Kids — and their parents — are in for some wonderful treats with four new Warner Bros. cartoon collections released on DVD this week.
Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Porky, Sylvester & Tweety, Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, Speedy Gonzales, Pepe Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil — the gang's all here.
The quality of the four varies widely. But if you are a true animation aficionado, or if you're a film buff — or if just love the old classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies animated shorts — the more expensive four-disc "Golden Collection" is for you.
— "Looney Tunes: Golden Collection" (Warner, not rated, $64.92, four discs). "Gold" has all the cartoons that are in "Premiere Collection" (listed below), plus many more that are not — including such legendary classics as "Duck Amuck," "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century" and "Rabbit of Seville." There are 56 shorts in all, with Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson as the best-represented directors. There are also a couple by Bob Clampett, but fans of Tex Avery will be disappointed (although he does get a nice profile/tribute in a documentary).
One could quibble that "Gold" isn't really "Gold" without "What's Opera, Doc?" "Red Hot Riding Hood" and "One Froggy Evening," among other universal favorites, but since there were more than 1,000 shorts to choose from, choices had to be made. Hopefully, a "Volume 2" will arrive in the near future. (Or better yet, character-by-character collections, akin to Disney's annual "Treasures" DVDs.)
As a sampler, however, "Gold" is pretty good — and the extras are so plentiful that buffs will be in hog heaven: Audio commentaries. Vintage interviews with animators Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Bob Clampett, and voice genius Mel Blanc. New interviews with voice actors Stan Freberg and June Foray, and a variety of young and old animators and historians. Tributes to Blanc, composer Carl Stalling, etc. Vintage documentaries, new documentaries, an episode of Cartoon Network's "Toon Heads" show. . . .
Suffice to say it's a treasure trove. (One editor deserves a slap on the hand, however; in a short Porky Pig profile, a photo of the late Bea Benaderet — a voice actress who is mentioned by Stan Freberg in an audio commentary — is identified as June Foray!)
Any way you slice it, the "Golden Collection" is a wow.
— "Looney Tunes: Premiere Collection" (Warner, not rated, $26.99, two discs)."Premiere Collection" is virtually extras-free (save for DVD-Rom applications), with 28 toons on two discs. Consider this a trimmed-down, less expensive version of "Gold," a sampler with a lot of good cartoons but no real prizes.
— "Looney Tunes: Stranger Than Fiction" (Warner, not rated, $19.98).
— "Looney Tunes: Reality Check" (Warner, not rated, $19.98). "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Reality Check" are collections of new shorts that spoof contemporary TV programs. The titles pretty much tell the tale, with the former being sci-fi/fantasy/horror-oriented (there's an entire string of shorts spoofing "Planet of the Apes"), and the latter lampooning "Survivor," "Judge Judy," etc. There are a few amusing gags here and there, but these stiff TV-style toons pale next to the older classics.
— "Space Jam" (Warner, 1996, PG, $26.99, two discs). Though this feature film blend of animation and live-action runs out of steam before it's over, both Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan demonstrate a lot of big-screen charisma. It's no "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," but there are still some funny gags in this tale of Jordan and the Looney Tunes gang trying to rescue prime NBA stars (including Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and our own home-grown Shawn Bradley) from aliens who have stolen their talent.
The second disc, in addition to the usual promotional feature and music videos, has four more-recent Looney Tunes shorts: "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers" (1991), "Night of the Living Duck" and "The Duxorcist" (both 1987) and the Chuck Jones-directed "Another Froggy Evening," by far the best of this lot (a sequel to Jones' classic "One Froggy Evening").
There is also a 1988 20-minute compilation of Looney Tunes musical clips within the framework of two MTV-style TV programs that are hosted, respectively, by ever-feuding Bugs and Daffy.
Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary (with filmmakers, and Bugs and Daffy), making-of documentary, animated shorts, music videos, trailers, etc.
E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com