Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 2 (Blu-ray Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Apr 09, 2024
• Format: Blu-ray Disc
• 

Director

Frank Tashlin/Friz Freleng/Tex Avery/Norman McCabe/Chuck Jones/Arthur Davis/Robert McKimson

Release Date(s)

1937-1964 (December 12, 2023)

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. (Warner Archive Collection)

• Film/Program Grade: A
• Video Grade: B+
• Audio Grade: B
• Extras Grade: F
• Overall Grade: A-

Review

The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated theatrical short films have continued to dominate our collective pop culture consciousness for nearly a century, but the war that animation historians have been fighting for decades, which is to re-establish the fact that these shorts were not made exclusively for children, is still ongoing. The zany antics of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and the rest of the Warner Bros.-distributed animated line-up were meant to appeal to everyone of all ages; and one might argue that, based upon the amount of violence and outside references, may have leaned a little more toward adults. It’s only because of television that these shorts transformed over time and became known as children’s programming, which is where many of the content-based issues began, and persist to this day.

Over time, many of these cartoons were altered in some way or another to the point that they lost some of their initial impact. In fact, a few have quietly been made to disappear (the “Censored Eleven” is a topic for another day), almost never to be seen again outside of private film collectors. But not all of the changes were made due to controversy. When many of these films were re-released theatrically, they were given new opening credit sequences, complete with a blue ribbon and an Oscar statue, signifying that they were the cream of the crop. This was called the “Blue Ribbon Classics” series, which also consequently chopped off the crew credits from the original camera negatives during the opening titles. Thanks to archives across the world, as well as those aforementioned private collectors, many of the original credit sequences have been subsequently restored, though many have not (the search continues).

One must also not forget that because of Associated Artists Productions (A.A.P.) and Ted Turner’s various TV stations in the 1980s and 1990s, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies remained relevant, making their way to other TV stations, currently airing on Cartoon Network, MeTV, and other TV channels (as of this writing). However, streaming has not been kind to these cartoons as they are often lifted from their respective services, even if the money to restore them has already been spent, further damaging their place digitally. But as the streaming and home video rights continue to shift, companies like the Warner Archive Collection will see to it that these short films are released as uncut and uncensored as possible, within the means of what film elements survive to properly restore them. Case in point: Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 2, picking up from where the excellent first volume left off, continues to assert on the rear cover art that these short films are “intended for the Adult Collector and May Not Be Suitable for Children.” As the debate on how harmful violence in the media—especially cartoons—is to young children, these releases take a different approach, and treat the material as what it is: film.

The Warner Archive Collection release of Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 2 offers twenty-five more animated shorts (presented alphabetically) on a Region A/B-encoded, BD-50 Blu-ray disc in 1080p, retaining their original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The following are included:

1. Behind the Meat-Ball – Looney Tunes (1945, Frank Tashlin – 7:43)
   (Original Titles)
2. Brother Brat – Looney Tunes (1944, Frank Tashlin – 7:15)
   (Original Titles)
3. Catty Cornered – Merrie Melodies (1953, Friz Freleng – 6:37)
   (Original Titles)
4. Cross Country Detours – Merrie Melodies (1940, Tex Avery – 9:53)
   (Original Titles)
5. Daffy’s Southern Exposure – Looney Tunes (1942, Norman McCabe – 7:34)
   (Original Titles)
6. Ding Dog Daddy – Merrie Melodies (1942, Friz Freleng – 8:19)
   (Original Titles)
7. The Eager Beaver – Merrie Melodies (1946, Chuck Jones – 6:18)
   (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
8. Fair and Worm-er – Merrie Melodies (1946, Chuck Jones – 6:41)
   (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
9. Fin’n Catty – Merrie Melodies (1943, Chuck Jones – 6:31)
   (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
10. From Hand to Mouse – Looney Tunes (1944, Chuck Jones – 7:46)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
11. Ghost Wanted – Merrie Melodies (1940, Chuck Jones – 7:36)
    (Original Titles)
12. Greetings Bait – Merrie Melodies (1943, Friz Freleng – 7:00)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
13. Hamateur Night – Merrie Melodies (1939, Tex Avery – 7:44)
    (Original Titles)
14. Hare-Breadth Hurry – Looney Tunes (1963, Chuck Jones – 7:07)
    (Original Titles)
15. A Hick, a Slick, and a Chick – Merrie Melodies (1948, Arthur Davis – 7:12)
    (Original Titles)
16. Hiss and Make Up – Merrie Melodies (1943, Friz Freleng – 8:06)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
17. A Hound for Trouble – Merrie Melodies (1951, Chuck Jones – 7:10)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
18. I Wanna Be a Sailor – Merrie Melodies (1937, Tex Avery – 7:03)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
19. The Leghorn Blows at Midnight – Looney Tunes (1950, Robert McKimson – 7:17)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
20. Lickety-Splat – Looney Tunes (1961, Chuck Jones – 6:24)
    (Original Titles)
21. One Meat Brawl – Merrie Melodies (1947, Robert McKimson – 7:06)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
22. The Penguin Parade – Merrie Melodies (1938, Tex Avery – 7:32)
    (Original Titles)
23. Rabbit Rampage – Looney Tunes (1955, Chuck Jones – 6:59)
    (Original Titles)
24. The Rebel Without Claws – Looney Tunes (1961, Friz Freleng – 6:15)
    (Original Titles)
25. The Wacky Worm – Merrie Melodies (1941, Friz Freleng – 7:14)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)

Brother Brat and Ghost Wanted were newly-scanned in 4K from their original nitrate camera negatives specifically for this release. The rest of the shorts were restored three years prior, though Warner Archive was able to make minor corrections that the team who restored those shorts overlooked, including the restoration of the original opening titles for Cross Country Detours. Unfortunately, not all of the titles missing from their respective shorts could be restored, as noted above.

Without a doubt, these are more vibrant and detailed than ever before with bitrates primarily running between 30 and 40Mbps. Their original color (and black-and-white) palettes are maintained throughout with crisper linework and greater contrast with deep blacks. Minor cel dirt and debris is present, but grain appears a tad absent as some noise reduction has been applied. Some shorts are cleaner-looking than others, but nothing has been done to compromise the integrity of the original artwork. They could sometimes appear a bit more natural than they do, but they certainly don’t appear glossy or inorganic, and they’re a major step up from their standard definition counterparts.

Audio is presented in English and Spanish 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. Not all of these tracks are created equal as there are obvious differences from ‘toon to ‘toon, mostly in treble, hiss, and occasionally mild crackle. Otherwise, everything is given good support. Subtitle options include English SDH, French, and Spanish.

No extras have been included, but many of these cartoons have never been released on optical disc before, let alone uncut. Commentaries and featurettes would have been welcomed, of course, but the real prize is the main content, which takes priority over everything else.

Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 2 further continues the work that Warner Archive began with the first volume, including many rarely seen shorts, as well as some forgotten gems and old favorites. And with over a thousand theatrical shorts at their possible disposal, they may be in business for quite a while (let’s hope anyway). Without a doubt, this release is highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

(You can follow Tim on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook. And be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel here.)