Looney Tunes - The Golden Collection

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Summary: Termite Terrace?
Review: Chuck Jones and all the "mature" toons are just fine, compared to latter day standards, but not to their own manic, hysterical youth. There is a reason why ROGER RABBIT was styled after the inspired insanity of Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. (Yes, Bob's incredible "Bugs Gets the Boid" is somehow included.) The studio really was at its breathless best during the height of the Termite Terrace culture, a period that is barely represented in this collection.

It really doesn't help if choice toons are scheduled for release in small drips and drabs within large ghoulash collections, side by side with made for TV limited animation. The sorry lack of focus seems more shear laziness than a brilliant marketing scheme to force collectors to spend hundreds of dollars to put together a disc or two of what they want. I wish Warners would show a little more pride.

So no choice of director, no chronology, just takes what we gives ya and stop whining. Fair enough. Let the rabid hardcore go waste all their money on Disney or Fleischer.

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Summary: Wonderful set; complaints are unwarranted.
Review: I have a large collection of DVDs, as I'm a connoissuer of film (new and old), and can say in earnest that this is THE BEST DVD purchase I've made, dare I say, ever! Certainly I would much rather have it that Warner released another option (perhaps a 'Platinum Collection') offering even more tunes. However, complaining isn't justified, as the tunes collected here look vibrant & colourful (sorry, I'm Canadian), and capture an era of animation filmaking that's come and gone - and is sorely missed!
Do yourself a favour and buy the Gold set (buying the 'Silver Edition' should be outlawed!), and enjoy the masterpieces contained within, for years to come.

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Summary: Looney Tunes - The Golden Collection
Review: Excellent start to my looney tunes archive. My old 24 carat tapes are too well worn to watch.

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Summary: Misconceptions and MORE ROADRUNNER!
Review: There has been plenty said but I wanted to try to clear up a few misconceptions about this set. First, some have mentioned that Warner Brothers does not own all of the classic Looney Tunes episodes outright. I believe this was true for many years becuase in the 1940's WB did not see a lasting market for the cartoons (the mass production of TV's had yet to begin) and sold all of the existing episodes (many in black and white) to MGM for something ridiculous like $3,000 a piece. MGM held the titles until the mid-1980's when Ted Turner acquired the MGM library, and in the 1990's when Time Warner bought Turner Broadcating all of the titles were reunited.

As for the DVD release, being a Looney Tunes fan I can't help but agree with some of the comments. My thoughts are that it is better to release the titles by director or era, since many seem to have a particular preference. Personally, my faves are the Freeling/Jones/McKimson tunes from about 1947 to the late 1950's. The characters and animation were fleshed out better than in earlier years, and the stories were unbelievable (unlike the episodes made after about 1960 when animation techniques were less lifelike and more automated -- i.e. "Flintstones" -- and the cartoons themselves became more kid-oriented). The "Rabbit Fire"/"Rabbit Seasoning" storyline included on the set (though on separate discs) is a classic example. Note also the subtlety in episodes such as "Big Top Bunny" were Bugs duels with Bruno the "Slobokan" bear. This was the height of the cold war and is a great parallel between crafty Bugs (representing the USA) and Bruno representing the larger, slower (and ultimately doomed) USSR. But the best thing is to all of us it was just a great cartoon.

Finally, a box set is always going to have something for everyone and everyone will be disappointed. My chief complaint: Why is there only one Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote episode? Along with Bugs and Daffy, give me Roadrunner over Sylvester, Tweety, Claude the Cat, or anyone else anytime. And while I can do without "What's Opera Doc" and Michigan Frog, my personal favorite episode "Rebel Rabbit" missed the cut. This is one where Bugs wreaks havoc on Washington and the rest of the US after the government sets a 2 cent bounty for every rabbit. Who can forget bugs vandalizing the Washington Monument like a barber shop, sawing off the State of Florida, or filling up the Grand Canyon before finally ending up in Alcatraz? NOTE TO WB EXECUTIVES: PLEASE PUT THIS ON VOLUME 2!

Some kudos should at least be given that these are finally coming out. My suggestion to WB, take these constructive suggestions and implement them (including episode suggestions) for the next volume. Remember, for all that is said the reviewers here remain fans who appreciate these great cartoons and the artists who brought them to life. And finally please do not sanitize future releases by banning any episodes. I think the World War II and other episodes need to be seen for what they were and what they are. Everyone can learn from them.

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Summary: Looney Tunes - Buy it Today
Review: Pure genius. Without a doubt one of the best DVD sets (animated or otherwise) out there. Stop what you are doing, buy it today, "contract" a cold and call in sick to watch hours of hilarious tunes. Many of which have not been seen in years.

I am writing this review more to these complainers I am reading about. There is a contingent of people who are belly-aching that the DVD set is not all-inclusive. There were over a 1000 looney tunes made from that era. Even a TEN disc set wouldn't hold all of them.

To those people I have some advice, if you want all the looney tunes then sit in front of the Cartoon Network on Saturdays and tape them. Because that will be the best quality you can get. Then you can slowly fast forward and rewind to find that episode you want or tediously que up the tape to record more.

All 56 cartoons in this set have been digitally remastered to look like first prints. It's painstaking work but it is well worth it. Over time, they will continue cleaning up more gems and releasing them. But it's not an overnight process.

To the people who think WB is "corrupt" and "greedy", shut up! Enron was corrupt and greedy. At least I got something for the $50 a spent on this set as opposed to the worthless stock Enron had. Would you rather 56 uncut and restored classics not be released on DVD? If so, then don't buy it. You deserve to watch grainy and faded versions. I would take this set over anything WB or Disney, for that matter, has created over the past 30 years.

Now to the people with a brain, it's simple. WB will continue to release sets provided sales show that people will buy them. So buy them! It's no different than Simpsons, Family Guy or South Park season sets. Yes, there are some noticably absent cartoons but they will make it in with follow up sets. It's something to look forward to.

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Summary: Nice collection, but where is What's Opera Doc?
Review: Really nice collection. I was excited to hear it was coming out and really do like it. But, I cannot believe some of what is missing including my absolute all time favorite "What's Opera Doc". I sure do hope it does eventually make it on a future DVD. I gave it 4 because so many good things are missing and there are some I would have left out. Don't get me wrong, I like and recommend this collection. I guess I just had higher expectations.

I found the collection really great and the special features and commentaries are really enlightening. I look forward to more in the future.

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Summary: It's certainly about time...
Review: Finally! Warner Brothers have began proper restoration of their classic Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies catalogue and we, the fans, are reaping the benefits.
All of the 56 cartoons in this collection are of high image quality and clarity, and from viewing the set I can say that all of them are UNCUT and with their ORIGINAL TITLE CARDS and ending titles! I'm very grateful.
Now sure we can mention how Warner Brothers have left out What's Opera Doc? and One Froggy Evening, but is that enough ground to say that the cartoons on this DVD aren't good enough to satisfy you? Some of the cartoons in this collection have won Academy Awards and have been voted as some of the greatest animated shorts of all-time by animation experts (Like the Scarlet Pumpernickel and Duck Dodgers!) AND the extra features are very intresting for animation fans unlike extra features provided on DVDs by THAT OTHER animation company... But to be honest, I'm not really concerned that What's Opera Doc? or my personal fav, Ali Baba Bunny, were left out of the pack becuase Warner Brothers recognises that they are the most innovative of the Looney bunch and it's obvious they will be restored and released. What I'm worried about though is if Warners will restore toons like the black and white shorts, WWII and Coal Black And The Sebben Dwarves, because they're the more risky titles and it would be a shame for today's society to not be able to see a reflection of a past pop culture through these innovative works. But this package is really a brilliant set, and I look forward to many more in the future.

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Summary: Bestest DVD set ever!
Review: I was soooo happy this week to gt the bestest set in the world ever, at least for me: The Looney Tunes Golden Collection. Seven hours of Bugs, Daffy, Porky Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Killer the Buzzard, the thugs, Gossamer the orange monster, Tweety, Taz.. and three hours or more of documentaries also. The cartoons are uncut (take that, ABC) and restored to museum specifications, which means if there was dust on the original cels, you'll see it on the DVD. I think that's cool, cause it means you'll see em as they really are.

For rareties, it has a complete Private Snafu, a Bosko, and the very first Merrie Melodies cartoon ever done, along with pencil tests and commentaries that mix in recorded interview from Chuck Jones, Treg Brown (their sound effects guy) and others. It also has a complete "Bugs Bunny Show" with titles and the in-between cartoon parts.

::sniff:: Brings a tear to my eye. Good stuff.

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Summary: Must-have
Review: I've just purchased this set and absolutely love it. What a terrific combination of nostalgia and comedy. The extras are fascinating, the cartoons look beautiful (I was afraid they'd get carried away with the remastering, and alter the feel of the cartoons, but they didn't), and they're timelessly funny.

Of course there will be detractors. When there were over 1000 Looney Tunes created, some people are bound to be upset that they didn't get some of what they wanted. As for me, I love almost all of these cartoons, and it's instantly become one of my most treasured boxed sets.

I'm recommending it to all my friends ... for me, it's a must-have set.

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Summary: Whine whine whine!
Review: I got this set a couple of days ago and I think it's a great collection. Doesn't have everything you want? Well, then be patient. This isn't the ONLY set that Warners will be releasing. What is assembled here is a fine collection of cartoons. Sure, it may be missing faves of yours and mine, but having some out there to own is better than having none.