Classic Cartoons on Blu-Ray? - Blu-ray Forum

Obilink · 01-02-2011, 08:11 PM

Although there has been a great increase in BD anime releases recently, are there any releases or plans to release classic western cartoons? Although many of the "adult" cartoons, like Family Guy, The Simpsons, South Park, and Futurama have discs out, there are no older ones out.

I mean, I look at the great trove of both animated shows, like the old Cartoon Network, Disney, and Nick hits, as well as the classic animated shorts from Disney, Hannah-Barbara, and Warner Bros., and it seems as though some of these would be getting "Complete Series" releases in HD.

Anyone agree?

frightism · 01-02-2011, 08:19 PM

The "Peanuts Holiday Collection" is out:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Peanu...Blu-ray/14548/

Also, "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" is out too:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mr-Ma...Blu-ray/14897/

Those are actually the only ones I can currently think of.
They should release more classic "Tom & Jerry" or "Looney Tunes" cartoons out in Blu!

Obilink · 01-02-2011, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frightism

The "Peanuts Holiday Collection" is out:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Peanu...Blu-ray/14548/

Also, "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" is out too:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mr-Ma...Blu-ray/14897/

Those are actually the only ones I can currently think of.
They should release more classic "Tom & Jerry" or "Looney Tunes" cartoons out in Blu.

Thanks! I would love to see collections of Tom & Jerry or Looney Tunes, and I'd snatch them up immediately. At the very least, I'd like some cartoon releases that aren't holiday themed.

frightism · 01-02-2011, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obilink

Thanks! I would love to see collections of Tom & Jerry or Looney Tunes, and I'd snatch them up immediately. At the very least, I'd like some cartoon releases that aren't holiday themed.

You're welcome!
And I agree, they should release some volumes of these classic shows.
I would also like to see actual episodes besides the holiday-themed ones.

The Blu Knight · 01-02-2011, 10:34 PM

The problem here is most of those companies haven't even put most of those on DVD yet. Nick for example only struck a deal with Amazon a couple years ago for those made-on-demand releases and only 4 Nicktoons are available in their entirety through that program. Doug almost was, and Hey Arnold! was, but Season 3 had issues and hasn't been made available since. A few others have a couple seasons out or best of releases and that ain't cuttin' it. Through Paramount itself only SpongeBob, Ren & Stimpy and Avatar are available in full, and a third party released Invader ZiM. That makes for a total of only 8 Nicktoons available completely. And most of them are in no way definitive releases, especially the ones not completely available.

Disney is even worse with their TV shows. They have released some of Gargoyles, Tale Spin, Ducktales, Darkwing Duck, and even Kim Possible, but nothing complete. And none of their shows based on their movies (Little Mermaid, Hercules, Tarzan) have made it to DVD either. What I really hope for aside from all their DAC canon which I'm sure we'll see eventually (even if The Black Cauldron doesn't hit until HVD is in retail), is to see the Walt Disney Treasures sets remastered and reissued for BD. The Complete Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Oswald, Pluto and Silly Symphonies would all be more than welcome. The classic shorts in HD included on some Disney BDs look great and are hopefully a sign of things to come.

Warner is a slightly different story. They have probably released the most including Tom & Jerry, Popeye, Looney Tunes, Droopy and the Hanna-Barbera shows. But even most of these aren't complete. The LT Golden Collection sets were amazing and I'd love to see something along those lines come to BD, hopefully with all the shorts released so far and even more which haven't seen the light of day in a while, all remastered of course. Tom & Jerry also deserves a definitive blu-ray release with all the shorts in their original form. Tex Avery's work at MGM, including Screwy Squirrel and George and Junior also needs a release besides just Droopy, although he should make it to blu too. And speaking of MGM, I'd like to see the OOP PInk Panther and Friands Collection get the BD treatment as well. Even Bosko and the Censored 11 are rumored to be coming out of the Warner Archive, so maybe one day they'll make it to BD as well.

That takes us to Hanna-Barbera. They've seen plenty of releases, even outside of the best known ones like Scooby-Doo, Flintstones, Jetsons, Yogi, Huckleberry Hound, and the Smurfs, and they're still getting churned out to an extent, so we probably see them on BD sooner or later. From there we reach the Cartoon Cartoons, of which only Powerpuff Girls has a complete release. I'd love to see them all come to blu-ray but most of them either only got a couple seasons out before Warner lost interest or only just recently got a season out as part of the Hall of Fame line. While these recent releases of Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo and the sort are a good sign of these getting more complete releases, who knows if/when they'll make it to blu.

On a last note about Warner I'd also like to mention their Silver Age stuff from Kids' WB including the DCAU. I'd love to see Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, and even Hysteria, as well as Batman, Superman and the rest of Justice League on BD. So far it's been almost a year since last April when WB hinted at Looney Tunes, Batman, and I think even Scooby-Doo as possibilities for blu-ray. Let's hope this April brings a update we'll be happy to hear.

And that about sums it up. Sorry to take up so much space, as you see I'm a big animation fan, and lets just say I hope it all comes to BD eventually.

Pyoko · 01-02-2011, 11:59 PM

The old theatrical Warner cartoons probably have a chance of being released on Blu-ray. Warner has the biggest output of all the studios, and isn't afraid of releasing older catalogue, oddities and stuff that isn't guaranteed to sell volumes. And I think many of them have already been remastered in HD. Personally I'm not too interested in those though.

What I really want are the Walt Disney Treasures on Blu-ray, this time with every short restored in HD and in chronological order. But considering they got more and more sloppy, with more and more unremastered shorts halfway through the DVDs, and that the WDT line sort of fizzled out at the end, I'm not holding my breath.

I think the various afternoon and Saturday morning TV cartoons are a lost cause. Even among the shows that were released on DVD, the vast majority were from old SD video masters. I'm wondering if they even still have the original film materials to do new HD scans from for many of these shows.

01-02-2011, 08:11 PM	#1
Obilink Active Member Member since:Nov 2010 Blu-ray collection:61	Classic Cartoons on Blu-Ray? Although there has been a great increase in BD anime releases recently, are there any releases or plans to release classic western cartoons? Although many of the "adult" cartoons, like Family Guy, The Simpsons, South Park, and Futurama have discs out, there are no older ones out. I mean, I look at the great trove of both animated shows, like the old Cartoon Network, Disney, and Nick hits, as well as the classic animated shorts from Disney, Hannah-Barbara, and Warner Bros., and it seems as though some of these would be getting "Complete Series" releases in HD. Anyone agree?

01-02-2011, 08:19 PM	#2
frightism Expert Member Top contributor Member since:Nov 2010 Location:California Blu-ray collection:205 Blu-ray reviews:8	The "Peanuts Holiday Collection" is out: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Peanu...Blu-ray/14548/ Also, "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" is out too: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mr-Ma...Blu-ray/14897/ Those are actually the only ones I can currently think of. They should release more classic "Tom & Jerry" or "Looney Tunes" cartoons out in Blu!

01-02-2011, 10:34 PM	#5
The Blu Knight Special Member Top contributor Member since:Feb 2010 Location:Chicago 4K collection:52 Blu-ray collection:472 DVD collection:212 Blu-ray reviews: 1 Trading Score:11	The problem here is most of those companies haven't even put most of those on DVD yet. Nick for example only struck a deal with Amazon a couple years ago for those made-on-demand releases and only 4 Nicktoons are available in their entirety through that program. Doug almost was, and Hey Arnold! was, but Season 3 had issues and hasn't been made available since. A few others have a couple seasons out or best of releases and that ain't cuttin' it. Through Paramount itself only SpongeBob, Ren & Stimpy and Avatar are available in full, and a third party released Invader ZiM. That makes for a total of only 8 Nicktoons available completely. And most of them are in no way definitive releases, especially the ones not completely available. Disney is even worse with their TV shows. They have released some of Gargoyles, Tale Spin, Ducktales, Darkwing Duck, and even Kim Possible, but nothing complete. And none of their shows based on their movies (Little Mermaid, Hercules, Tarzan) have made it to DVD either. What I really hope for aside from all their DAC canon which I'm sure we'll see eventually (even if The Black Cauldron doesn't hit until HVD is in retail), is to see the Walt Disney Treasures sets remastered and reissued for BD. The Complete Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Oswald, Pluto and Silly Symphonies would all be more than welcome. The classic shorts in HD included on some Disney BDs look great and are hopefully a sign of things to come. Warner is a slightly different story. They have probably released the most including Tom & Jerry, Popeye, Looney Tunes, Droopy and the Hanna-Barbera shows. But even most of these aren't complete. The LT Golden Collection sets were amazing and I'd love to see something along those lines come to BD, hopefully with all the shorts released so far and even more which haven't seen the light of day in a while, all remastered of course. Tom & Jerry also deserves a definitive blu-ray release with all the shorts in their original form. Tex Avery's work at MGM, including Screwy Squirrel and George and Junior also needs a release besides just Droopy, although he should make it to blu too. And speaking of MGM, I'd like to see the OOP PInk Panther and Friands Collection get the BD treatment as well. Even Bosko and the Censored 11 are rumored to be coming out of the Warner Archive, so maybe one day they'll make it to BD as well. That takes us to Hanna-Barbera. They've seen plenty of releases, even outside of the best known ones like Scooby-Doo, Flintstones, Jetsons, Yogi, Huckleberry Hound, and the Smurfs, and they're still getting churned out to an extent, so we probably see them on BD sooner or later. From there we reach the Cartoon Cartoons, of which only Powerpuff Girls has a complete release. I'd love to see them all come to blu-ray but most of them either only got a couple seasons out before Warner lost interest or only just recently got a season out as part of the Hall of Fame line. While these recent releases of Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo and the sort are a good sign of these getting more complete releases, who knows if/when they'll make it to blu. On a last note about Warner I'd also like to mention their Silver Age stuff from Kids' WB including the DCAU. I'd love to see Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, and even Hysteria, as well as Batman, Superman and the rest of Justice League on BD. So far it's been almost a year since last April when WB hinted at Looney Tunes, Batman, and I think even Scooby-Doo as possibilities for blu-ray. Let's hope this April brings a update we'll be happy to hear. And that about sums it up. Sorry to take up so much space, as you see I'm a big animation fan, and lets just say I hope it all comes to BD eventually.

01-02-2011, 11:59 PM	#6
Pyoko Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Apr 2008 4K collection:151 Blu-ray collection:722	The old theatrical Warner cartoons probably have a chance of being released on Blu-ray. Warner has the biggest output of all the studios, and isn't afraid of releasing older catalogue, oddities and stuff that isn't guaranteed to sell volumes. And I think many of them have already been remastered in HD. Personally I'm not too interested in those though. What I really want are the Walt Disney Treasures on Blu-ray, this time with every short restored in HD and in chronological order. But considering they got more and more sloppy, with more and more unremastered shorts halfway through the DVDs, and that the WDT line sort of fizzled out at the end, I'm not holding my breath. I think the various afternoon and Saturday morning TV cartoons are a lost cause. Even among the shows that were released on DVD, the vast majority were from old SD video masters. I'm wondering if they even still have the original film materials to do new HD scans from for many of these shows.

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