Blu-ray Movie Reviews

In this collection, you'll find out how Bugs Bunny got his name, laugh at Yosemite Sam as Scrooge and Taz as Santa Claus in the first of three TV specials, take A Chuck Jones Tutorial: Tricks of the Cartoon Trade, and see how Warner bolstered the World War II effort with Snafu and Mr. Hook. You'll be able to choose alternative soundtracks (one is music-only, another is music-and-effects-only) and hear commentaries on at least half of the shorts. And you'll want to sample this set for years to come, because the best of these Looney Tunes never cease to entertain and amaze, even on 10th or 20th viewing.

As with the previous Golden Collection volumes, there are four discs in this set. The first is devoted to the rivalry between Bugs and Daffy Duck. The second is called Fun-Filled Fairy Tales, with emphasis on the Little Red Riding Hood series. The third is a tribute to director Bob Clampett, and the fourth, Early Daze, features pre-1950 black-and-white shorts. There's a two-part documentary on Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation. To balance that, there's a featurette called Unsung Maestros: A Directors' Tribute, which explores the work of some of the lesser-known Warner names.

And you know, folks, that's not all. I could keep listing extras for another paragraph or two. . . .

Oh, yes, there are the shorts, too - a mix of classic and obscure titles. Among the former are two of my favorites, both starring Bugs: Ali Baba Bunny and Bewitched Bunny, which marks the first appearance of Witch Hazel. Some viewers have been disappointed with Warner's seemingly scattershot approach in programming the shorts, and perhaps it's true that the obscure ones are of greatest interest to devotees of animation. For those who just want the newer 'toons, there's a two-disc Spotlight Collection, Vol. 5, which includes all the more recent shorts - but minus the extras. That's a huge minus, because the extras are unusually interesting. There's little fluff, and all of the commentaries are done by directors and artists who know the topic. Simply by pointing out jokes that I had missed (because they were rooted in the original time period), the commentators greatly enhanced my enjoyment.

This set confirms that, at Warner, the cartoon characters were really actors - and just like their flesh-and-blood colleagues, they performed differently for different directors. I could see this in comparing Bugs Bunny cartoons directed by Jones with those directed by Clampett. And I could see it clearly because, boy, are these beautiful transfers! Colors are vivid, but they never get out of hand. The sonics, meanwhile, are crisp, detailed, and surprisingly robust.

I grew up with Looney Tunes, but I have never seen them look or sound this good, in the movie theater or on TV.

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