Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault: Volume 3 (Blu-ray Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Sep 22, 2026
Format: Blu-ray Disc

Director

Various

Release Date(s)

1930-1960 (September 8, 2026)

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. (Warner Archive Collection)

Film/Program Grade: A
Video Grade: B+
Audio Grade: B-
Extras Grade: D+

Review

Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies need little to no introduction. Mainstays of our collective childhoods (and adulthoods) for decades since they first premiered theatrically, and in regular rotation on television ever since, these well-crafted slices of animated comedy goodness continue to reign supreme as some of the greatest cartoon slapstick ever produced. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, Sylvester and Tweety Bird, Foghorn Leghorn, and many others have fully embedded themselves in our popular culture, and more cartoons, films, and merchandise continue to be made starring these characters.

We need not delve into the history of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies as we’ve already covered them in great detail in the past, especially in the review for the Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 1-4 Blu-ray release, which collected together all four volumes of the line up to that point. Since the folks at the Warner Archive Collection were adamant that those Collector’s Choice releases only ever feature cartoons that had never been released on home video before, it meant that cartoons that were previously released on DVD were being neglected. The solution was to have the best of both worlds and create a new line of titles, starting with Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 1, moving on to Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 2, and now continuing with Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 3.

The most important aspect of what these Blu-ray releases represent is a diversity in content. Each draws from every decade, from the most minor of shorts to the most popular, giving viewers a range of entertainment for their money and perhaps highlighting little seen or little known films that might otherwise not have the same kind of spotlight. The rear and Blu-ray disc cover art continues to remind us that these shorts are “Intended for the Adult Collector and May Not Be Suitable for Children.” This is important because it tells us that we’re getting these films as originally intended when they ran theatrically, preserving them as they should be preserved.

The Warner Archive Collection release of Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 3 offers fifty animated shorts (presented alphabetically) on 2 Region-Free BD-50 Blu-ray discs in 1080p, retaining their original theatrical aspect ratios of 1.37:1. While Disc One represents shorts never before released on home video, Disc Two represents shorts never before released on Blu-ray. The following shorts, as well as extras, are included on each disc (take note that for Disc Two, we’ve addressed which DVD release that each short was originally included on):

DISC ONE

Billboard Frolics – Merrie Melodies (1935, Friz Freleng – 6:38)
(Original Titles)
Country Mouse – Merrie Melodies (1935, Friz Freleng – 7:03)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Dog Gone Modern – Merrie Melodies (1939, Chuck Jones – 7:24)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Don’t Axe Me – Merrie Melodies (1958, Robert McKimson – 6:31)
(Original Titles)
Don’t Look Now – Merrie Melodies (1936, Tex Avery – 7:34)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Feather Bluster – Merrie Melodies (1958, Robert McKimson – 6:12)
(Original Titles)
A Feather in His Hare – Looney Tunes (1948, Chuck Jones – 7:19)
(Original Titles)
The Gay Anties – Merrie Melodies (1947, Friz Freleng – 6:24)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Horse Hare – Looney Tunes (1960, Friz Freleng – 6:37)
(Original Titles)
Joe Glow, the Firefly – Looney Tunes (1941, Chuck Jones – 6:48)
(Original Titles)
Lady, Play Your Mandolin! – Merrie Melodies (1931, Rudolf Ising – 7:16)
(Original Titles)
The Lyin’ Mouse – Merrie Melodies (1937, Friz Freleng – 6:59)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Mice Follies – Looney Tunes (1960, Robert McKimson – 6:18)
(Original Titles)
My Green Fedora – Merrie Melodies (1935, Friz Freleng – 7:33)
(Original Titles)
Nothing But the Tooth – Merrie Melodies (1948, Arthur Davis – 7:34)
(Original Titles)
Of Thee I Sting – Merrie Melodies (1946, Friz Freleng – 6:33)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
A Pizza Tweety-Pie – Looney Tunes (1958, Friz Freleng – 6:19)
(Original Titles)
Shake Your Powder Puff – Merrie Melodies (1934, Friz Freleng – 6:18)
(Original Titles)
Sinkin’ in the Bathtub – Looney Tunes (1930, Hugh Harman & Rudolf Ising – 7:53)
(Original Titles)
Sleepy Time Possum – Merrie Melodies (1951, Robert McKimson – 6:56)
(Original Titles)
Slightly Daffy – Merrie Melodies (1944, Friz Freleng – 6:12)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
A Star Is Hatched – Merrie Melodies (1938, Friz Freleng – 8:09)
(Original Titles)
Tree Cornered Tweety – Merrie Melodies (1956, Friz Freleng – 7:06)
(Original Titles)
Trick or Tweet – Merrie Melodies (1959, Friz Freleng – 6:37)
(Original Titles)
Tweet and Sour – Looney Tunes (1956, Friz Freleng – 6:54)
(Original Titles)

DISC TWO

Ballot Box Bunny – Merrie Melodies (1951, Friz Freleng – 7:36)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
Boobs in the Woods – Looney Tunes (1950, Robert McKimson – 6:55)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
Booby Hatched – Looney Tunes (1944, Frank Tashlin – 6:43)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Case of the Missing Hare – Merrie Melodies (1942, Chuck Jones – 8:14)
(Original Titles)
Conrad the Sailor – Merrie Melodies (1942, Chuck Jones – 7:08)
(Original Titles)
Daffy – The Commando – Looney Tunes (1943, Friz Freleng – 7:25)
(Original Titles)
Duck Soup to Nuts – Looney Tunes (1944, Friz Freleng – 6:57)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Fox-Terror – Merrie Melodies (1957, Robert McKimson – 6:46)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
Foxy by Proxy – Merrie Melodies (1952, Friz Freleng – 7:04)
(Original Titles)
Fresh Airedale – Merrie Melodies (1945, Chuck Jones – 7:10)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Goldimouse and the Three Cats – Looney Tunes (1960, Friz Freleng – 6:25)
(Original Titles)
Herr Meets Hare – Merrie Melodies (1945, Friz Freleng – 7:17)
(Original Titles)
Holiday for Shoestrings – Merrie Melodies (1946, Friz Freleng – 7:21)
(Original Titles)
Hollywood Daffy – Merrie Melodies (1946, Hawley Pratt – 7:03)
(Original Titles)
I Got Plenty of Mutton – Looney Tunes (1944, Frank Tashlin – 7:37)
(Original Titles)
Mississippi Hare – Looney Tunes (1949, Chuck Jones – 7:38)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
Mutiny on the Bunny – Looney Tunes (1950, Friz Freleng – 7:35)
(Original Titles)
My Favorite Duck – Looney Tunes (1942, Chuck Jones – 7:38)
(“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
Pizzicato Pussycat – Merrie Melodies (1955, Friz Freleng – 7:20)
(Original Titles)
Puss n’ Booty – Looney Tunes (1943, Frank Tashlin – 7:24)
(Original Titles)
Rabbit’s Kin – Merrie Melodies (1952, Robert McKimson – 6:52)
(Original Titles)
Really Scent – Merrie Melodies (1959, Abe Levitow – 6:14)
(Original Titles)
Stage Door Cartoon – Merrie Melodies (1944, Friz Freleng – 8:06)
(Original Titles)
A Star Is Bored – Looney Tunes (1956, Friz Freleng – 7:13)
(Original Titles)
The Windblown Hare – Looney Tunes (1949, Robert McKimson – 7:09)
(Original Titles)

Commentaries:
- Case of the Missing Hare with Greg Ford
- Fresh Airedale with Greg Ford
- Herr Meets Hare with Greg Ford
- Mississippi Hare with Eric Goldberg
- My Favorite Duck with Jerry Beck

The biggest advantage in presenting these films in alphabetical order is the variety, forcing viewers to sit through cartoons that they might not otherwise have chosen if they had been more vigorously curated. Three perfect examples of this are the rarely-seen shorts Billboard Frolics, Joe Glow, the Firefly, and Lady, Play Your Mandolin!, none of which feature any of the classic or well-known Merrie Melodies or Looney Tunes characters. At the same time, some of the more familiar shorts are also included in the mix, such as Ballot Box Bunny, Conrad the Sailor, Duck Soup to Nuts, Hollywood Daffy, Mutiny on the Bunny, My Favorite Duck, and Stage Door Cartoon (all staples of my childhood, personally). It’s also worth noting that this is the first home video release in eighteen years to feature the character of Bosko (Sinkin’ in the Bathtub).

As for the quality, five of the shorts included on Disc One have been newly-scanned in 4K from their original nitrate camera negatives: A Feather in His Hare, Horse Hare, Nothing But the Tooth, Sinkin’ in the Bathtub, and Slightly Daffy. Otherwise, the rest were restored prior by other Warner Bros. entities in varying periods, though Warner Archive has been able to make minor corrections that the teams who restored those prior shorts might have overlooked. Unfortunately, not all of the opening titles missing from their respective shorts could be re-instated as some are either missing or no longer exist, instead featuring their “Blue Ribbon” re-release openings, either partially or entirely.

Without a doubt, these are more vibrant and detailed than ever before with bitrates primarily running between 25 and 40Mbps. They’re not completely uniform as some were taken from older HD masters, but none are in poor shape either. For example, My Green Fedora looks fresh and crisp with refined detail, whereas Really Scent is soft and lacking the sharpness of a new scan. However, each short’s original color palettes are maintained throughout with crisper linework and greater contrast with deep blacks. Minor cel dirt and debris is present, sometimes in older scans more so than new ones, and grain is sometimes a tad absent as mild noise reduction has been applied, usually on the non-WAC restored shorts. Some are cleaner-looking than others, as well, but nothing has been done to truly compromise the integrity of the original artwork. They could sometimes appear 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 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Not all of these tracks are created equal as there are obvious differences from ’toon to ’toon, mostly in terms of treble, hiss, and some mild crackle. You occasionally have to make a volume adjustment here and there as well, such as on Daffy – The Commando, which is a little quieter than the other shorts, but everything is given good support otherwise.

Though some of the commentaries from the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD releases have carried over, others haven’t, along with some other notable materials:

Audio Commentary on Conrad the Sailor by Greg Ford with Chuck Jones
Audio Commentary on Holiday for Shoestrings by Daniel Goldmark
Audio Commentary on I Got Plenty of Mutton by Greg Ford
Audio Commentary on Pizzicato Pussycat by Daniel Goldmark
Audio Commentary on Puss n’ Booty by Jerry Beck
Audio Commentary on Rabbit’s Kin by Stan Freberg
Music Only Tracks for Rabbit’s Kin and Goldimouse and the Three Cats
Music and Effects Track for The Windblown Hare

That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface in terms of the many featurettes and other extras included on those releases, most of which were generally about the filmmakers behind the cartoons. In other words, if you have any of the Golden Collection, Super Stars, or Essential releases, you may want to hang on to those a bit longer. Many will be likely be unhappy about that, but the point of Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 3 is getting the best and the most for your money. The visual upgrades outweigh the lack of bonus materials, and you can still pick up those DVD releases since they’re not that hard to come by. In other words, Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 3, like its predecessor, is highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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