Following the Platinum Assortment and Collector’s Alternative strains, Looney Tunes is again on Blu-ray with Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault Vol. 1. This two-disc set options 50 shorts in all. The primary disc options 24 never-before-released on DVD or Blu-ray shorts (the one outlier is Chuck Jones’ Double or Mutton brief, which was additionally on Collector’s Alternative Vol. 4), whereas the second disc options 25 extra beloved shorts that had been launched on DVD however hadn’t made the transition to excessive definition. It’s an important worth, and these traditional cartoons (starting from 1934 to 1963) have by no means seemed higher.
“Right here they’re – extra Looney Tunes, extra Merrie Melodies, extra laughs, now restored and on Blu-ray disc! Disc 1 presents 25 selection toons by no means earlier than on DVD or Blu-ray – together with gems directed by Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Ben Hardaway, and Cal Dalton. Disc 2 options chosen cartoon favorites, making their HD debut as a part of a Looney Tunes Assortment, with the all-star group: Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety, and extra – together with the primary appearances of Speedy Gonzales, Pepe LePew, and Daffy Duck. The Vault is now open, with treasured cartoon classics to look at everytime you want,” says the official description.
The primary disc incorporates the never-before-released cartoons, and most of those are from the 30s and 50s. There are some actual highlights, comparable to some traditional Chuck Jones and Tex Avery choices, and fairly a couple of choices that includes signature characters (Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck, Highway Runner, and many others.). The one one which fell fully flat for me was the oldest within the assortment, 1934’s Magnificence and the Beast by Friz Freleng, however even that’s nonetheless traditionally attention-grabbing. Three cartoons have been particularly restored for this set — Avery’s A Day on the Zoo (which is an actual deal with for any pun lovers) and Of Fox and Hounds, plus Freleng’s Every Daybreak I Crow — whereas the remaining are based mostly on the HBO Max variations with corrected titles.
The second disc is the place extra of the better-known characters are featured, as there are fairly a couple of Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig cartoons included right here. There are additionally fairly a couple of traditionally important cartoons right here, together with the few appearances of Speedy Gonzales and Pepe LePew, and Porky’s Duck Hunt, which first launched Daffy. These latter 25 shorts are primarily from the 40s and 50s, so each Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies have been firing on all cylinders.
If there are any gripes available towards the Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault Vol. 1 Blu-ray, it’s the fairly bare-bones presentation. Moderately than going chronologically, the shorts are ordered by title alphabetically, so that you would possibly go from a Willoughby cartoon from 1940 to a Daffy Duck one made in 1960. There’s an enjoyment within the randomness, as you by no means know what to anticipate subsequent as you’re watching a disc, however I’d’ve appreciated to have them both grouped in a method I might chart some development for the sequence. There’s additionally no particular options to talk of, even for the cartoons that had audio commentary tracks made for prior DVD releases.
Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault Vol. 1 Blu-ray Evaluate: Ultimate Verdict
Finally, you’re selecting up the Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault Vol. 1 Blu-ray for the cartoons, and that’s the place this set delivers. This can be a nice worth, and quite a lot of the included cartoons are extremely rewatchable. Warner Archive has achieved an important job ensuring they give the impression of being and sound great, and even those that don’t characteristic beloved characters are attention-grabbing historic footnotes from among the biggest animation administrators.
Disclosure: todaysviralmedia obtained product from the writer for our Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault Vol. 1 Blu-ray overview.