Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice continues with Volume 4, which presents 27 cartoons, three cartoons from the 1930s, ten from the ’40s, eight from the ’50s, and six from the ’60s. The episode title is followed by the year of release and its director.
Buy Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 4 Blu-rayThere are two famished prospectors, one black-haired and one red-haired, resembling and sounding like Yosemite Sam, although neither is identified as him. “Along Came Daffy” (1947, Friz Freleng) selling a cookbook, giving the fellas an idea ab out what, or who, to have for dinner. Daffy works to outsmart them throughout, even taking a moment to reference a future nemesis by making a lip-smacking sound and asking, “What’s cookin’, Doc?” Another Freleng cartoon follows in “A Bone for a Bone” (1951), his first time directing the overly polite Goofy Gophers (voiced by Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg ), who easily outsmart a dog.
“The Cagey Canary” (1941, Tex Avery and Bob Clampett) is a widdle yellow bird and Granny’s cat is after it but if the bird can whistle and get Granny’s attention, out the cat goes. It’s very funny that the cat can’t keep his cool. This is clearly a precursor to Tweety, who debuted in “A Tale of Two Kitties” (1942) and Sylvetser, who debuted in “Kitty Kornered” (1946), being paired up in “Tweetie Pie” (1947).
The next two cartoons demonstrate the filmmakers would take inspiration from anywhere. Sylvester and Hector the dog are paw-cuffed together in “D’ Fightin’ Ones”(1961, Freleng), a spoof of The Defiant Ones. When they fall out of the truck headed for the city pound, they begrudingly go on the lam together. Based on Robert W. Service’s poem “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” “Dangerous Dan McFoo” (1939, Avery), who has Elmer Fudd’s voice, fights a fella who wants his girl. She looks like Bette Davis but sounds like Katharine Hepburn.
“Devil’s Feud Cake” (1963, Freleng) is a remake of “Satan’s Waitin’” from The Bugs Bunny Show. After robbing a bank and an encounter with Bugs, Yosemite Sam ends up in Hell. The Devil will let him return if he can get Bugs to take his place. The cartoon reuses scenes from “Hare Lift,” “Roman Legion-Hare,” and “Sahara Hare” making it feel like a clip show as it lacks the flow of typical Bugs Bunny cartoons. Freleng also directed “Double Chaser” (1942), which is essentially a Tom and Jerry cartoon with its lack of dialogue as a cat pursues a mouse that is protected by bulldog.
“Double or Mutton” (1955, Chuck Jones) also relies on action for its funny gags with the only dialogue being when Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog say hello and goodbye while clocking in and out at the meadow where the sheep graze. In “Fox Pop”(1942, Jones),a fox thinks he’s going to get set up with a beautiful lady not realizing all she wants is his fur.
“Henhouse Henery”(1949, Robert McKimson) finds that little chickenhawk after food, possibly Foghorn Leghorn if he and Barnyard Dawg have any say in the matter. Notable for being the Foghorn featuring Stephen Foster’s “Camptown Races.” Doo dah. In “Leghorn Swoggled” (1951, McKimson), the formula repeats as the trio go back at it, generating plenty of laughs.
“Holiday for Drumsticks” (1949, Arthur Davis) features a couple more birds when a hillbilly brings home a turkey for Thanksgiving. Daffy is jealous over what he sees as competition for food and works to keep the turkey skinny. This required eating and with Daffy now fattened himself, the menu might be changing if he can’t stay an step ahead.
The big gag in “Hopalong Casualty” (1960, Jones)is a bottle of Earthquake pills. Wile E. labels them “Free Bird Seed” in hopes the Roadrunner will eat them. When he sees the pills have no effect, he takes the rest of the bottle, which doesn’t go well for him. Some of the best gags are when one can see the outcome coming.
In reference to the classic monster, “Hyde and Go Tweet” (1960, Freleng) finds Tweety sampling Hyde formula in Dr. Jekyll’s office. The results make it tougher for Sylvester to catch him.In “The Impatient Patient” (1942, Norman McCabe), Daffy visits Dr. Jerkyl about his hiccups and has to deal with the monster.
Setting aside the title spoiling the ending while referring to war-time rations, “Meatless Flyday” (1944, Freleng) finds a spider trying to catch a fly for dinner. Claude Cat gets in the way of romance between two mice in “Mouse-Warming” (1952, Jones), but not for long. “The Mouse-Merized Cat” (1946, McKimson) sees the return ofBabbit and Catstello. A book about hypnotism leads to Catstello doing the bidding of Babbit and a cat.
Daffy finds himself in a “Muscle Tussle” (1953, McKimson) when he loses gal to a brawny duck. A conman promises to make Daffy stronger, which lead to a number of funny gags, especially the final blow to his nemesis. Granny and Tweety and Hector move into a new house in “Muzzle Tough” (1954, Freleng). Sylvester wants to meet one of his new neighbors. Nine years earlier, “Peck Up Your Troubles” (1945, Freleng) finds Sylvester after a woodpecker in a tree in what is alleged to be Hector’s yard, even though the doghouse is seen with the name “Rover” on it.
In “Quack Shot” (1954, McKimson). Elmer is out duck hunting on a lake and battles with Daffy, who frequently ends up on the losing end of his own schemes. The “Road to Andalay” (1964, Freleng and Hawley Pratt) sees Sylvester buy Malcolm the Falcon but will that help him capture Speedy Gonzales? “The Sneezing Weasel” (1938, Avery)tries to get himself some chicks to eat while their mother is away but they prove resourceful.Nearly 70 years before Pixar released their version, “Streamlined Greta Green” (1937, Freleng) offers a views into a world of anthropomorphized cars. Here, one young car wants to be a taxi against his mother’s wishes.
Under the bonus features, there are two bonus cartoons by Freleng needlessly separated from the rest. In “Lighter than Hare” (1960), Yosemite Sam is from another planet and is after Bugs Bunny to bring home an Earth creature. He could have picked an easier subject. In “Stork Naked” (1955), Daffy strives to keep the stork from delivering another mouth to feed. Has a good twist ending.
The video is presented in 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at an aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The colors pop in bold hues, with the ’30s cartoons using softer shades. Blacks are inky and whites are accurate, creating a strong contrast. Minor DNR has removed film grain, but it doesn’t diminish the image. The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Dialogue is clear and the music and effects come through nicely. On “Mouse-Warming,” the levels are too loud and the audio is slightly distorted.
Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice, Vol. 4 is a worthy addition to the line of releases. The cartoons included show the deep roster the animators had to choose from. Even though many of the stories involve one character trying to catch/eat another character, the writers and animators didn’t repeat jokes so they feel fresh with only “Devil’s Feud Cake” being a letdown in comparison. The Blu-ray offers clean, colorful cartoons that should satisfy any Looney Tunes fan. Fingers crossed for Volume 5 in the near future.
