"Don't you worry, never fear. Robin Hood will soon be here." - Little John in "Rabbit Hood"
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Four DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
With Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Four, Warner Bros. has done it again - combining sixty classic shorts with a ton of terrific extras.
Everyone's favorite wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny, is the focus of disc one, "Bugs Bunny Favorites." Proving that Warner Bros. has a nearly bottomless reservoir of priceless shorts, the majority of these fifteen shorts are classics. Bugs faces off with a surly gorilla in a Donkey Kong-esque cat-and-mouse game on the face of a building ("Hurdy-Gurdy Hare"). He has an electrifying experience with a cute bunny at the race track ("The Grey Hounded Hare"). Several shorts find Bugs in unusual places and time periods. He tries not to become lion food at the hands of Yosemite Sam in the Roman Coliseum ("Roman Legion-Hare"). He runs afoul of the Sheriff of Nottingham while poaching the king's carrots in medieval times ("Rabbit Hood"). Two other shorts take Bugs to Arthurian days. In "Knight-Mare Hare," an apple to the noggin sends the mischievous bunny back in time where he encounters a nasty knight, a fire-breathing dragon, and Merlin the magician. Luckily, it's all a dream. Or is it? In the Academy Award-winning "Knighty Knight Bugs," Bugs is a court jester who is tapped to retrieve King Arthur's singing sword which has been taken by the notorious Black Knight (Yosemite Sam).
Shorts directed by Frank Tashlin are the focus of disc two's "A Dash of Tashlin." Almost half of these cartoons star Porky Pig, including shorts in which Porky is embroiled in an Agatha Christie-esque mystery ("The Case of the Stuttering Pig"), joins the foreign legion ("Little Beau Porky"), battles a vicious poacher with the help of his animal pals ("Porky in the North Woods"), and conducts a train so pokey that even a snail can pass it going uphill ("Porky's Railroad"). There are several non-Porky standouts, too, that do not feature regular Looney Tunes characters. "Now That Summer is Gone" is a stylishly animated short about nut-gathering squirrels that drives home the evils of gambling. "You're an Education" is a pun-filled, brightly colored short in which travel brochures come to life. It isn't exactly politically correct, though - one of the many stereotypes portrayed here is a singing, dancing, Alabamy Mammy.
Disc three is devoted to "Speedy Gonzales in a Flash." Some of these are amusing, but a little Speedy goes a long way. The plot of almost every one of these shorts is basically the same: slightly lazy Mexican mice are hungry, a foe stands in the way of their getting food, Speedy is called in to save the day. I'm sure that Speedy has many fans - and some of these shorts weren't seen for years because they portray negative stereotypes - but watching fifteen shorts with the zippy rodent can be a bit of a drag.
Sylvester is by far the most famous Looney Tunes cat, but disc four, "Kitty Kornered," shows that the series' animators often used unknown felines in major roles. When Thomas the night watchman is sick, his cute but clumsy son has to guard the kitchen against an invasion of mice who are bigger than he is ("The Night Watchman"). Feline midshipman (or is that midshipcat?) Conrad swabs the deck, polishes the artillery, and fights with Daffy in "Conrad the Sailor". A spoiled kitty must learn to defend himself after his shenanigans cause his butler to quit in a huff ("The Aristo-Cat"). A piano-playing mouse is exploited by an ambitious cat in a clever variation on "One Froggy Evening" ("Pizzicato Pussycat"). Bruiser Marc Anthony and his tiny kitten friend from "Feed the Kitty" return in "Kiss Me Cat." A similar cutie-and-the-beast scenario plays out in "Cat Feud." Dodsworth, the world's fattest, laziest cat appears in two shorts: "Kiddin' the Kitten" and "A Peck O' Trouble." And don't worry, Sylvester fans, he's here too in "The Unexpected Pest," "Mouse and Garden," and "Swallow the Leader."
Each disc is preceded with the following warning:
The cartoons you are about to see are products of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following does not represent the Warner Bros. view of today's society, these cartoons are being presented as they were originally created because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.
This disclaimer might be a bit grand, but it is also apt. In addition to the aforementioned "You're an Education" and the negative stereotypes of Mexicans in the Speedy shorts, many of the other cartoons are also decidedly un-PC. "Southern Fried Rabbit," for example, features Yosemite Sam as a Southerner who still fighting the Civil War ninety years after it ended ("I'm no clock watcher," he proclaims). When Bugs attempts to cross the Mason-Dixon line from the barren North to the lush, verdant South, Sam vows to stop the Yankee intruder. How does Bugs get through? By dressing as what Sam refers to as one of "our boys:" a shuffle-footed, banjo-playing slave. A surprising number of characters in these shorts also commit suicide. These instances of violence and bad taste were often cut from the broadcast versions of the shorts. While they might be distasteful, it's terrific that Warner Bros. has seen fit to include the uncut, uncensored versions here.
For a complete listing of all the shorts included in Volume Four, visit our individual disc details page.
The four discs that make up this set are housed in a foldout digipak which in turn slides into a cardboard sleeve. This time around, however, the digipak has been redesigned. Two panels hold two discs apiece in a figure eight pattern. Even though it is a pain to remove one disc in order to get to another, the overall design is a definite improvement over that of previous collections.
The DVD menus in Volume Four are simple and easy to navigate. From the main menu, viewers can choose to play all of the shorts, access the individual shorts, go to the languages menu, or view the extras menu. If the shorts have a related extra - a commentary, a music-only track, or a "Behind-the-Tunes" featurette - then the extra is accessible from the individual shorts menu. These same extras - and all others - are also found in the extras menu.
Video and Audio
Owing to the age of the materials and the economics of animation, some flaws evident, but the shorts otherwise look incredible. If you have any doubts, compare the look of the shorts to the faded, dust-covered clips included in some of the vintage extra features.
The shorts include English and Spanish audio tracks. The shorts are also subtitled in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
Twenty-five shorts included here are accompanied by commentary tracks from experts like historian Jerry Beck, historian Michael Barrier, filmmaker Greg Ford, and voice artist June Foray.
Several of the shorts have special audio tracks that allow viewers to isolate the musical score or the score and the sound effects. For a complete listing of these shorts (and all of the other extras), please check our disc breakdown page.
As with the previous sets, several "Behind-the-Tunes" featurettes take us behind-the-scenes of the Looney Tunes shorts through the use of interviews with historians, animators, and other Looney Tunes insiders, archival photos and film clips, and clips from classic shorts. The first disc features "Twilight in Tunes: The Music of Raymond Scott" (6:45) which looks at the musical contributions of composer Raymond Scott to Looney Tunes shorts. With titles like "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals" and "Reckless Night Aboard an Ocean Liner," his instrumentals were not specifically composed for Looney Tunes shorts. His songs were written to stand on their own, and Warner Bros. later purchased the rights to use them in the shorts. One of his most instantly recognizable compositions, "Powerhouse," is spotlighted in "Powerhouse in Pictures" (2:10), a compilation of clips set to the song. The remaining featurettes are found on disc four. "One Hit Wonders" (6:53) takes a look at standalone characters and shorts that appeared once never to be seen again. "Sing-a-Song of Looney Tunes" (6:20) explores the use of songs from the Warner Bros. catalogue in Looney Tunes shorts. The high density of humor in Looney Tunes shorts is celebrated in "The Art of the Gag" (14:32). The vocal talent behind the Looney Tunes shorts are the focus of "Wild Lines: The Art of Voice Acting" (14:33). Finally, "Looney Tunes: A Cast of Thousands" (11:12) looks at the series' secondary characters. These featurettes are entertaining and informative.
The "From the Vault" menus contain shorts and footage that help supplement Volume 4's extras. On disc two, "The Goldbrick" (5:16), "The Home Front" (4:19), and "Censored" (4:33) are three Private Snafu shorts produced in the 1940s to both boost troop morale and reinforce military rules. Disc three features two shorts. The first is "90 Day Wondering" (8:12), Chuck Jones' stylishly directed short about a soldier thrilled to finally be out of the military, but confused about what comes next. While it looks stylish, it is also depressing as it was meant to encourage men to re-enlist, comparing the terrible life of a civilian with the cushy, well-paying life of a soldier. "Drafty, Isn't It?" (10:46), another Army propaganda short written and directed by Jones. The remaining "From the Vault" features are found on disc four. "Porky's Breakdowns" (:54) is a reel of Porky stubbing his thumb with a hammer and stuttering...well, I'll let you find out for yourself. "Sahara Hare Storyboard Reel" (10:41) and "Porky's Poor Fish Storybook Reel" (8:36) present images from the original storyboards for "Sahara Hare" and "Porky's Poor Fish" intercut with clips from the actual shorts.
Narrated by Orson Welles, the 1975 documentary "Bugs Bunny Superstar" provides a look back at Termite Terrace (where Looney Tunes shorts were animated) and the creation of Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang through archival film footage, vintage photos, and interviews with animators Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, and Bob Clampett. Also included are full-length shorts like "What's Cookin' Doc," "A Wild Hare," "I Taw a Putty Tat," "Rhapsody Rabbit," "Corny Concerto," "Walky Talky Hawky," "The Old Grey Hare," "My Favorite Duck," and "Hair Raising Hare." If you don't want to watch the shorts, simply press the skip key on your remote and the DVD will jump to the next documentary section. The documentary is divided into two parts. Part one (47:58) can be found on disc one while disc two holds part two (43:25). What was the inspiration for the carrot that constantly dangled from Bugs' mouth? Many believe it was Groucho Marx and his cigar. In actuality, Bob Clampett reveals, it was Clark Gable munching on a carrot in It Happened One Night.
"Fifty Years of Bugs Bunny in 3 ½ Minutes" (which actually runs 3:53) is a clip compilation on disc one by filmmaker Chuck Workman. Like the clip compilations created by Workman that contribute to the extreme length of most Academy Award broadcast, this is sort of entertaining but ultimately pointless.
From 1960-62, The Bugs Bunny Show ran in primetime on ABC. Disc one provides a pair of extras from this series. New animated "behind-the-scenes" sequences were produced to run in between showings of classic Looney Tunes shorts. "Ballpoint Puns Bridging Sequences" (5:29) presentation of the interstitials for the "Ballpoint Puns" episode. ABC broadcast the show in black and white, so much of the footage lacks color. Color was added to some shots, however, for subsequent broadcasts. The "Foreign Legion Leghorn Audio Recording Session" (3:27) presents raw audio of Mel Blanc recording dialogue for bridging sequences for the "Foreign Legion Leghorn" episode. The audio is accompanied by stills from the shorts, character sketches, and pictures of Blanc. This fascinating extra provides a behind-the-scenes look at how dialogue was recorded.
Disc one also features a "Trailer Gallery" for the compilation films Bugs Bunny's Cartoon Carnival (1:57) and Bugs Bunny's All-Star Revue (1:29).
Disc two's "Porky and Daffy in The William Tell Overture" (2:08) is a new short produced in 2006. They just don't make 'em like they used to, folks.
"Frank Tashlin's Storybooks" on disc two includes "Little Chic's Wonderful Mother" (8:06) and "Tony and Clarence" (6:08). Both are children's stories written and illustrated by director Frank Tashlin in 1951. Neither was ever published, but they are presented here in semi-animated form narrated by June Foray ("Little Chic") and Stan Freburg ("Tony"). These are awfully cute and shouldn't be missed.
Disc three's "Friz on Film" (54:36) is a newly-produced documentary about the legendary director Friz Freleng who created Yosemite Sam and Speedy Gonzales. He also helped to develop the personalities of Bugs, Porky, and Daffy. Freleng often takes a backseat to the other Looney Tunes directors, so it's great to see him take center stage here.
For a complete listing of all the extras found in this set, visit the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Four individual disc details page.
Summary
With Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Four, Warner Bros. has once again produced a DVD set that belongs in the collection of all animation fans. Sixty shorts and a bunch of great extras guarantees hours of viewing fun.
12/17/06
