Looney Tunes Platinum Collection on Blu-ray Reviews

[Spartan21]

This is great news! I have the first three golden collections and I know that the picture quality can be greatly improved. I might buy all the blu-ray collections if the picture is fantastic.

[EricJ]

I'll make it even simpler--
The funniest B/W LT, aside from the Banned-12 Bob Clampetts, or the 40's Porkys that were eventually colorized after the war when color film stock was affordable again:

[Show spoiler]

YouTube - ‪Porky's Preview (1941)‬‏

(I mean, Mel Blanc wasn't even working until the late 30's, whaddya expect? )

[metamorphic]

This was actually revealed and hinted by Jerry Beck several times on his blog as well as other sources, such as G4's Attack of the Show, for months on end now, and had mostly been scheduled for the fall. As with the Tom and Jerry sets, this will also be uncut and restored to the highest possible quality, or at least has been promised as such. Great to see these classic cartoons get the Blu treatment - and hope this will herald more future releases, Merry Melodies & MGM, perhaps? I'd love to see some Hanna-Barbera as well.

[bluskies]

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

Sorry. I just don't find them entertaining, artistically worth watching, or funny. I'm not saying they can't put them out (or shouldn't). I'm saying that I don't care about them at all, and I'm fine with them skipping them. I rather suspect a lot of others feel the same way or the GCs wouldn't have tanked when Bosko reared his rubbery, bouncing head.

#10: I don't understand you people! I mean all these picky little points you keep bringing up about the black and white cartoons. They don't mean nothin'. ...I mean what the heck? I don't even have to tell you. ... Hey! Where are you going? [Beginning to sound desperate] ... Oh, sure, there are some good things about 'em, too. Look, I'm the first one to say that.

[#8 gets up and walks to the nearest wall]

#10: I've known a couple were OK, but that's the exception, y'know what I mean?

[#2 and #6 get up from the table. Everybody's back is to #10]

#10: I'm trying to tell you we're makin' a big mistake, you people! I know it. I know all about them! I mean, what's happenin' here? I'm speaking my piece, and you...

[the Foreman gets up and walks away. So does #12]

#10: Listen to me! They're no good! There's not a one of 'em any good!

[#7 turns away]

#10: Boy, are you smart! Well, I'm tellin' 'ya we better watch out! Well, don't you know about them?

[#3 turns his back]
#10: What are you doin'? Listen to me! I'm tryin' to tell you somethin'! ...Don't you know about it? LISTEN TO ME! LISTEN!

#4: I have. Now sit down and don't open your mouth again.

[jaaguir]

I just hope this time they put the cartoons in chronological order, not the mess the dvd-s were.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Do you have any idea how many cartoons you're talking about? Yeah, Blu-Ray would be the best format to even try that, but you'd be talking over 1000 shorts (if you include the Merrie Melodies).

And while we're at it, how many shorts (presum. in 1080p, smartypants) on how many disks ARE we talking about? A four-DVD set on three Blu's, just for the upgrade of Vol. 1?

(This is Warner, after all, and it was the LT and Popeye sets that created a traumatic sales fear of any collector-market cartoon set over 2 disks, unless it was for the Archive....
With their current inferiority-paranoia about the Looneys, I doubt we'll get a six-disk set of Vol. 1+2.)

[horizonline]

I would love to also have Friz Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie on blu-ray, Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island, Daffy Duck's Quackbusters. I would die. I will Netflix this first. I might purchase it also or blind buy it if I have enough money.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally Posted by COULD432

I hope the use of the plural "collectons" is indeed accurate and multiple collections are coming - uncensored and in chronological order, as Tom and Jerry are being released.

Originally Posted by jag2007

Cool, I'd love to see some Tex Avery too

I couldn't agree more with the above statements.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Do you have any idea how many cartoons you're talking about? Yeah, Blu-Ray would be the best format to even try that, but you'd be talking over 1000 shorts (if you include the Merrie Melodies).

Your first Blu-Ray cartoon in a chronological set of "Merrie Melodies" and "Loony Tunes" could potentially begin with this, and I think it would confuse and surprise many people...and sort of cloud the issue...

But that's not the TRUE beginning of Warner Bros. Animation...that begins with Bosko (a negro stereotype, named after a brand of chocolate syrup)

There were 12 of these, I think - and if you want a complete "Warner's" animation set, that's where you'd begin.

Disney/Iwerks/Stalling created the first "Silly Symphony" to much acclaim. This was after the awful splintering of the Disney Bros. studio with scores of defections to Mintz at Universal, which evetually led to further splintering to Warner Bros, and even further splintering to Iwerks own studio formed with Pat Powers. Hired by WB's Schlesigner to develop their self-created "Bosko" character (which had a brief, if ignoble run), Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising created a two-track competing series of imitation products...character-based "Looney Tunes" premiered in 1930, while "music inspired" shorts called "Merrie Melodies" premiered in 1931.

Harman and Ising both left WB in 1934 to produce their own short-lived series, "Happy Harmonies" for MGM.

In other words...if you want a chronological run of Warner's animation, you either start with 12 shorts of a African stereotype named after a 1928 brand of chocolate syrup ("Bosco"), or you start with the Harman/Ising cribs from Disney.

Like I said - chronological is deeply problematic, far better they simply make director's sets, or best of sets from a period.

At the other end, a chronological cartoon collection of the Looney Tunes from the 1960s would be pretty depressing.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

I have all the GCs and a few of the other releases...and I'm fine with this. Most of the BW LTs suck eggs.

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

Fair enough. I amend it to, "All the black and white Looney Tunes I have seen I found to be terrible, and I don't want to see any more."

This is generally true, for me, of Disney Shorts as well, outside of a handful that I like for nostalgia reasons (e.g., The Skeleton Dance). I acknowledge that, say, Steamboat Mickey represented a breakthrough. That doesn't mean I think it's actually good, any more than I'd willingly climb on board the Wright Flyer.

Warner Bros. made black and white cartoons up til 1943. Some of those are classics in their own right, and beautifully animated.

Just take a look at:

Scrap Happy Daffy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8ZG2CSWypI

Porky Pig's Feat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDI8f-QjRs4

The Ducktators

YouTube - ‪The Ducktators (1942)‬‏

Eatin' On the Cuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcAZioikfZs

[Loafy]

I had never seen any of these and they were all fantastic!!! I'm amazed and how great the source films are since I don't think? these have ever been released to home video?

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally Posted by Loafy

I had never seen any of these and they were all fantastic!!! I'm amazed and how great the source films are since I don't think? these have ever been released to home video?

They were released on various Looney Tunes Golden Collections DVDs. I'm sure those Youtube videos were taken directly from the Warner's DVDs.

[jaaguir]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Do you have any idea how many cartoons you're talking about? Yeah, Blu-Ray would be the best format to even try that, but you'd be talking over 1000 shorts (if you include the Merrie Melodies).
[...]
Like I said - chronological is deeply problematic, far better they simply make director's sets, or best of sets from a period.

No, I wasn't fully aware of the complexities. Thanks for the info, very interesting.
I realized any chronological attempt would start with lots of B&W shorts, and that would be a highly improbable move by any studio. I was thinking that maybe by doing separate volumes per character, this could get easier. But there are so many cartoons featuring several famous characters at the same time that it wouldn't be too practical either.
My favorite option from the choices you propose would be sets sorted by period.
But let's face it, if the release is just called "Looney Tunes - Platinum collection" like the thread title says, I am well aware that it's going to be the same old random mish-mash of cartoons. I just couldn't help daydreaming for a better presentation of some sort. I just hate that they get to do the selection based on who knows what. Anyone with a preference for just one character or just one period will probably end up having to buy all of the volumes. Which is exactly what the Warner guys want, I guess.

[Loafy]

Originally Posted by J. J. Hunsecker

They were released on various Looney Tunes Golden Collections DVDs. I'm sure those Youtube videos were taken directly from the Warner's DVDs.

lol that will teach me to buy all those sets and never get around to actually watching them. I had no idea they included these b/w gems.

[Musicguy]

If they don't go chronologically, I would prefer the shorts be packaged by time-frame or decade. I 'm not a fan of mixing up older and newer shorts on the same disc.

I prefer the late 40's early 50 stuff anyway. So I really don't need the 30's stuff on the same discs

[StoogeFan1118]

I dont have all the Looney Toons on DVD so I would welcome an upgrade I will be picking this up along with Tom and Jerry collection that is being released. This fall is shaping up nicely in terms of releases and most of the summer movies have not even been announced yet.

[zackisthewalrus]

We should hopefully be getting answers within the next hour or so. According to the SDCC schedule, the panel is going on right now.

[DVDFreaker]

I have all volumes of the Looney Tunes DVD collection, I will sell it and pre-order the Blu-ray when it is announced!

[detective392]

Back at Cartoon Brew, Jerry provided an (incomplete) list of the contents for The Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 1. Here it is in a bullet-list format:

Disc #1:
Hare Tonic
Baseball Bugs
Buccaneer Bunny
The Old Grey Hare
Rabbit Hood
8 Ball Bunny
Rabbit of Seville
What's Opera Doc?
The Great Piggy Bank Robbery
A Pest In The House
The Scarlet Pumpernickle
Duck Amuck
Robin Hood Daffy
Baby Bottleneck
Kitty Kornered
Scardy Cat
Porky Chops
Old Glory
A Tale Of Two Kittie
Tweetie Pie
Fast And Furry-ous
Beep Beep
Lovelorn Leghorn
For Scent-I-Mental Reasons
Speedy Gonzales

Disc #2:
One Froggy Evening
The Three Little Bops
I Love To Singa
Katnip Kollege
The Dover Boys
From A To ZZZZ
Chow Hound
Feed The Kitty
Hasty Hare
Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century
Hareway To The Stars
Mad As A Mars Hare
Devil May Hare
Bedevilled Rabbit
Ducking The Devil
Bill Of Hare
Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare
Bewitched Bunny
Broomstick Bunny
and several others to be announced

Bonus material includes:
several Behind-The-Toons pieces and Chuck Jones documentaries
numerous bonus cartoons including Chuck Jones' FDR re-election film, Hell Bent For Election (1942)
a rare Air Force re-enlistment film, A Hitch In Time (1955)
Ken Mundie's expressionist anti-war animated short, The Door (1967)
2 all-new documentaries on Marvin The Martian and The Tasmanian Devil

Box art.

[zackisthewalrus]

DATE: November 15, 2011
SRP: $59.99 (Digibook), $79.99 (Box set)
Pre-order:

Looney Tunes: Volume One Blu-ray Collector's Edition

Looney Tunes: Volume One Blu-ray