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Tuesday, 07 January 2025

Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 4 (Blu-ray Review)

  • Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
  • Review Date: Dec 02, 2024
  • Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 4 (Blu-ray Review)

Director

Tex Avery/Bob Clampett/Arthur Davis/Friz Freleng/Chuck Jones/Norman McCabe/Robert McKimson/Hawley Pratt

Release Date(s)

1937-1964 (November 26, 2024)

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. (Warner Archive Collection)
  • Film/Program Grade: A
  • Video Grade: A-
  • Audio Grade: B
  • Extras Grade: D+
  • Overall Grade: A-

Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 4 (Blu-ray)

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Review

Debuting theatrically in 1930, the Looney Tunes shorts began as a series of cartoons that were meant to showcase many popular songs of the day for their respective publishers. Running almost concurrently were Merrie Melodies, which officially unveiled the following year, basically performing the same function. Eventually, both series made their way from black-and-white to color with more overt comedic formulas, beautiful artwork, and popular characters, thanks to the creative teams behind them, which included legendary directors and animators like Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Fred (Tex) Avery, among many others. Both series ran until 1969, only occasionally revived in the late 1970s and onward; though many consider the original 40-year plus run to be the finest that both Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies had to offer.

The most important aspect of what the Collector’s Choice Blu-ray releases represent is a diversity in content. Each release draws from every decade for the most minor of shorts to the most popular, giving viewers a range of entertainment for their money and perhaps highlighting little seen or little known films that might otherwise not have the same kind of spotlight. And Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 4 is certainly no different. As always, the Blu-ray’s rear cover art lets us know that these shorts are “intended for the Adult Collector and May Not Be Suitable for Children.” This is important because it tells us know that we’re getting these films as originally intended when they ran theatrically, but also preserving them as they should be preserved.

The Warner Archive Collection release of Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 4 offers twenty-five more animated shorts (presented alphabetically) on a Region A/B-encoded, BD-50 Blu-ray disc in 1080p, retaining their original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The following shorts are included:

  1. Along Came Daffy – Looney Tunes (1947, Friz Freleng – 6:48)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  2. A Bone for a Bone – Looney Tunes (1951, Friz Freleng – 7:04)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
  3. The Cagey Canary – Merrie Melodies (1941, Tex Avery/Bob Clampett – 8:08)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  4. D’ Fightin’ Ones – Merrie Melodies (1961, Friz Freleng – 6:14)
    (Original Titles)
  5. Dangerous Dan McFoo – Merrie Melodies (1939, Tex Avery – 7:53)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  6. Devil’s Feud Cake – Merrie Melodies (1963, Friz Freleng – 7:45)
    (Original Titles)
  7. Double Chaser – Merrie Melodies (1942, Friz Freleng – 7:10)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  8. Double or Mutton – Looney Tunes (1955, Chuck Jones – 6:39)
    (Original Titles)
  9. Fox Pop – Merrie Melodies (1942, Chuck Jones – 7:49)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  10. Henhouse Henery – Looney Tunes (1949, Robert McKimson – 7:21)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
  11. Holiday for Drumsticks – Merrie Melodies (1949, Arthur Davis – 7:00)
    (Original Titles)
  12. Hopalong Casualty – Looney Tunes (1960, Chuck Jones – 6:06)
    (Original Titles)
  13. Hyde and Go Tweet – Merrie Melodies (1960, Friz Freleng – 6:23)
    (Original Titles)
  14. The Impatient Patient – Looney Tunes (1942, Norman McCabe – 7:48)
    (Original Titles)
  15. Leghorn Swoggled – Merrie Melodies (1951, Robert McKimson – 7:13)
    (Original Titles)
  16. Meatless Flyday – Merrie Melodies (1944, Friz Freleng – 6:22)
    (Original Titles)
  17. Mouse-Warming – Looney Tunes (1952, Chuck Jones – 6:58)
    (Original Titles)
  18. The Mouse-Merized Cat – Merrie Melodies (1946, Robert McKimson – 6:27)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  19. Muscle Tussle – Merrie Melodies (1953, Robert McKimson – 6:44)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles with Crew Credits)
  20. Muzzle Tough – Merrie Melodies (1954, Friz Freleng – 6:34)
    (Original Titles)
  21. Peck Up Your Troubles – Merrie Melodies (1945, Friz Freleng – 7:04)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  22. Quack Shot – Merrie Melodies (1954, Robert McKimson – 6:31)
    (Original Titles)
  23. Road to Andalay – Merrie Melodies (1964, Friz Freleng/Hawley Pratt – 6:52)
    (Original Titles)
  24. The Sneezing Weasel – Merrie Melodies (1938, Tex Avery – 6:42)
    (“Blue Ribbon” Re-Release Titles)
  25. Streamlined Greta Green – Merrie Melodies (1937, Friz Freleng – 8:00)
    (Original Titles)
  • Lighter Than Hare – Merrie Melodies (1960, Friz Freleng – 7:23)
    (Original Titles)
  • Stork Naked – Merrie Melodies (1955, Friz Freleng – 6:45)
    (Original Titles)

Peck Up Your Troubles has been newly-scanned in 4K, presumably from the original nitrate camera negative, specifically for this release, while The Mouse-Merized Cat is presented uncut with the impression of Rochester by Catstello re-instated. Included as bonus cartoons are Lighter Than Hare and Stork Naked, which were originally included in the Looney Tunes Super Stars DVD releases in 16:9. They have now been restored to 4:3, although the closing credits are cropped at the top and bottom of the frame. Holiday for Drumsticks has had its original closing titles restored, while Hyde and Go Tweet uses alternate closing titles. Along Came Daffy, A Bone for a Bone, and Henhouse Henery are actually Looney Tunes cartoons, despite their Merrie Melodies Blue Ribbon opening titles. And finally, The Impatient Patient features a sped-up version of the 1938 to 1941 opening theme song instead of the 1941 to 1945 version. Other shorts were likely scanned in 4K from their respective OCNs, but the visual quality is so good from short to short that it can be difficult to discern at times, which is not a bad thing. Otherwise, the rest were restored three years prior, though Warner Archive has been able to make minor corrections that the team who restored those shorts overlooked. Unfortunately, not all of the opening and closing titles missing from their respective shorts could be restored, as noted above.

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

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

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

If Warner Archive’s George Feltenstein’s and animation historian and producer Jerry Beck’s recent appearances on The Extras podcast with Tim Millard are any indication, it’s likely that we’ll see future volumes in this series sometime next year. Nevertheless, Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Vol. 4 further restores and highlights many classic and rarely seen short films in a way that makes them all feel fresh. And with over a thousand theatrical shorts to choose from, one hopes for even more great content in the best quality possible. As is usual with these releases, it comes highly recommended.

– Tim Salmons

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

 

Tags

1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, A Bone for a Bone, Along Came Daffy, animated, animation, Archive Collection, Arthur Davis, Babbit and Catstello, Barnyard, black & white, black and white, black-and-white, Blu-ray, Blu-ray Disc, Bob Clampett, Bugs Bunny, cartoon, cartoons, Chuck Jones, Claude, Collector’s Choice, comedy, Daffy Duck, Dangerous Dan McFoo, Devil’s Feud Cake, Double Chaser, Double or Mutton, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, D’ Fightin’ Ones, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Fox Pop, Friz Freleng, goofball, Granny, Hawley Pratt, Hector, Henery, Henhouse Henery, Holiday for Drumsticks, Hopalong Casualty, Hyde and Go Tweet, Leghorn Swoggled, Lighter Than Hare, Looney Tunes, Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice, Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol 4, Meatless Flyday, Merrie Melodies, Mouse-Warming, Muscle Tussle, Muzzle Tough, Norman McCabe, Peck Up Your Troubles, Quack Shot, Ralph and Sam, review, Road Runner, Road to Andalay, Robert McKimson, slapstick, Speedy Gonzales, Stork Naked, Streamlined Greta Green, Sylvester, Sylvester the Cat, Tex Avery, The Cagey Canary, The Digital Bits, The Goofy Gophers, The Impatient Patient, The Mouse-Merized Cat, The Sneezing Weasel, Tim Salmons, Tweety, Tweety Bird, Vol 4, Volume 4, Warner Archive, Warner Archive Collection, Warner Bros, Wile E Coyote, Yosemite Sam