Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 142 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English, French or Spanish Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.37:1)
Directors: Chuck Jones, Arthur Davis, Friz Freleng, Arthur Davis
Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice, Vol. 1 is the first in a proposed series of releases from Warner Bros. resurrecting the classic animated Schlesinger Studios produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from the WB vault, sourced from 4K scans of the original successive-exposure negatives. There's not a lot I can add to the love that's been rightfully lavished upon these shorts for decades, they are simply wonderful creations that have stood the test of time. We of a certain age all grew up watching Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety & Sylvester, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote on TV as kids (and then into our teens, and still now as so-called adults), and I sure as shit hope kids are still growing up watching these, I know I made sure to watch them with my own children, and they're more accessibly now than ever thanks in part to their availability on the MAX (formerly HBO Max) streaming platforms.
All 20 of the shorts found herein are making their Blu-ray debuts; several of these have not been seen on home video since the days of Laserdisc, including "Beanstalk Bunny", "Stooge for a Mouse", and "Two Gophers from Texas", "Doggone Cats"; while "The Bee-Deviled Bruin" is making it's home video debut on any format.
This collection contains the following animated short subjects:
1. BEANSTALK BUNNY - Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck & Elmer Fudd (1954, Chuck Jones) (7:00)
2. THE BEE-DEVILED BRUIN – The Three Bears (1949, Chuck Jones) (7:04)
3. CATCH AS CATS CAN – Sylvester (1947, Arthur Davis) (7:17)
4, CRACKED QUACK - Daffy Duck & Porky Pig (1952, Friz Freleng) (7:06)
5. DAFFY DOODLES – Daffy Duck & Porky Pig (1946, Robert McKimson) (7:14)
6. DOGGONE CATS – Sylvester (1947, Arthur Davis) (7:05)
7. THE FOXY DUCKLING – (1947, Arthur Davis) (7:35)
8. A FRACTURED LEGHORN – Foghorn Leghorn (1950, Robert McKimson) (7:04)
9. GREEDY FOR TWEETY – Tweety & Sylvester (1957, Friz Freleng) (6:31)
10. HIP-HIP-HURRY! – Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote (1958, Chuck Jones) (6:18)
11. HIS BITTER HALF – Daffy Duck (1950, Friz Freleng) (7:37)
12. HOT ROD AND REEL – Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote (1959, Chuck Jones) (6:29)
13. LITTLE ORPHAN AIREDALE – Porky Pig and Charlie Dog (1947, Chuck Jones) (7:31)
14. A MOUSE DIVIDED – Sylvester (1953, Friz Freleng) (7:13)
15. PLOP GOES THE WEASEL – Foghorn Leghorn (1953, Robert McKimson) (6:04)
16. STOOGE FOR A MOUSE – Sylvester (1950, Friz Freleng) (7:00)
17. TALE OF TWO MICE – Babbit & Catstello (1945, Frank Tashlin) (7:33)
18. TWO GOPHERS FROM TEXAS – Goofy Gophers (1947, Arthur Davis) (6:55)
19. UNRULY HARE, THE - Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd (1945, Frank Tashlin) (7:20)
20. WHAT’S BREWIN’ BRUIN? – The Three Bears (1947, Chuck Jones) (7:31)
Audio/Video: All twenty shorts arrives on Blu-ray in 1080p HD advertised as being sourced from 4K scans of the original successive-exposure negatives. There's a light layer of grain throughout, it's not always uniform but it's there and largely unmolested. While it does look like there's been some judicial filtering applied during the restoration process the grain structures survived the process, animation lines look quite good, and colors are bright and look accurate to my eyes.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles. Sounding clean of for the most part, there is some discrepancy in audio levels that had me reaching for the remote more often than I would have liked, but it's not ruinous. It's not crisp full-bodied presentation by any means but it does sound appropriately vintage.
There are no extras to be found here, nothing, we get zilch, zip, zero! Warner Archive are not known for creating new extras for their releases, preferring to stick to top notch restoration and presentation, and the same hold true here - but anything would have been appreciated, these toons deserve more. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Special Features:
- None
The inaugural volume of Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice, Vol. 1 is a welcomed HD upgrade for all 20 shorts, and the fact that about 25% of these never even had a DVD release previously makes it pretty dang essential in my opinion. I applaud Warner Archive for their continued preservation of these timeless animated shorts which still have the power to make me feel like I'm eight years-old sitting in front of the TV and laughing non-stop, that nostalgic-magic right there is worth the price of admission all by it's self, for me this is a must-own for classic animation fans and those looking to reconnect with their inner-kid.
Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray:
