully grown, more or less, and it hits all the right notes right off the bat and they’re still just as funny today. “The Awful Orphan” is a Porky cartoon, as an obnoxious dog decides to move into his apartment and won’t take the hint from Porky. Funny, funny stuff. “Haredevil Hare” is notable for introducing Marvin the Martian, as Bugs Bunny gets sent into outer space 20 years before it happened in real life, and chaos results. “For Scent-imental Reasons” is one of the first Pepe LePew cartoons, and one of the best, with the classic formula in place and Mel Blanc brilliant as usual with his faux French accent. “Feed the Kitty” is one of those bizarre one-shot deals that you wouldn’t think would work, but does, as a bulldog befriends a tiny kitten and spends the cartoon trying to hide it from his master. The sequence with the cookie dough inspired the trash-compactor joke in “Monsters, Inc”, in fact. “Don’t Give Up the Sheep” is the beginning of a very underrated series of cartoons, dealing with the coyote’s futile attempts to evade a working stiff sheepdog, and notable for a hilarious gag where sheepdogs have to punch in and out every day. This eventually led to another form of that gag, where even the coyote punched in and out and hung out with the sheepdog after hours. And finally, there’s “Tortoise Wins by a Hare”, featuring a strangely vindictive Bugs Bunny cheating like nuts to try to win a race against a tortoise, and failing due to mafia interference.
Disc Four: Looney Tunes All-Stars
Rounding out the set, we get
– Canary Row
– Bunker Hill Bunny
– Kit for Cat
– Putty Tat Trouble
– Bugs and Thugs
– Canned Feud
– Lumber Jerks
– Speedy Gonzales
– Tweety’s SOS
– The Foghorn Leghorn
– Daffy Duck Hunt
– Early to Bet
– Broken Leghorn
– Devil May Hare
“Canary Row” is one of the best of the Tweety & Sylvester series, with a basic Friz Freleng set up and series of “blackout gags” so called because each scene ends with Sylvester getting knocked silly by Tweety. “Bunker Hill Bunny” narrows the entire revolutionary war down to two forts, one manned by Bugs Bunny (“We”, according to the flag) and the other by Yosemite Sam (“They”). Sam gets blown up here, a LOT. “Bugs and Thugs” is the famous Bugs Bunny v. The Mob cartoon, with a great Rocky catchphrase (“Shut up shuttin’ up”). “Canned Feud” is the ultimate in frustration for Sylvester, as he gets left behind on vacation and the mice steal his can opener, which leds to a series of gags so mean that you’re almost cheering for him to beat the mouse by the end. “Speedy Gonzales” is self-explanatory, and it just boggles my mind that Mel Blanc could come up with so many amazing voices and give them all personality as distinct and wonderful as he did. “The Foghorn Leghorn” is also self-explanatory, although it’s notable because it was the first one where the former star of the series, Henry Hawk (the little chicken-hawk) was booted out of his own starring role by Leghorn. “Daffy Duck Hunt” is one of the transition cartoons between Daffy as mentally deranged free-roaming duck and Daffy as frustrated wannabe star, as he gets captured by Porky and spends the cartoon finding ways out of the freezer while tormenting the dog. “Early to Bet” is an odd inclusion, a one-shot cartoon about The Gambling Bug, who coerces a cat into a series of ill-fated gin rummy games with a dog. And the set wraps up with “Devil May Hare”, which (as you can probably guess) introduces the Tasmanian Devil with a bang, in an effort to create a new monster heel for Bugs to vanquish. Sadly, the stuffy studio heads didn’t like the character and wanted him written out, but his popularity overcame their short-sightedness and he’s actually the second-most popular Looney Tune behind Bugs himself.
Well, any set is gonna have omissions, but missing “What’s Opera Doc” is really quite hard to fathom. There’s also no “One Froggy Evening”, “Three Little Bops”, “Robin Hood Daffy” or much of the Roadrunner library. Still, much like pizza, even bad Looney Tunes are still pretty good, and this essential viewing for any fan of the characters or anyone who wants to learn about the history of animation.
The Video
Man, they gave it the old college try with this one. Colors, contrast and brightness are all brilliantly restored to as good a condition as you’re gonna get for the source material. However, the decades-old film stock and general abuse of the original negatives has left unfixable dust and scratches on many of the cartoons, and the restored color has unfortunately only served to highlight those other imperfections. However, they look about as good as cartoons from the 40s are gonna look, so you can’t really fault them too much for that.
The Audio
Dolby Mono 1.0, which means it’s exclusively from the center channel. Kind of disappointing, as stuff like “Long Haired Hare” really deserves a stereo mix to highlight Carl Stalling’s music and sound effects, but again, they did the best with what they had, I guess.
The Extras
Whereas the choice of shorts and audio presentations are lacking, they went all out on the extras here.
Disc One: You get commentaries on 8 of the cartoons, mostly by historian Michael Barrier, and music-only tracks on three of them. In addition, there’s “Behind the Tunes” featurettes about three of the cartoons you can select as well. And then there’s a whole section of additional extras. There’s a 1975 documentary about the making of the Looney Tunes called “The Boys From Termite Terrace” (30 minutes), featuring interviews with all the big players, and it’s terrific stuff. You get a weak 50th anniversary Bugs cartoon, which simulates shooting bloopers with a handheld camera. You get the relevant portions of two movies featuring Bugs Bunny cameos (neither of which is very interesting, although a young Doris Day in a rabbit costume is strangely arousing). There’s also a couple of vintage episodes of the Bugs Bunny show (minus the cartoons, of course), a couple of trailers, and a stills gallery.
Disc Two: Commentaries on five cartoons and music-only tracks on four of them, the second half of the “Boys from Termite Terrace” documentary (another 30 minutes), three more “Behind the Tunes” featurettes and more stills.
Disc Three: Commentaries on seven cartoons and music-only tracks on two of them, an episode of “Toon Heads” from the Cartoon Network showing some of the “lost cartoons” of the early 20th century (and when IS Private Snafu coming to DVD, anyway?), more “Behind the Tunes” featurettes, and some more stills and schematics.
Disc Four: Commentaries on six cartoons and music-only tracks on three of them, a lengthy and fascinating documentary called “Irreverent Imagination: The Golden Age of Looney Tunes” which unfortunately overlaps a lot of the information already given in the commentaries, more Behind the Tunes, the vintage “Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid” cartoon (which was the first Looney Tune) and some pencil tests and stills.
Yowza. Believe me, if you can make it through all the extras, you will be an EXPERT on Looney Tunes.
Final Ratings
The Film: *****
The Video: ***
The Audio: **
The Extras: *****
