Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Two

Rating:
Summary: Great tunes but PREVIEW PICTURE NOT WORKING like Volume 1
Review: There is NOT a preview picture for each tune like there is in Volume 1. For example, on each menu you may have say 5 or 6 tunes. In Volume 1, as you "toggle" to each tune title a preview picture pops up on the right with a "still" of that particular tune. (This is an awesome feature and makes it TONS easier to ID what tune it is)

In Volume 2 this is not the case. There are 2 "stills" which do not change, nor do you even know which of the 2 (out of say 6) tunes they even belong too. In other words, the titles are not linked a still.

This feature was really awesome and I can only hope that it was a fluke that it got left out in Volume 2. PLEASE WB, put this feature back in for every tune in Volume 3!!!!

As for the rest, WB has done a fantastic job of restoration. Great sound, saturation, no "bugars" etc.. Volume 1 was perfect, and this Volume could have been had they included the same preview feature.

Rating:
Summary: Another Good Purchase
Review: This second volume of classic cartoons proves to be as much a delight to watch as the first volume. It also provides an indication that Warner Brothers will continue to release many of its gems from the vaults in completely restored and uncut form. In most cases, the colors are rich and vibrant like never before. Like the first set, this collection is not comprehensive but goes a long way in helping Looney Tunes fans build their cartoon collection. Hopefully, in time, completists like myself will be more satisfied.

Here are the best ones featured on Volume 2:

"Baby Bottleneck" (A classic cartoon where Porky and Daffy are aids to the burned-out stork who delivers babies)

"The Big Snooze" (A wild cartoon where Bugs invades Elmer's dreams to change his mind about tearing up his contract and breaking up the act; "The rabbits are coming, Hooray, Hooray!!)

"Bunny Hugged" (Bugs makes his professional wrestling debut as `The Terror' in an entertaining bout with `The Crusher')

"A Corny Concerto" (Elmer as the conductor and M.C. introduces two hysterical, musical vignettes (sans dialogue) -- the first, involving Porky, the hunter, chasing Bugs, the second, a baby duckling attempting to join a group of swans)

"French Rarebit" (Two French chefs from competing restaurants battle it out to feature Bugs on their menu, but wind up in the oven themselves; "Personally, I prefer hamboiger.")

"From Duck Soup to Nuts" (A sly, loony Daffy tries to outwit Porky, the duck hunter)

"The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" (A great cartoon with Daffy imagining himself as Dick Tracy (Duck Twacy) battling Tracy-like villains)

"Hare Brained Hypnotist" (Elmer resorts to using hypnosis to try and catch Bugs, but to no avail.)

"Hare Conditioned" (Bugs refuses to be stuffed and placed on display by a stubborn store manager; "Kind of outsmarted you, eh, little chum?")

"I Love to Singa" (Mr. and Mrs. Owl's youngest fledgling is determined to sing Jazz rather than acceptable, less-rebellious music; a wonderful representative of the spirit behind Looney Tunes animation)

"Kitty Kornered" (A hysterical short involving Porky battling his own cats who refuse to be put out for the night; "It's uncatstituional!!!")

"Little Red Riding Rabbit" (A pristine version of a wartime classic where the big bad wolf wants to eat Bugs; adding to the fun is a Red Riding Hood who is a loud, overbearing, and intrusive bobby soxer; "Hey, Grandma, I brought a little bunny rabbit for ya' ta haaave!!")

"Mouse Wreckers" (Two wandering mice, Hubie and Bertie, deciding they want to live in a certain, comfortable home, resort to building paranoia in a champion mouse-chaser cat in order to oust him from the premises)

"One Froggy Evening" (An all-time favorite by Chuck Jones starring Michigan J. Frog - a true classic; "Hello, my baby! Hello, my honey! "Hello, my ragtime gal!!)

"Porky in Wackyland" (The original, outrageous cartoon where Porky looks for the Do-Do bird; a color remake of this short is on Volume 1)

"Rhapsody Rabbit" (Bugs, the pianist, does his best to perform live despite "help" from a spirited, musical mouse)

"Show Biz Bugs" (Daffy refuses to be outdone on the stage by the star of the show, Bugs; he ultimately decides to blow himself up on stage; "I know. I know. But I can only do it once.")

"Slick Hare" (A classic that involves Elmer, the waiter, trying to find Humphrey Bogart an order of fried rabbit with Bugs as the key ingredient)

"Snow Business" (A hysterical cartoon that involves a snowbound Sylvester and Tweety; while Sylvester has definite plans to eat Tweety, a house mouse is desperate enough to eat Sylvester)

"The Three Little Bops" (A Friz Freleng classic featuring Stan Freberg's vocals and pitting the three little pigs, a jazz trio, against a tone-deaf big bad wolf who wants to join their act)

"Tortoise Beats Hare" (A Tex Avery classic where Bugs and Cecil Turtle meet and race for the first time; the sequel is on Volume 1)

"Tweetie Pie" (A classic, early Tweety cartoon where Sylvester (named "Thomas" in this short) destroys his owner's house trying to eat Tweety despite the fact that the owner's broom keeps getting him in the end)

"You Ought To Be in Pictures" (Daffy talks Porky into leaving Warner Brothers in this revolutionary cartoon involving live film coupling both human and cartoon characters)

"What's Opera, Doc?" (One of the all time classics fully restored and uncut; "Kill the rabbit! Kill the rabbit! Kill the rabbit!)

There are many other memorable cartoons included. For example, disc two boasts a nice collection of Road Runner cartoons. Sylvester and Tweety fans will be happy with disc three. Throughout the set, important features such as alternate musical scores and commentaries enhance the viewability of many of the cartoons. The 50th anniversary special is also included in this collection in two parts.

There are, of course, drawbacks to the set. Clearly missing are "Robin Hood Daffy", "Knighty Knight Bugs", and other gems that include Daffy, Porky, and Yosemite Sam (characters clearly not featured as often in this set). We should anticipate more appearances from them in subsequent volumes. Furthermore, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub" (Bosko's debut), which is listed as a bonus feature in this set, is OMITTED. The chapter menus on each of the discs are also designed a little differently than the first set - it's more difficult to determine which cartoon is which since the picture shown doesn't change when you highlight a cartoon title.

It's also important to note that the scaled down version with two discs is not as good an investment as the full four disc set. Continue to buy the full collections as they are released by Warner Brothers to be more satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: Great collection - fills in gaps in Golden Collection Vol. 1
Review: Very pleased with this Volume 2. It fills in the missing classics in Volume 1, namely, Great Piggy Bank Robbery, Porky in Wackyland, One Froggy Evening, What's Opera, Doc, You Ought To Be in Pictures, Love to Singa, and more for Tweety and the Road Runner! The quality of the toons are superb -- for example, the color in One Froggy Evening was sharp and the sound was clear, just the best rendering I've seen of our good friend Michigan J. Frog. And on top of all this, you get expert commentary. I can't recommend this enough for Looney Tunes fans, and I can't wait for Volume 3.