Finally, the long-awaited THE LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION (Warner Home Video, $64.92) hits DVD Oct. 28, 2003 with thunderous, anvil-dropping fanfare. 56 classic Warner Bros. shorts, restored and remastered uncut to a bright and shiny Technicolor glory, thanks to the patience and prodding of historian Jerry Beck, who aided in the production of this indispensable four-disc set. While purists are already quibbling about the "erratic" selection (Charles Solomon rightly points out that is slanted a bit too heavily toward Chuck Jones at the expense of Tex Avery, Bob Clampett and Frank Tashlin), please keep in mind that this is merely the first of what could be many, but only if this proves profitable.
But the gang's all here, including Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Elmer, Sylvester, Tweety, Taz, Yosemite and Road Runner, barely scratching the surface of a treasure trove of 1,000 shorts. In addition to the cartoons are lots of historical supplements (including audio commentary by Beck, filmmaker Greg Ford or actor Stan Freberg. Plus two docs, one new - IRREVERENT IMAGINATION: THE GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES, and one from 1975, THE BOYS FROM TERMITE TERRACE, containing invaluable interviews with Jones and Friz Freleng. There are also 12 new featurettes focusing on various characters, rounding out the set.
Disc 1 - Bugs Bunny* Baseball Bugs, Rabbit Seasoning, Long-Haired Hare, High Diving Hare, Bully for Bugs, What's Up Doc?, Rabbit's Kin, Water, Water Every Hare, Big House Bunny, Big Top Bunny, My Bunny Lies Over the Sea, Wabbit Twouble, Ballot Box Bunny, Rabbit of Seville
Disc 2 - Daffy Duck & Porky the Pig* Duck Amuck, Dough for the Do-Do, Drip-Along Daffy, Scaredy Cat, The Ducksters, The Scarlet Pumpernickel, Yankee Doodle Daffy, Porky Chops, Wearing of the Grin, Deduce, You Say, Boobs in the Woods, Golden Yeggs, Rabbit Fire, Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century
Disc 3 - All Stars* Elmer's Candid Camera, Bugs Bunny and The 3 Bears, Fast and Furry-ous, Hair-Raising Hare, The Awful Orphan, Haredevil Hare, For Scent-imental Reasons, Frigid Hare, The Hypo-Chondri-Cat , Baton Bunny, Feed the Kitty, Don't Give Up The Sheep, Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid, Tortoise Wins By A Hare
Disc 4 - All Stars* Canary Row, Bunker Hill Bunny, Kit for Cat, Putty Tat Trouble, Bugs and Thugs, Canned Feud, Lumber Jerks, Speedy Gonzales, Tweety's S.O.S., Foghorn Leghorn, The Daffy Duck Hunt, Early to Bet, Broken Leghorn, Devil May Hare
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
