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September 13, 2020

IT'S A LOONEY WORLD AFTER ALL SECTION NOW UP!

Video releases from every known foreign market

Not a normal news update, but we wanted to officially announce a new area on our site, something that's been in the works for a very long time and seemed as if it would never happen. But it's finally here!

We are so proud to announce our new section covering foreign Looney Tunes home video releases, IT'S A LOONEY WORLD AFTER ALL!

Organized by country, each page covers all the known video releases complete with (in most cases) cover scans and (in most cases) programming lists. It's not complete and it's likely something that will constantly be added to as more information comes in, but the section is now live and ready to peruse.

Comments, questions, and contributions can be made through our Facebook page.

Enjoy!

September 9, 2020

Kentucky Kernels Warner Archive Blu-ray Now Available

Includes HD debut of Buddy's Circus

And oddball surprises continue to be the norm this year from Warner Archive, this time with yesterday's Blu-ray release of the Wheeler and Woolsey vehicle Kentucky Kernels. Co-starring screen legends Spanky McFarland and Margaret Dumont, the hillbilly-flavored comedy is making its high-definition debut through WBShop.com and other online retailers.

The Blu-ray's special features are three 1934 cartoon shorts, all making their home video debut in HD. Two are the black-and-white Popeye cartoons The Dance Contest and Sock-a-Bye Baby, while the other is none other than Buddy in Buddy's Circus. The Buddy cartoon is the same master from Golden Collection Volume Six, but this does mark the character's debut on Blu-ray.

The last time Warner Archive released a Blu-ray with a Looney Tunes bonus feature--Romance on the High Seas back in June--the label quickly had to do an about-face when its promised and advertised HD remastering of Hare Splitter was only in standard definiton (and poorly encoded, too). Optimistically that shouldn't be a problem here since Buddy and the two Popeyes were originally remastered in HD from the get-go, but we have unfortunately learned to always expect anything from this studio. So not "buyer beware" so much as "buyer take extreme caution."

(And speaking of Warner Archive and their advertising, the Blu-ray's actual release was the first indication that we had that there was anything cartoon-related on it, which just points to how haphazard they are about mentioning special features when they do randomly include them.)

Kentucky Kernels is now available online on Blu-ray only and retails for $21.99. Order it now on WBShop or Amazon.



September 2, 2020

Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature Now in Stores

3-DVD set includes debut of Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet

And the autumn gauntlet of new Looney Tunes video product from Warner Home Entertainment has officially begun with yesterday's release of the Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature. Containing four holiday-themed programs, the three-disc set is now available in stores and online.

The set includes double-dips of Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special, Bah Humduck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas, and Daffy Duck's Thanks-for-giving Special along with the DVD debut of 1979's prime-time special Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet.

No review copies have been made available, nor has any consumer received their pre-order yet (as far as we know), so it is so far unknown what kind of condition the presentation of Thanksgiving Diet is in. But considering Warner will now often just slap off-the-shelf copies onto discs (or at least, they will for Looney Tunes productions)--and has already done so this year--we could be in for anything.

Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature is now in stores on DVD only and retails for $14.97. Order it now on Amazon.



August 28, 2020

Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Back Cover Revealed

Confirms full frame aspect ratio

While mostly everyone has been underwhelmed by the front cover design or have been extracting whatever details are available from the "beauty shot" of the whole set, we'd be remiss to mention that Warner Home Video recently revealed the back cover art to the digipak of its upcoming Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection. The highly anticipated three-disc compilation is still scheduled to be released as a Blu-ray collector's set on November 3.

There are really no big reveals on the back cover, and the only special feature to get any kind of mention is the newly produced Bugs Bunny's 80th What's Up, Doc-umentary! If anything, at least the back confirms that all of the shorts will be in full screen--not that there was any doubt at this point, but it's always comforting to see some confirmation on the actual product.

The back cover text reads as follows....

Bugs Bunny first hopped onto the screen in 1940, and he's been a pop-culture icon ever since. Multiple generations have enjoyed the timeless antics of the carrot-munching wise guy who always outsmarts his rivals. Cartoons, movies, TV, comics, music, sports [comma needed] and more - this wascally wabbit has done it all. Clever pranks and one-liners are here, along with interviews with today's most renowned animators, historians [comma needed] and superstars. Enjoy the full range of his silly and smart-alecky personality with 60 theatrical shorts, restored and remastered to their original 4x3 aspect ratio, on Blu-ray for the first time. It's just what the doctor - er, doc - ordered.

The Blu-ray set will contain the following shorts. Titles without notation are the double-dips. Shorts that were originally cropped back on the first Looney Tunes Super Stars DVDs are noted. A title marked "new to disc" is referring only to modern disc formats, and a title marked as new to home video is referring solely to its U.S. video status. And of course, if a title is new to disc or completely new to home video then assume it's also been newly remastered....

Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection is scheduled to be released on November 3 on Blu-ray only and will retail for $74.99. Pre-order it now on Amazon.



August 25, 2020

Taz-Mania: The Complete Third Season Warner Archive DVD Now Available

Home video debut of series's final Saturday morning season

Although it would have been great if Warner Archive had surprised us all during the Looney Tunes 90th anniversary year and delivered something like, say, The Complete Bosko or a collection of 1930s Merrie Melodies (if only a bunch were recently remastered...), they're nevertheless trying to offer something new for the franchise completists out there. Similar to their Duck Dodgers release earlier in the year, today the Archive brings us Taz-Mania: The Complete Third Season. Marking the home video debut of the third season of the 1990s Fox Kids cartoon, the two-disc set is now available through WBShop.com and other online retailers.

Containing all thirteen half-hours from the third season, the DVD features the following episodes....

Wacky Wombat/Molly's Folly

A Flea for Me/A Young Taz's Fancy

Never Cry Taz/Bully for Bull

Of Bushrats and Hugh

Merit Badgered

Devil Indemnity

Willie Wombat's Deja Boo-Boo/To Catch a Taz

The Thing That Ate the Outback/Because It's There

Antenna Dilemma/Autograph Pound

Taz and the Emu Egg/Willy Wombat's Last Stand/K-Taz Commercial

Doubting Dingo/Sub Commander Taz

Feed a Cold/Sidekick for a Day

No Time for Christmas

While as we said obviously it would be wonderful if Warner Archive would do a proper collection of remastered Warner Bros. cartoons (unlike, say, Porky Pig 101), we can't really be upset about stuff like this. All of the 1990s-2000s TV product had already been remastered long ago for digital video, so it's not like putting Taz-Mania on disc took away any current resources that would have been better used elsewhere. Nobody at Warner Archive had, for example, both Merit Badgered and Beanstalk Bunny in front of them and said, "You know what people really want us to spend money on...?" It wasn't a one-or-the-other scenario here, so don't feel like you're sending Warner Bros. the wrong message if you go ahead and buy this.

Taz-Mania: The Complete Third Season is now available online on DVD only and retails for $24.99. Order it now on Pre-order it now on WBShop or Amazon.



August 19, 2020

The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 Blu-ray/DVD Combo Announced for December

Includes home video premiere of Jasper Goes Hunting featuring Bugs!

A true labor of love by filmmaker Arnold Leibovit, it is a follow-up to his own 1987 The Puppetoon Movie that celebrated the life, career, and innovation of Puppetoon creator George Pal. Following a successful remastered Blu-ray release of the first movie, Leibovit felt it was high time to keep preserving the legacy of Pal's genius. Unfortunately, one major roadblock was that, apart from a handful that had fallen into the public domain, the majority of the Puppetoon shorts were still fully owned by Paramount. Crowd-funding was necessary to help both license the cartoons for release and to restore and remaster them--something Paramount had no interest in doing on their own.

Eighteen Puppetoon shorts are included on this set, none of which have ever been legitimately released on home video before and are likely all making their first official public appearance since leaving television syndication in the 1960s. Among the eighteen cartoons is the 1944 Jasper Goes Hunting, in which Bugs Bunny makes an authorized cel-animated cameo, animated by Robert McKimson and featuring Mel Blanc's voice. Bugs's appearance lasts literally only a few seconds, but its historic significance as a major multi-studio crossover and as a multi-medium technical crossover has made it a highlight of the whole Puppetoon series.

Followers of our Facebook page may recall in late 2018 we linked to an article on Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research talking about how ASIFA-Hollywood was funding a restoration of Jasper Goes Hunting. For folks wondering whatever happened with that, this is that restored version appearing on this release! Additional restoration work (on both Jasper... and the other films) was done in part by friends-of-our-site Steve Stanchfield and Thad Komorowski.

The collection is scheduled to contain the following....

Dipsy Gypsy (1940)

Radio Valve Revolution (1934)

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1935)

A Hatful of Dreams (1944) (featuring an authorized appearance of Superman's costume!)

Rescue Brigade (1937)

In Lamp Light Land (1935)

Jasper and the Choo-Choo (1942)

Love on the Range (1938)

The Gay Knighties (1941)

Two Gun Rusty (1944)

How an Advertising Poster Came About (1938)

Jasper Goes Hunting (1944)

Sky Pirates (1938)

Jasper's Close Shave (1945)

The Ship of the Ether (1934)

Good Night Rusty (1943)

Wilbur the Lion (1946)

Jasper Tell (1944)

A handful of rare extras are also included. The Blu-ray and DVD are both region-free.

For fans of classic theatrical animation, the fact that this is coming out is nothing short of a miracle. There is no word on whether this will be a limited release, but we would strongly recommend not sitting on the fence about this. If you ever wanted to own official copies of the Puppetoons--or wanted to finally add Jasper Goes Hunting to your Bugs collection--then this is likely your only chance!

According to the official web site, the set is tentatively scheduled to come out in December, although elsewhere on the site it's suggesting that orders may not ship until February. Right now the site is also offering free shipping within the United States, so again, if this was going to be on your cartoon radar, pre-order it now!

The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 is tentatively scheduled to be released in December as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and will retail for $39.95. Pre-order it now at Sci-Fi Station.



August 19, 2020

Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes Double Feature Now Available for Pre-Order

Includes DVD debut of Hyde and Go Tweet

Barely a week after it was first announced, Warner Home Video's upcoming and wordily titled Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes Double Feature is now up for pre-order at the usual online stores such as Amazon. Serving as something of a pre-show to November's big Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray boxed set, the single-disc title is still scheduled to come out on DVD on October 6.

In addition to the 1993 Lunar Tunes half-hour special, the DVD is scheduled to contain the following....

It is still not known whether Hyde and Go Tweet will be remastered, but if the Stars of Space Jam and Looney Tunes Parodies Collection DVDs are any sort of guide, we wouldn't hold our breath. We have reached out to Warner for some clarification, but again, not holding our breath.

We are, however, going to go forward and assume that Mad as a Mars Hare and Lumber Jack-Rabbit will most likely be in full frame. Again, we're using Stars of Space Jam as a guide on that. But just to play it safe, we won't fully update our guides for those two (or for the 1980s shorts) until the DVD is out for verification.

Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes Double Feature is scheduled to be released on October 6 on DVD only and will retail for $12.97. Pre-order it now on Amazon.



August 13, 2020

Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes Double Feature DVD Announced for October 6

Includes DVD debut of Hyde and Go Tweet

And just to get this part right out of the way. The title and how the cover was laid out will likely cause headaches for anyone trying to search for this release online. Warner's retail and press database is officially listing this as Marvin the Martian Space Tunes/Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes (Double Feature/DVD), which may eventually be what the likes of Amazon and WBShop offer it under, too. We have a sneaking suspicion it will also eventually be referred to as just Marvin the Martian Double Feature or some variant of that. BUT, for the sake of our sanity, our site's listings, and for the sake of reading the titles in the order in which the studio laid them out on their own cover, we're sticking with calling this Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes Double Feature.

Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes has perhaps the most convoluted history of any Looney Tunes compilation. It had started life in 1996 as a six-cartoon volume in the Stars of Space Jam series, but for whatever reason it didn't actually come out in the United States with the rest of the tapes and was instead only offered overseas. Space Tunes would eventually be released in the U.S. in 1998 to celebrate Marvin's fiftieth birthday, with all references to Space Jam removed from the cover and even with a companion title to go along with it, the six-cartoon Marvin the Martian & K-9: 50 Years on Earth! Just a year later, both of the Marvin videos were combined and released as one single twelve-cartoon collection, also titled Space Tunes.

Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes, meanwhile, has a slightly less complicated tale. Originally intended to air on CBS in 1992, the half-hour "patch-up" special was dumped by the network following the abysmal ratings of that year's Bugs Bunny's Creature Features. It quietly made its world premiere on VHS in March 1993 alongside releases of other random Looney Tunes network specials.

In addition to the Lunar Tunes special, the DVD is scheduled to contain the following....

The biggish news is of course that Hyde and Go Tweet will be making its DVD debut on this release. However, the last time a past VHS collection was transferred as-is to DVD (Stars of Space Jam), nothing was newly remastered. So, we may very well get an off-the-shelf copy of Hyde on this release. Meanwhile, there is no word on whether Lumber Jack-Rabbit will be in full frame or widescreen or how Spaced Out Bunny or Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 1/2th Century will be presented. Some may recall the odd way Fright Before Christmas turned up on the Stars of Space Jam Taz DVD, so buyer beware.

As for Lunar Tunes, the ad materials for the DVD are boasting that the special has not been released digitally. Unfortunately, this also means that there's nothing to compare the mastering to. So if you're buying this disc just for the special, then again, be prepared for anything.

The back cover text reads as follows....

Marvin the Martian goes before an out-of-this-world court for a permit to blow up the Earth, and Bugs Bunny's got 23 minutes to save us in Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes ! The prosecution's case: Earthlings create pollution, clutter up outer space [comma needed] and portray space people as monsters - so Marvin's sent a missile to destroy the little blue planet. Now, Bugs must defend his home against "the big kaboom !"



Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes features all your favorite Looney Tunes in 12 outrageously unearthly cartoon classics. The orbital oddities commence with Daffy Duck and Porky Pig battling Marvin over the vital "shaving cream atom" in Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century . Next, Sylvester the Cat and Porky have a c-c-c-close encounter of the comical kind in Jumpin' Jupiter . Then, in The Hasty Hare , Bugs is bunny-napped by Marvin with predictably disastrous results for the muddled martian. Zzzzap!

This DVD will probably end up in stores around the ten-dollar mark, so again whether that's worth it all depends on how badly one wants either Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes or (a very likely washed-out) Hyde and Go Tweet. Of course, with all the HBO Max remasterings coming out of nowhere Warner may very well surprise us with the Tweety cartoon, but please do not count on it and certainly don't make a pre-order decision based on that hope.

In other fringe Looney DVD news, Amazon has finally put up a product page for the Warner Archive release of Taz-Mania: The Complete Third Season. The pre-order link comes less than two weeks before its August 25 release.

Meanwhile, Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes Double Feature will be released on October 6 on DVD only, and a link to pre-order it on Amazon will be posted here as soon as it appears. The DVD will retail for $12.97.



July 25, 2020

Jerry Beck on Stu's Show August 5

The latest home video news!

Fresh off virtual Comic-Con panels and announcements, on Wednesday, August 5, Jerry Beck will come back to Stu's Show, the online series hosted by pop culture/television historian Stu Shostak. The show is a video/audio simulcast, so you can either listen or watch it live. The show will air at 7PM EST and is available as a free stream for those who tune in live (afterward, fans can purchase a "rerun" of the episode online). Information on the various ways to access the show can be found on its web site: www.stusshow.com.

With the country still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, many expected movie releases and television productions had been delayed, so no doubt there will be an interesting discussion about the current state of the animation industry. And of course, with the very recent announcement of the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection and the upcoming second volume of Tex Avery on Blu-ray, there will be a lot of classic animation to talk about. And as always, on the video feed Jerry will screen three more rare cartoons (usually supplied by Thunderbean Animation).

As we always stress, remember that Jerry only works as a consultant for Warner Home Video (and other labels) on select projects. He does not have final say on programming, remastering, or release matters; he can only try to comment on situations as best as he can...and even then, he is sometimes contractually required to not say anything about certain upcoming releases. The information he gives is never meant to be inferred as any sort of official statement from a studio and that they can and do change plans on a whim without telling him. Anything Jerry is authorized to reveal will be said during the show.

You can send questions via the web site linked above, and Stu may or may not read them to Jerry during the show. And of course, as we say every time Jerry appears, do NOT bug the show with "When will this cartoon or show come out on DVD?" questions. Again, anything video-related that Jerry's allowed to reveal will come up during the show.

Pending scheduling issues on our end, we are hoping to once again post live news updates as the episode airs on our Facebook page. If there is any major DVD or Blu-ray news announced--or insights or updates on either Bugs or Tex--we will of course report it here after the show.

Stay safe at home and get all the latest cartoon news when Jerry Beck returns to Stu's Show August 5!

July 25, 2020

Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray Announced for November 3

47 cartoons new to Blu-ray! 9 entirely new to home video!

The collection will be available both physically on disc and digitally (and the Blu-ray edition includes a digital code). At press time, the Blu-ray edition is only being offered as a "limited edition" collector's set that includes a Bugs Funko Pop! figurine as a pack-in. AS OF RIGHT NOW, there is no word yet on a standard non-bundled edition (such as what Warner has eventually done with its Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond sets) or a DVD edition. We will of course pass along such developments should they get announced, as we of course understand that right now maybe not everyone wants to buy a big pricy boxed set where the only difference would be a cheesy vinyl toy.

But onto the cartoons! As has been reported everywhere so far (and we just love that news of a Bugs Bunny Blu-ray set has lit the Internet on fire!), sixty cartoons compose the main program, of which only thirteen have been released on Blu-ray in HD before. And though a few have already been seen on HBO Max, thirty-two shorts are making their remastered debut on this collection, far more than just the twelve that were reportedly undergoing remastering late last year.

The Blu-ray contains the following shorts. Titles without notation are the double-dips. Shorts that were originally cropped back on the first Looney Tunes Super Stars DVDs are noted. A title marked "new to disc" is referring only to modern disc formats (so not laserdisc, CED, etc.), and a title marked as new to home video is referring solely to its U.S. video status....

Returning special features include all the related commentaries and Behind the Tunes segments from past DVD releases. Also coming back is the "director's cut" of Hare Ribbin', the goofy Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary special from 1986, and Chuck Workman's awesome 50 Years of Bugs Bunny in 3 1/2 Minutes from 1989. It is not known if any of these will still be in standard definition or upgraded to hi-def.

As for new bonus features, the main one is the Bugs Bunny's 80th What's Up, Doc-umentary! Meanwhile, Hold the Lion, Please; What's Cookin' Doc?; Hare Ribbin'; Rabbit Every Monday; The Fair Haired Hare; Lumber Jack-Rabbit; Knighty Knight Bugs; Rabbit's Feat; From Hare to Heir; and False Hare are all getting new commentaries. And ten episodes from the new HBO Max Looney Tunes Cartoons series are included: Harm Wrestling, Pest Coaster, Siberian Sam, Big League Beast, Buzzard School, Pool Bunny, Grilled Rabbit, Vincent Van Fudd, Hare Restoration, and Plunger/Fishing Pole/Bees/Mini Elmer.

Thankfully it looks like Blu-ray repeats were kept to a bare minimum and, Elmer's Candid Camera notwithstanding, only consisted of some truly essential titles. You obviously were going to see A Wild Hare, Knighty Knight Bugs, and the two opera shorts on an anniversary collection, for example. Considering how easily and cheap it would have been for Warner Home Video (again, Warner Home Video--not Warner Archive here!) to simply stack the deck with all the Bugs stuff from the Platinum Collection series and just sprinkle in a new title here and there, the label for once deserves some kudos for its restraint. And despite a sneaking suspicion that maybe certain "hits" were avoided to make the set more family-friendly (especially in the current cultural climate), nothing looks like a huge glaring omission.

Almost all of the Looney Tunes Super Stars widescreen Bugs cartoons that had yet to show up on Blu-ray in full frame are present here--the only ones left are Apes of Wrath, Lighter Than Hare, and The Iceman Ducketh. Hot Cross Bunny and Hare Splitter are remastered after their abysmal presentations back on the Stars of Space Jam: Bugs Bunny DVD. And Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk, Rabbitson Crusoe, and Hare-Abian Nights finally got their remastered upgrades after the disappointment earlier this year that was the Looney Tunes Parodies Collection.

During the Comic-Con panel, Jerry Beck speculated that with this new set and the past Platinum Collection volumes, one would have about "90 percent" of all of the Bugs cartoons on Blu-ray. WELL, we still wouldn't be quite there yet, but you'd still have a good chunk of them. Depending on whether you're counting the two Snafus that Bugs cameoed in, there would still be about seventy-seven classic-era cartoons not yet on Blu-ray.

What is more noteworthy, though, is that across all formats, this new set leaves very, very little Bugs left to come out on home video. Mainly just things like All This and Rabbit Stew, Which Is Witch, Pre-Hysterical Hare, Horse Hare, Wet Hare, Devil's Feud Cake, Hare-Breadth Hurry, and Dumb Patrol. Yes, it would be great to get everything on one single format, but this is still nothing to sneeze at. AND there's definitely enough quality shorts left to make up a second Blu-ray volume....

We're not crazy with the whole bundled-with-a-Funko thing, but really, we cannot recommend this title enough. The set will go a long way to filling in many holes in fans' collections, and there is material on here that some folks have been waiting a generation to own on home video. And it would be wonderful to see if sales are strong enough to kickstart a Looney Tunes home video series back into life.

Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection is scheduled to be released on November 3 on Blu-ray only and will retail for $74.99. Pre-order it now on Amazon.



July 9, 2020

Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature Now Available for Pre-Order

3-DVD set includes debut of Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet

Now that Bugs Bunny's 80th birthday month is upon us--along with a rather subdued licensing campaign--we're getting closer to seeing some of the (likely small) plans Warner Home Video has up its sleeves. One such plan is the upcoming release of the Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature, which is now up for pre-order at the usual online stores such as Amazon. Containing four holiday-themed programs, the three-disc set is still scheduled to come out on DVD on September 1.

The set will include double-dips of Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special, Bah Humduck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas, and Daffy Duck's Thanks-for-giving Special along with the DVD debut of the "classic" 1979 special Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet.

There has been some concern that the DVD will contain the same master of Diet that's currently available digitally through Amazon, iTunes, etc., with a tinny, tinkered-with soundtrack used to create foreign-language versions (think like Hop and Go on Golden Collection Volume Six and the dreaded old broadcast version of Freudy Cat). This will likely be a case of nobody will know for sure until the DVD set actually comes out, so if the Bugs Thanksgiving special is the only reason you'd be buying it, then very strongly caveat emptor!

Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature is scheduled to be released on September 1 on DVD only and will retail for $14.97. Pre-order it now on Amazon.



June 25, 2020

Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature DVD Set Announced for September 1

Includes DVD debut of Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet

Similar to the studio's other family-franchise holiday collections (think Snoopy and Scooby-Doo), this new release combines three various discs in order to cover the three big fourth-quarter holidays. The two recycled programs in the set are Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special and Bah Humduck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas--and though we have no confirmation yet, they are both likely the same discs as from their original, individual releases.

The one bright spot to this collection is a brand new, otherwise unreleased disc: A Looney Tunes Thanksgiving. Already made available on digital video since 2016 (such as on Amazon, iTunes, etc.), the compilation features the two "classic" Looney Tunes Thanksgiving TV specials: Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet and Chuck Jones's Daffy Duck's Thanks-for-giving Special. Although the latter was previously released as a bonus feature on the Essential Daffy Duck set, this release marks Thanksgiving Diet's debut on disc and its first physical media release since the VHS days.

At press time, there is no indication that A Looney Tunes Thanksgiving will be offered for sale individually, nor is there any word if the disc will include any special features (such as appropriate bonus cartoons).

The studio's announcement e-mail for the collection reads as follows....

Bugs Bunny's Howl-Oween Special - This Halloween, we double-duck-dare you to visit a haunted hotel with Porky and Sylvester and watch Daffy, Speedy, Bugs and [comma needed] Tweety turn into scary monsters, while Bugs unknowingly bathes in a witch's cauldron. These hilarious, hare-raising cartoon moments will surely leave you shaking...with laughter!



A Looney [Tunes] Thanksgiving - Bugs and Daffy invite you to this two-course meal of Thanksgiving fun. Specializing in weighty Thanksgiving matters, Bugs is the Doctor of Chubbyology in Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet . Patients Yosemite Sam and Sylvester keep him hopping, and special appearances by Taz and others round out the cartoon menu. In Daffy Duck's Thanks-for-Giving Special , the scheming duck is hungry...not for turkey, but for praise! After all, he's spread so much joy over the years. But will Daffy get his just desserts? Pull up a chair and dig in!



Bah Humduck! A Looney Christmas - In a hilarious take on Charles Dickens' [sic] holiday favorite A Christmas Carol , the Scrooge-like Daffy Duck has a few things to learn about the meaning of Christmas. With spooky yet hilarious visits from ghostly friends Tweety, Granny, Yosemite Sam [comma needed] and Taz, and guided by a wise Bugs, he may just realize the error of his ways and save Christmas for the Looney Tunes gang.

For completists, the question remains whether this set is worth all the other double-dipping just for Bugs Bunny's Thankgiving Diet. Regardless, this is still a lot of 1970s/1980s material with a modern revival "movie" thrown in--hardly productions that are representative of a franchise supposedly celebrating its ninetieth anniversary.

Looney Tunes Holiday Triple Feature will be released on September 1 on DVD only, and a link to pre-order it on Amazon will be posted here as soon as it appears. The DVD set will retail for $14.97.



June 19, 2020

Taz-Mania: The Complete Third Season Warner Archive DVD Announced for August 25

Plus an update on Hare Splitter on Romance on the High Seas...AVOID!

Warner Archive continues its rather half-hearted focus on Looney Tunes throughout the anniversary year with this week's announcement of Taz-Mania: The Complete Third Season. Coming seven years after the last batch of episodes arrived on home video, the long-awaited(?) burn-on-demand release will be available on August 25 and sell for $24.99.

(For those of you wondering what is up with Taz's cripply left arm, it's merely a retraced and repurposed pose from a Portugese DVD cover, which you may see in the near future....)

Similar to this year's release of Duck Dodgers: The Complete Third Season, Warner Archive continues its seemingly successful trend of picking up and continuing dormant television releases from Warner Home Video proper. And like with Duck Dodgers, all episodes of Taz-Mania (and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, just saying) were digitally mastered long ago and were already readily available for streaming on Amazon and the like, so don't get too many hopes up about what these releases may mean for Looney Tunes through Warner Archive (and see below for more on that). Having a disc release is certainly good for fans who want to own the whole series, but very little extra effort was made by the Archive to get it done.

No doubt we'll eventually see two more volumes in the series after this, since by the fourth season Taz-Mania went to weekday afternoons in order to reach a syndicatable number of sixty-five episodes.

Containing all thirteen half-hours from the third season, the DVD will feature the following episodes....

Wacky Wombat/Molly's Folly

A Flea for Me/A Young Taz's Fancy

Never Cry Taz/Bully for Bull

Of Bushrats and Hugh

Merit Badgered

Devil Indemnity

Willie Wombat's Deja Boo-Boo/To Catch a Taz

The Thing That Ate the Outback/Because It's There

Antenna Dilemma/Autograph Pound

Taz and the Emu Egg/Willy Wombat's Last Stand/K-Taz Commercial

Doubting Dingo/Sub Commander Taz

Feed a Cold/Sidekick for a Day

No Time for Christmas

But speaking of Warner Archive, unfortunately we do have to pass along some rather disappointing news concerning this week's release of Romance on the High Seas on Blu-ray. Reports are coming in from trusted sources that the presentation of the newly remastered Hare Splitter bonus feature leaves a lot to be desired.

Apart from being a new scan of the complete film (with its original, non-Blue Ribbon opening titles, at least), the cartoon is downright hard to watch, coming off blurry and even exhibiting traces of interlacing--a remastering problem that hasn't affected a Looney Tunes release since the Golden Collection Volume Two back in 2004! Perhaps most jaw-dropping of all, the newly scanned cartoon isn't even presented on the Blu-ray in high definition!

This last offense goes beyond mere lack of quality control only because Warner Archive touted the cartoon as being in HD in its original Facebook announcement for the title. When called out on this discrepancy, the Archive's Facebook representative offered only the lazy excuse of "there was a typo entry in the database (from which the announces are generated) which got by us." Again, like back with the Porky Pig 101 audio debacle, it's never anyone's fault at Warner Archive why nobody pays attention--nor are attempts ever made to correct the situation.

Hare Splitter has yet to show up on HBO Max as of this update, so whether the cartoon is still undergoing some additional clean-up before it airs is unknown. So far none of the other newly remastered Bugs cartoons on the service have shown problems of this magnitude, if that's any sign that someone somewhere at Warner Bros. is paying attention to the shorts before they go out. But it's errors like this that doesn't instill any confidence in the label's plans for the franchise--especially during a double anniversary year.

Back to Taz-Mania, Warner Archive's online synopsis for the season set reads as follows....

He has a big mouth but says very little. He's an uninhibited brute, but he's not evil. He eats and eats and eats but gains no weight. Who is he? He's Taz - the original teenage party animal from the land down under! For his third season of antipodean antics, Taz continues his duties as bellhop and busboy at the rather bizarre coastal resort the Hotel Tasmania while indulging in his appetite for destruction -- and lots of food. Taz learns that turnabout is fair play when Willie Wombat arrives to give him a taste of his own Looney Tunes-style lunacy. Ballet lessons with little sister Molly and scouting merit badges with little brother Jake are also on deck, along with the discovery of the entrance to a whole new world in the Platypus Brothers' attic! Mom finds herself filling in for Taz at the hotel, while Taz gets burdened with the biggest chore of all: Christmas deliveries! Note -- Season Two of Taz-Mania was erroneously titled "Season One -- Part Two." This release of the third season is the next consecutive release from "Season One - Part Two." We apologize for any confusion.

Taz-Mania: The Complete Third Season is scheduled to be released on August 25 on DVD only and will retail for $24.99. Pre-order it now on WBShop. (An Amazon link is not yet up at press time.)



June 16, 2020

Romance on the High Seas Warner Archive Blu-ray Now Available

Includes remastered, HD debut of Hare Splitter

As the country slowly reopens (despite everyone's better judgment), Warner Archive is also getting back to business by remastering and releasing some more classics from the vault, such as today's Blu-ray release of Romance on the High Seas. Featuring the film debut of the one and only Doris Day, the musical comedy is making its high-definition debut through WBShop.com and other online retailers.

Among the Blu-ray's special features is the remastered debut of Friz Freleng's Hare Splitter, which is also making its debut in 1080p resolution.

Hare Splitter is still on deck to stream in high definition on HBO Max in the near future. In the meantime, though, fans can go there and enjoy brand new remastered versions of such unreleased-to-disc shorts as Robot Rabbit, Rabbit Every Monday, and Upswept Hare, among others. Rumor has it that there is another reason all of these Bugs cartoons have been remastered for the first time, so if you were planning on buying Romance... on Blu-ray just for Hare Splitter, you might want to hold off on that and be patient.

Romance on the High Seas is now available online on Blu-ray only and retails for $21.99. Order it now on WBShop or Amazon.



May 23, 2020

Romance on the High Seas Warner Archive Blu-ray Announced

Includes remastered, HD debut of Hare Splitter

With a global pandemic still chugging along and an ugly presidential election approaching, some slight good news came from Warner Archive. This past week the label announced (and quickly updated said announcement) the upcoming Blu-ray of Doris Day's very first movie, Romance on the High Seas. Co-starring frequent Day collaborator Jack Carson and featuring the song "It's Magic" (the song Bugs adapted in Rabbit Every Monday), the 4K-scanned classic is set for release on June 16 and is now available to pre-order.

Among the Blu-ray's special features is the long-awaited remastered debut of Hare Splitter. The 1948 Friz Freleng cartoon has not had the best of luck on disc. When an unremastered copy was included as a bonus on the old Adventures of Don Juan DVD the "That's all Folks!" end tag was removed--and later, when the cartoon was featured in the main program of the Stars of Space Jam: Bugs Bunny DVD, an unremastered and sped up European broadcast master was utilized. This marks not only the first time the cartoon has been properly remastered, but also the first time it will be presented in 1080p resolution.

The remastered Hare Splitter is also set to be among the initial Looney Tunes offerings on Warner's brand new streaming service, HBO Max, which will officially launch on May 27.

Now, we need to stress that on this news page we do NOT report rumors or otherwise uncomfirmed information. There are plenty of other sites related to cartoons and home media that serve as rumor mills just fine, and for a variety of reasons we feel that mixing confirmed news with rumors and vague speculation would merely muddy whatever integrity we have as a news source.

BUT, we will say one thing as a precaution to fans. If you were thinking about purchasing Romance on the High Seas only for this cartoon: WAIT. That is all.

Meanwhile, and speaking of unremastered bonuses, the 1964 Road Runner cartoon War and Pieces is an extra on Warner Archive's recently released Blu-ray of the Natalie Wood drama Inside Daisy Clover . Again, this cartoon is still NOT remastered yet.

But anyway, if you still really want Romance on the High Seas, it is scheduled to be released on June 16 on Blu-ray only and will retail for $21.99. Pre-order it now on WBShop or Amazon.



May 17, 2020

Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection Contents FINALLY Revealed

First disc from each of first five Golden Collections! AVOID!

For three months we have been asking Warner Home Video for information on their recently released Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection five-disc set, specifically which cartoons were to be featured on it. All we knew for absolute certain was that everything was taken from various discs throughout the Golden Collection series. Thankfully, Facebook friend Patrick Malone gave our page a heads up after he took the plunge and purchased a copy of the collection for himself. This kind of helpful cartoon-fan community is just one of the reasons you should join our Facebook page if you haven't done so already!

Again, for the past three months we had made a number of attempts to reach out to Warner Home Video for some sort of confirmation on the contents, as none of their announcements or press or retailer information included an actual list of cartoons featured. The label simply refused to respond to our requests, so we had to make some very careful educated guesses about most of the content based on the little available information that was out there.

Patrick was able to confirm our speculation and clarify the one thing we really dreaded about this release. We had pretty much assumed that the first four discs on this set were in actuality just the first, Bugs-centric discs from the first four Golden Collection volumes, special features and all. The one minor question mark lied with the fifth disc, as the first disc on the Golden Collection Volume Five was a mixture of both Bugs and Daffy cartoons.

Unfortunately, Warner went the (expected) lazy route and this set did just take that disc and included it as-is, Daffy cartoons and all. So you have a collection claiming to be celebrating Bugs Bunny, timed ostensibly for his eightieth birthday, not listing the cartoons anywhere on the package--and seven of the sevety-four shorts don't even feature the character!

So here it is, three months after the title was first announced to press and retail, and a month after its actual street date--and again, with no help or information or assistance from the actual studio. This is the complete breakdown of the shorts on the (shudder) Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection....

We sincerely thank Patrick for taking one of the team and sharing this information with us. BUT, we hate that Warner Home Video's utter lack of information and unwillingness to answer direct questions have forced consumers to have to purchase this release almost-sight-unseen just to see what's on it. These are the kinds of practices from studios that encourage online piracy, to be blunt about it.

But also, Patrick's information simply confirms what we have been suspecting and advising all along, that this DVD set is not worth anyone's time or money. Everything on here is already available on the Golden Collection Volumes 1-6 gift set alongside What's Opera, Doc?, Haredevil Hare, Rhapsody Rabbit, A Corny Concerto, Rabbit Fire, and numerous other essential Bugs cartoons that any anniversary collection worth its salt should have contained in the first place.

Again our thanks goes out to Patrick Malone. Meanwhile, the Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection is now in stores on DVD only and retails for $29.98. Order it now on Amazon.



April 14, 2020

Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection Now in Stores

ALL Golden Collection repeats! AVOID!

If the month of April hasn't been depressing enough with a global pandemic stopping all commerce and social activity in its tracks, Warner Home Video has unleashed a half-hearted (if that) commemorative release onto the world with the Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection. Cobbled together from various discs throughout the Golden Collection series, the five-disc set is now available in stores and online.

Even at press time on its actual street date, we still don't know exactly what is on this set. Again, we have reached out to Warner Home Video numerous times to inquire about this release's contents--with the full explanation that we wanted to share and promote such information with the target audience that would most likely want to purchase the title--but we were repeatedly ignored. All we knew for sure was that the back cover clearly stated that all of the content was recycled from Golden Collection volumes. And unfortunately, the current events with the coronavirus have meant that there is a very limited number of outlets even offering the DVD set, let alone any confirmed information on it.

SO, as we did back when this title was first announced, we are resorting to some educated guesses as to what is on this collection, and we hope to either update or revise this information once a review copy is available.

So once again, Warner Home Video has NOT released a content list, but this is what we STRONGLY BELIEVE is on at least the first four discs of this collection....

THERE. IS. ABSOLUTELY. NO. REASON. TO. BUY. THIS.

IF you are just beginning your Looney Tunes DVD collection, then there are so many better alternatives. For one, the Golden Collection Volumes 1-6 gift set is still available. It contains not only everything on the Golden Carrot Collection but also another nineteen discs of additional cartoons and bonus features.

We keep saying this, but if you want to support the Looney Tunes franchise on home video and want to see newer and better compilations come out, then you have to vote with your dollars and purchase the full collections. Going for these warmed-over repeats will instead just tell the studio that they can rehash and recycle whatever's already ready to go and people will still buy it--and then they have no incentive or reason to keep remastering additional cartoons.

But if that still doesn't convince you and you for whatever reason still want this, the Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection is now in stores on DVD only and retails for $29.98. Order it now on Amazon.

And speaking of Amazon, they have finally put up a product page for the Region 1 edition of the Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement single DVD, missing the boat completely by waiting until after Easter to put it on their site.



March 21, 2020

Jerry Beck on Stu's Show Recap

TEX AVERY VOLUME TWO CONFIRMED!

Wednesday evening, the one and only Jerry Beck made his first appearance of the year on Stu's Show, and there was some news here and there for classic animation fans.

Most importantly, and perhaps not surprisingly, Jerry was allowed to pass along confirmation direct from George Feltenstein that Tex Avery's Screwball Classics Volume Two is currently in production at Warner Archive and that it should be out before the end of the year. (Jerry optimistically hoped that it will arrive before the holiday season.) Without going into specifics, Jerry said that Volume Two would have more cartoons on it than the first set, and that the first volume's oddball number of nineteen cartoons was because one short had to be pulled in order to undergo further restoration. That unnamed short will appear on Volume Two, and although Jerry did not confirm the title, all of the hints he gave point to the Screwy Squirrel cartoon Happy-Go-Nutty (cue the day-long Cartoon Network marathon!). And though nothing specific was announced, Jerry suggested the possibility of bonus materials being readied for the Avery sets as well.

Speaking of Warner Archive animation releases, Jerry once again confirmed that the series of color Popeye collections is "temporarily" on hiatus while the label focuses its attention (and finances) on restoring the Tex Avery library. When a question came up on whether the 1953 Popeye, the Ace of Space would be presented in 3D when its time came, Jerry said that would entirely depend on whether 3D restoration would be in the budget, adding that personally he would love it for an eventual compilation to include the 3D version along with the "flat" version.

Despite the seemingly riskier inclusions of certain cartoons on the Popeye and Tex Avery sets, at the moment the long-rumored-to-have-been-produced-and-ready-to-go "Censored 11" collection is still not on the table at Warner Archive. Nor was there any talk of the pulled-from-release Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume Two despite the Archive's recent rerelease of Volume One.

Jerry did explain, though, the Archive's seemingly immediate "announce and quickly release" strategy for some of its titles, such as on Tex Avery and Popeye where official announcements have come with street dates barely a month later. Obviously it's meant to create buzz for such releases, but in a current on-demand-entertainment environment it's also meant to prevent consumer anticipation from turning into prolonged frustration, such as if a title was announced for release months and months in advance.

(Incidentally, speaking of timeliness, at press time WBShop.com has put a temporary freeze on online orders due to issues related to the global Coronavirus pandemic, only hours after Warner Archive announced a big anniversary sale.)

From the non-Archive side of Warner, Jerry said he was still working on a release for normal Warner Home Video, but has yet to even hint at which property it would involve or when we could expect it. And unfortunately, he suggested that the impending launch of HBO Max has not spurred any new remastering of classic cartoons apart from what's being done for home video use.

BUT Jerry was nevertheless confident that good things are coming from at least Warner Archive--some of which he couldn't talk about (which seems to always be the case). Using the adage of voting with our dollars, he stressed that the current, positive state and plans of classic animation from the label is a direct result of the success of Tex Avery and Popeye and even Porky Pig 101 (which he said had finally broken even financially).

Apart from Warner-owned animation, Jerry announced that ASIFA-Hollywood is currently funding a restoration of Buzzy Boop at the Concert, a once-lost Betty Boop short starring her niece that was never included in any of the TV packages of the cartoons. Prints of the other three Buzzy shorts have been located, and ASIFA is in the process of trying to obtain them as well.

Meanwhile, over at Thunderbean Animation, Steve Stanchfield is close to completing work on both Flip the Frog and the Van Buren Tom and Jerry. He's awaiting the arrival of only a few more shorts from each series to remaster--and Steve told Jerry and Stu to pass along word that the "special sets" will be finished very soon, too.

So there are a few things to look forward to...and hey, it's still only March. Surely a plague won't get in the way of classic animation!

March 5, 2020

Jerry Beck on Stu's Show March 18

The latest home video news!

Only days before the spring season is upon us, on Wednesday, March 18, the one and only Jerry Beck will be making a grand return to Stu's Show, the online series hosted by pop culture/television historian Stu Shostak. The show is a video/audio simulcast, so you can either listen or watch it live. The show will air at 7PM EST and is available as a free stream for those who tune in live (afterward, fans can purchase a "rerun" of the episode online). Information on the various ways to access the show can be found on its web site: www.stusshow.com.

Marking Jerry's first appearance of the new year, he will be looking ahead to not only the summer movie season but also the upcoming year in television animation, books, and what the various streaming services will have to offer cartoon fans. And of course, with the recent blockbuster debut of Tex Avery on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, there is no doubt going to be some kind of home video news. And as always, on the video feed Jerry will screen three more rare cartoons.

As we always stress, remember that Jerry only works as a consultant for Warner Home Video (and other labels) on select projects. He does not have final say on programming, remastering, or release matters; he can only try to comment on situations as best as he can...and even then, he is sometimes contractually required to not say anything about certain upcoming releases. The information he gives is never meant to be inferred as any sort of official statement from a studio and that they can and do change plans on a whim without telling him. Anything Jerry is authorized to reveal will be said during the show.

You can send questions via the web site linked above, and Stu may or may not read them to Jerry during the show. And of course, as we say every time Jerry appears, do NOT bug the show with "When will this cartoon or show come out on DVD?" questions. Again, anything video-related that Jerry's allowed to reveal will come up during the show.

Pending scheduling issues on our end, we are hoping to once again post live news updates as the episode airs on our Facebook page. If there is any major DVD or Blu-ray news announced, we will of course report it here after the show.

So get ready to leap into spring with Jerry Beck as he visits Stu's Show March 18!

March 5, 2020

Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection Now Available for Pre-Order

ALL repeats from the Golden Collection series!

A whole month after it was first announced and solicited by the studio--and just a little over a month before its actual release date--the upcoming Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection is finally showing up for pre-order at the usual online stores such as Amazon. Taken entirely from various discs throughout the Golden Collection series, the five-disc set is still scheduled to come out on DVD on April 14.

We have contacted Warner Home Video a number of times trying to get a confirmed cartoon list for this release but have yet to receive a response. What is known for sure is that all of the content is recycled from Golden Collection volumes. When this title was first announced last month we made a number of educated guesses as to what will be featured on the first four discs, but alas the content of the fifth disc has too many x-factors for us to properly speculate on.

So again, Warner Home Video has NOT released a content list yet, but this is what we STRONGLY BELIEVE will be on the first four discs of this collection....

And again, there is simply no reason to get this. Even if you've never bought any of the Golden Collection series before, there is a complete six-volume set ready to buy right now that contains not only everything on this new release but also so much more.

Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection is scheduled to be released on April 14 on DVD only and will retail for $29.98. Pre-order it now on Amazon.



February 18, 2020

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 Warner Archive Blu-ray Now Available

FIRST EVER U.S. DISC RELEASE FOR AVERY ONE-SHOT CARTOONS!

This is it! Perhaps the biggest classic cartoon news of the year as Warner Archive has finally released Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 on Blu-ray. Marking the first dedicated digital-disc collection of assorted Tex Avery MGM cartoons, the single-disc release is now available through WBShop.com and other online retailers.

(A burn-on-demand DVD version is in the works, according to George Feltenstein on the latest Warner Archive Podcast, but that won't come out until closer to the release of the second Blu-ray volume, whenever that will be.)

The disc contains the following....

Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)

Who Killed Who? (1943)

What's Buzzin' Buzzard (1943)

Batty Baseball (1944)

The Hick Chick (1946)

Bad Luck Blackie (1949)

Garden Gopher (1950)

The Peachy Cobbler (1950)

Symphony in Slang (1951)

Screwball Squirrel (1944)

The Screwy Truant (1945)

Big Heel-Watha (1944)

Lonesome Lenny (1946)

Hound Hunters (1947)

Red Hot Rangers (1947)

Dumb-Hounded (1943)

Wags to Riches (1949)

The Chump Champ (1950)

Daredevil Droopy (1951)

All of the cartoons have been newly scanned in 4K resolution and, unlike with the recent Popeye Blu-rays, have actually been further remastered and restored just like the Looney Tunes cartoons used to be back in the days of the Golden Collection series. Although there are some issues with a few of the shorts' soundtracks in terms of quality and mixing, our trusted sources who have already viewed the Blu-ray say that the cartoons nevertheless look phenomenal.

OF COURSE we are recommending this title to everybody, as the Tex Avery shorts have been a long time coming. Between this and last year's parade of Popeye volumes, Warner Archive is truly trying to deliver a new golden age of classic animation on disc. If we could only get a decent new Looney Tunes compilation thrown into the mix as well....

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 is now available online on Blu-ray only and retails for $21.99. Order it now on WBShop or Amazon.



February 18, 2020

Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement Now in Stores

Includes Golden Yeggs and Easter Yeggs as extras

And in other, considerably less exciting news, normal boring Warner Home Video is rather passively throwing yet another half-hearted bone to mass-market retail with today's stand-alone release of Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement. The "classic" TV special is now available in stores and mostly online.

We say "mostly online" due to the fact that the DVD is (at press time) NOT yet available to order on the world's largest retail store, Amazon--nor has a product page for the DVD yet to be created since the title was first announced a month ago. Sure, Amazon has pages up for the vintage 1990s VHS release and even the Spanish-dubbed VHS (which for some reason has also merged with product information for the obscure David Carradine movie The Serpent's Egg), but absolutely nothing for today's DVD release.

All of this would have seemed like just a normal oversight if not for the fact that another major Warner movie store, the studio's own WBShop.com, also doesn't have Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement available to order! Now, in the past, Amazon and Warner have had the occasional head-butting concerning new releases, but did Warner Home Entertainment actual neglect to solicit a new DVD to its own online store?!? In what is supposed to a big anniversary year for the Looney Tunes franchise, this doesn't look good that the studio can't be bothered to sell its own new product with the characters.

(And at the moment, Amazon is also currently not offering pre-orders for the recently announced Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection, which is at least up at WBShop.)

If Easter Egg-citement was meant to be some sort of retailer or seasonal exclusive or something, then it certainly wasn't mentioned in any of Warner's ad or retail materials for the DVD. It all just stinks of a company not caring.

Speaking of not caring, it's not like we were going to recommend this disc anyway. The special itself had already been included on both the Golden Collection Volume Six and on The Essential Daffy Duck. Two bonus cartoons have been added to this stand-alone release, Bugs in Easter Yeggs and Daffy in Golden Yeggs, but again, both available elsewhere already. This was clearly meant to be big box store dump-bin fodder, but still it would have been nice if the label had also offered it through the normal retail channels, too.

Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement is now in stores on DVD only and retails for $9.97. Since it is not currently available on either Amazon or WBShop, order it now at either Target or Walmart.



February 6, 2020

Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection Announced for April 14

ALL repeats from the Golden Collection series! Avoid!

Now, before anyone gets too excited, this set is ALL repeated material, taken from the various volumes of the Golden Collection series. The back cover even warns us of this with a little blurb.

(Even the title is repeated, as Warner Home Video has tried to attach the Golden Carrot Collection to releases dating as far back as 2002!)

Unfortunately, Warner Home Video neglected to include an actual list of included shorts with yesterday's announcement, so in a moment we're going to have to go into "educated guess" territory. We have reached out to Warner to try to get an official content list from them, but we're not holding our breath.

The text on the back cover, which is also used almost word-for-word for the studio's official synopsis for the title (with very little, trivial differences), reads as follows....

What's so bunny? The world-famous rabbit is center stage for his own special tribute, that's what! We've collected the best shorts the wisecracking hare has to offer. You'll be all ears as Bugs and Daffy try to prevent Elmer Fudd from taking his best shot ( Duck! Rabbit, Duck! ), Bugs gives a genie a little Hare-abian abracadabra ( Ali Baba Bunny ), the rascally rabbit provokes Witch Hazel every which way ( Broom-Stick Bunny ) [comma needed] and more! Also - Bugs reveals his life story, from baby bunny to cool cottontail ( What's Up Doc? ). So sit back and enjoy some classic bunny business. But be careful - this collection could be rabbit-forming!

HERE IS WHERE SPECULATION BASED ON AVAILABLE EVIDENCE IS COMING INTO PLAY. WE MAY BE WRONG, BUT WE STAND BY THE REASONING BEHIND OUR CONCLUSION.

So, why only the seemingly arbitrary number of seventy-four cartoons (or "episodes," a term we really wish they'd stop using) on this set? There were nearly a hundred Bugs cartoons in the main programs throughout the Golden Collection series, so why not a nice round (and appropriate) eighty? Or ninety? Or all of them?

The oddball count of seventy-four is SEEMINGLY for a stunningly stupid reason: we strongly believe that the first disc on this set is just the first disc from the first Golden Collection, which only had fourteen shorts in the main program. And then the second disc here has fifteen cartoons because it's actually the first disc from the Golden Collection Volume Two, the third disc is from the Golden Collection Volume Three, and the fourth disc is from the Golden Collection Volume Four.

Now, as far as the fifth disc, its lineup is a bit more of a mystery, since on the Golden Collection Volume Five Bugs shared the first disc with Daffy. It's definitely going to include Ali Baba Bunny because it was mentioned on the back cover synopsis, but everything else, who knows? Will it just be that first disc from Golden Collection Volume Five but with the solo Daffy shorts swapped out?

Oh, but it gets better! And this is the crux as to why we believe we're correct on the disc content. The discs seem as if they're being copied verbatim, extras and all.

We don't usually post the "special features" box, but here is word-for-word what it says on the back cover. This is in fact the only actual content description on the back. The titles in brackets have been added by us so you know which titles are being mentioned.

Disc 1 - A greeting from Chuck Jones, Part 1 of 1975 documentary [The Boys from Termite Terrace], Behind the Tunes featurettes, Bonus cartoon [Blooper Bunny], Bugs Bunny at the Movies excerpts, From The Bugs Bunny Show vaults, Trailer gallery, Stills gallery



Disc 2 - Part 1 of 1986 TV special [The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary], Behind the Tunes featurette [A Conversation with Tex Avery], From The Bugs Bunny Show vaults



Disc 3 - 1989 documentary profile [Chuck Amuck: The Movie], Behind the Tunes featurette, From The Bugs Bunny Show vaults



Disc 4 - Part 1 of 1975 documentary [Bugs Bunny Superstar], Behind the Tunes featurette, From The Bugs Bunny Show vaults, and more



Disc 5 - Part 1 of 2000 documentary [Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens - A Life in Animation], From The Bugs Bunny Show vaults, and more

Those extras fall in line exactly with what was on the first discs of those first five Golden Collection volumes. But yeah, this means that we're only getting HALF of The Boys from Termite Terrace, HALF of The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary, HALF of Bugs Bunny Superstar, and HALF of Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens. What extra value!

So again, Warner Home Video has NOT released a content list yet, and we're not even going to speculate on what's going on with disc five, but it is our strong EDUCATED GUESS that the first four discs on this collection will contain the following....

We can't stress enough how much of a wasted opportunity this collection is. There is definitely some value in the idea of an exhaustive (if not complete) Bugs Bunny collection, but this is certainly not the way to do it. This is a lazy afterthought, and the studio's signature animated character deserved better for his birthday.

Seriously, at this point, one should just go ahead and get the Golden Collection Volumes 1-6 boxed set. You would not only get everything on this new release but then also nineteen discs of additional cartoons. Why wait until April for random scraps?

But, if you absolutely have to have this or you just want a bunch of random Bugs cartoons, then the Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection will be released on April 14 on DVD only, and a link to pre-order it on Amazon will be posted here as soon as it appears. The DVD set will retail for $29.98.



February 4, 2020

Looney Tunes Parodies Collection Now in Stores

New-to-disc cartoons NOT remastered

It's the first classic cartoon compilation of the anniversary year...and we really wish we had something more positive to say about it! Marketed as the first new release to promote the Looney Tunes 90th anniversary and Bugs Bunny's 80th birthday, the one-disc Looney Tunes Parodies Collection is now available in stores and online.

The DVD contains the following....

As feared, the new-to-DVD cartoons Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk, Rabbitson Crusoe, and Hare-Abian Nights are NOT remastered. They are uncut, in full frame, and at the correct playback speed, but alas they are simply off-the-shelf copies, blemishes and all. Jack-Wabbit..., for those who likely were predicting it, is the 1995 Turner-prepared "dubbed version" master.

Meanwhile, the DVD does not include the classic Chuck Jones cartoon Super-Rabbit but rather the similarly titled series finale from Cartoon Network's The Looney Tunes Show. This is the first DVD release of an episode from the series's second season, for those who care about the program.

And for those who were wondering, Apes of Wrath is the full frame version and Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers is the uncut version. Chariots of Fur and Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas appear to be the widescreen versions of those shorts--they didn't quite anamorphically fill our media player's screen, but they seem to be wider cuts than what had been released in the past.

Of course, the lack of any new remastering is disappointing, especially since the studio was trying to use this release as something representative of the anniversary campaign. It has been reported that Warner Bros. is remastering a dozen Looney Tunes shorts throughout the year (Upswept Hare has been named as one being worked on), but whether that's for home video or HBO Max or what has yet to be confirmed. But it's truly disheartening that Warner Home Video is now just using broadcast and older masters for DVD release. This isn't some budget or dump-bin title--this is retailing for around twenty bucks for over two hours of largely repeated material. They could definitely have afforded to remaster the three new titles, or just use three other "parody" cartoons already ready to go.

So whether it's a worthwhile buy all depends on how badly you want these three shorts on DVD in any condition, one of which is a cheater cartoon.

Looney Tunes Parodies Collection is now in stores on DVD only and retails for $19.98. Order it now on Amazon.



January 28, 2020

4 Kid Favorites: Looney Tunes Movies Now in Stores

All repeats! Avoid!

While Warner Archive is offering up something new today with Duck Dodgers, normal Warner Home Entertainment is warming up a heaping helping of repeats as usual with the release of the 4 Kid Favorites: Looney Tunes Movies collection. Squashing together the oft-repeated Friz Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island, Tweety's High-Flying Adventure, and Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run, the two-disc set is now available in stores and online.

In addition to the normal version, a limited edition version is also at some stores with a "Looney Tunes Anniversary Collection" o-sleeve over the normal keepcase cover. A number of older Looney Tunes releases will also start making the rounds with this new o-sleeve to celebrate Bugs's 80th and the franchise's 90th. These commemorative editions shouldn't be considered "rare" or anything; they're just packaged festively for the time being.

At this point it is still unknown if the extras from each respective movie (bonus shorts, etc.) have been carried over onto this set.

There is so little reason to buy this. By now if one hasn't already bought all four of these movies in any number of previous combinations, then this four-pack isn't going to make that much of a difference.

BUT, if you have a hole in your collection for these four movies and you were waiting for this kind of set, then 4 Kid Favorites: Looney Tunes Movies is now in stores on DVD only and retails for $18.94. Order it now on Amazon.



January 28, 2020

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Third Season Warner Archive DVD Now Available

Third and final season of the Cartoon Network series

While everyone is still wrapped up in a Tex Avery pre-ordering euphoria, Warner Archive has released its first classic-cartoon-related title for the year with Duck Dodgers: The Complete Third Season. The burn-on-demand two-disc release is now available through WBShop.com and other online retailers.

(For some reason, Warner Archive took the title off its pre-order page a week early and mentioned it in last week's new-release e-mail, but clicking on the actual product page still showed today as the release date. We decided to merely err on the side of caution and stick with today's official, original release date.)

Completing the Cartoon Network series, the DVD set contains the following episodes....

Till Doom Do Us Part

Villainstruck/Just the Two of Us

The Kids Are All Wrong/Win, Lose, or Duck

Boar to Be Riled/Clean Bill of Health

The Best of Captains, the Worst of Captains/That's Lifomatica

Diamond Boogie/Corporate Pigfall

The Six Wazillion Dollar Duck

Too Close for Combat/The Fins of War

Good Duck Hunting/Consumption Overruled

A Lame Duck Mind

Master & Disaster/All in the Crime Family

In Space, No One Can Hear You Rock/Ridealong Calamity

Bonafide Heroes

With Warner Archive finishing up Duck Dodgers, perhaps the division will move onto other Looney Tunes television series that have been abandoned by Warner Home Video proper like Taz-Mania and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries. Both programs are already available digitally on outlets such as Amazon and Apple TV, so disc-ready masters are seemingly ready to go.

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Third Season is now available online on DVD only and retails for $24.99. Order it now on WBShop or Amazon.



January 21, 2020

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 Warner Archive Blu-ray Announced

FIRST EVER WARNER AVERY COLLECTION COMING FEBRUARY 18!

Four days after it was first teased via a social media video, Warner Archive has finally, formally announced a much-requested, long-awaited title: the first dedicated digital-disc collection of assorted Tex Avery MGM cartoons. In what could potentially be the classic animation release of the decade (and it's only January 2020!), the single-disc Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 Blu-ray is set for release on February 18 and is now available to pre-order.

The word "monumental" doesn't do this news justice. Ever since Warner Home Video first started offering Tom and Jerry and then Looney Tunes DVDs at the beginning of the century, classic animation fans had been begging for collections of the Tex Avery shorts. And though the studio did release a few foreign collections over the years, not to mention a complete Droopy set in 2007, fans were left wondering what the holdup was for the likes of Red Hot Riding Hood, The Cat That Hated People, and the rest of the fifty non-Droopy Avery cartoons. In truth, despite Avery's notoriety overseas and with film and cartoon buffs, Warner's domestic operations didn't think he had enough mainstream appeal to support any comprehensive compilations--Droopy had squeaked by only because he was a "star" character.

Thankfully, the success of Warner Archive's Popeye the Sailor the 1940s Blu-rays of the past year had shown that not only was there still a paying audience for classic theatrical animation but that a viable model was in place to make similar collections of other properties cost-effective for the studio. This first volume will contain nineteen Tex Avery cartoons, allowing for (likely) three further collections should this prove to sell well. Like with Popeye, these will all be brand new scans in 4K resolution.

(Speaking of the Popeye release model, at press time it is not yet known if a burn-on-demand DVD version will be made available, too. We will post such news if it gets announced.)

The disc is scheduled to contain the following....

Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)

Who Killed Who? (1943)

What's Buzzin' Buzzard (1943)

Batty Baseball (1944)

The Hick Chick (1946)

Bad Luck Blackie (1949)

Garden Gopher (1950)

The Peachy Cobbler (1950)

Symphony in Slang (1951)

Screwball Squirrel (1944)

The Screwy Truant (1945)

Big Heel-Watha (1944)

Lonesome Lenny (1946)

Hound Hunters (1947)

Red Hot Rangers (1947)

Dumb-Hounded (1943)

Wags to Riches (1949)

The Chump Champ (1950)

Daredevil Droopy (1951)

Right off the bat, it should be noted that the compilation is not going in chronological order, instead doing more-curated clusters of cartoons similar to what was done on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection releases. On Facebook, Jerry Beck explained that this approach was necessary because some of the films were not able to be properly remastered in time to do it in any kind of order. He did assure, though, that certain titles would not be "skipped" due to content.

Though Tex Avery cartoons had been used as bonus features over the years, this marks the first dedicated non-Droopy Avery release from any division of Warner Home Entertainment--surely the first domestic Avery compilation since MGM's releases ended in 1993. It's also the first time almost any of them had undergone any kind of remastering.

Now, speaking of which, the big X factor will be how well the remastering turns out. Unfortunately, Warner's work on the MGM cartoons have had mixed results, especially when it comes to high definition. The cartoons on the Tom and Jerry Golden Collection and the occasional HD Avery bonus feature on Warner Archive Blu-rays have ranged from lovely to murky and full of film blemishes. And without knowing what the film sources are or how much actual restoration will be done, it's unfortunately something everyone needs to be ready for. We want to be as optimistic as possible, but then again, we also were for Porky Pig 101.

Warner Archive's official synopsis for the title, written by Jerry Beck, reads as follows....

There were several masters of animation during Hollywood's golden era. Of the top two geniuses, one created elaborate fairy tales and ornate feature-length fantasias -- the other guy was Tex Avery. He just wanted to make you laugh. Having already been integrally involved in the development of Porky Pig, Daffy Duck [comma needed] and Bugs Bunny for Warner Bros., Avery moved to MGM in 1941 to create a set of comedy masterpieces that defined a new slapstick style for animation, inspiring cartoonists, comedians and filmmakers for decades to come. Avery's unit at Metro Goldwyn Mayer was all about breaking the fourth wall, shattering expectations and making audiences fall down with laughter. His one-shot masterpieces, including Bad Luck Blackie , Red Hot Riding Hood [comma needed] and Symphony in Slang , have proven themselves pure gold. And continuing characters like Droopy, Screwball Squirrel and George & Junior -- not to mention Spike, Red and The Wolf - remain unforgettable comic personas among the top rank of cartoondom. Avery's cartoons were ahead of their time -- and their time has come. Finally committed to Blu-ray, this first collection of restored Technicolor shorts feels fresh and new, and is funnier than ever. This set will delight young and old -- and will amaze a new generation ready to laugh again.

We are obviously recommending this title, as the Tex Avery cartoons have long been on cartoon fans' wishlists ever since the dawn of DVD. Seriously, after years of those vague "if you want the really great animation releases you first have to support this and that" promises, this was the stuff most of us were hoping for. And if these collections do well (and, in all fairness, do not let us consumers down on the quality), then the sky will truly be the limit as to what else Warner Archive would be allowed to release next.

The Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 Blu-ray is scheduled to be released on February 18 and will retail for $21.99. Pre-order it now on WBShop.



January 8, 2020

Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement Announced for February 18

Includes Golden Yeggs and Easter Yeggs as extras

Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement had previously been used as a bonus feature on both the Golden Collection Volume Six and on The Essential Daffy Duck, but this marks the special's first stand-alone release on home video since its original VHS issue back in 1992. To spice things up a bit, two classic cartoons are included as bonus feautres: Bugs in Easter Yeggs and Daffy in Golden Yeggs.

The back cover text, and Warner's official synopsis for the title, reads as follows....

A-tisket, a-tasket, we all know who brings the Easter basket. Alas, one duck cries fowl! He wants the springtime holiday show to be all his. His wish is our command. His daffiness is as batty as ever in this festively crazy salute to spring unsprung. Daffy Duck is the host, battling the animator's brush throughout. Three cartoons by Academy Award-winning director Friz Freleng provide a basketful of foolish fun. And, yes, each cartoon stars (who else?) Daffy Duck. Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement has all the madcap fun a duck loyalist could wish for. He may be a whole duck, but he plays with half a deck!

Obviously, everything on this DVD has been released elsewhere, and the price point makes it pretty clear that it's merely meant to be an impulse buy for parents putting baskets together. It would be nice, though, if this would lead to further classic specials finally coming to disc as well, but we're not holding our breath.

Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement will be released on February 18 on DVD only, and a link to pre-order it on Amazon will be posted here as soon as it appears. The DVD will retail for $9.97.



January 3, 2020

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Third Season Warner Archive DVD Now Available for Pre-Order

Third and final season coming January 28

Just two weeks after it was first teased via Twitter, the rapidly upcoming Duck Dodgers: The Complete Third Season now has a street date, price, and pre-order page through Warner Archive. (An Amazon link is not yet up at press time.) The burn-on-demand release will be available on January 28 and sell for $24.99.

Warner Archive's online synopsis for the season set reads as follows....

To hilarity -- and beyond! In his third season of intergalactic misadventures, everyone's favorite frozen-fowl-turned-space-captain Duck Dodgers (Daffy Duck) truly accomplishes the fantastic. Thanks to the help of the ever-loyal and highly competent Eager Young Space Cadet (Porky Pig), he becomes a true-blue hero (sort of)! But a journey of a thousand light-years begins with a single misstep, and for Dodgers, it's a doozy when all his enemies unite against him, forming the Legion of Duck Doom! That's just the start of the cosmic capers, as Dodgers continues to make each and every mission harder than it needs to be, whether he's infiltrating a gang of space bikers, going undercover to a disco in space quadrant ABBA-BeeGee [comma needed] or getting cybernetically enhanced as The Six Wazillion Dollar Duck. It all comes to a climax with Dodgers becoming the subject of a reality show that threatens to reveal to the universe just what kind of hero he is.

Once again, the DVD will contain the following episodes....

Till Doom Do Us Part

Villainstruck/Just the Two of Us

The Kids Are All Wrong/Win, Lose, or Duck

Boar to Be Riled/Clean Bill of Health

The Best of Captains, the Worst of Captains/That's Lifomatica

Diamond Boogie/Corporate Pigfall

The Six Wazillion Dollar Duck

Too Close for Combat/The Fins of War

Good Duck Hunting/Consumption Overruled

A Lame Duck Mind

Master & Disaster/All in the Crime Family

In Space, No One Can Hear You Rock/Ridealong Calamity

Bonafide Heroes

Surely this news will be a relief to those who had been waiting six years to complete the series on disc, and likely this will give some hope to others who wish for similar continuations of the likes of Taz-Mania and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries. The price, though a tad higher compared to the older retail releases, is on par with what Warner Archive asks for their Hanna-Barbera season sets, which means Duck Dodgers will make an ideal add-on when the site does their eventual "4 for $44" sales and whatever.

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Third Season is scheduled to be released on January 28 on DVD only and will retail for $24.99. Pre-order it now on WBShop.

