Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Volume One Blu-ray Review: When You’re Jonesing for Chuck Jones

Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume One has been reissued. Of the 50 main cartoons, 3 are from the 1930s, 17 are from the ’40s, 26 are from the ’50s, and 4 are from the ’60s. The set highlights both major and minor characters, but the mix is interesting. For example, there’s only one Foghorn Leghorn cartoon while there’s three featuring Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot. And you better like Chuck Jones. Nearly 60 percent of the cartoons are directed by him but somehow only one by Tex Avery, who was involved in the creation and evolution of these classic characters. Jones also dominates the extras.

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Disc One opens with Bugs Bunny cartoons. In “Hare Tonic” (1945, dir. Jones), Elmer plans to make a rabbit stew. Bugs has a chance to escape but decides to play with Elmer and then the audience. Bugs takes on a the Gashouse Gorillas baseball team by himself in “Baseball Bugs” (1946, dir. Friz Freleng), notable for being the first time Bugs reverses an argument to win it. Bugs becomes the “Buccaneer Bunny” (1948, Freleng) when Sea-going (Yosemite) Sam buries a chest in Bugs’ hole. Bob Clampett gets wacky with “The Old Grey Hare” (1944). God shows Elmer what he and Bugs will look like in the year 2000, and then Bugs reveals the first time they met at babies.

Four Jones cartoons, which are all classics, close out the section. Bugs gets caught stealing the King’s carrots and has to deal with the Sheriff of Nottingham in “Rabbit Hood” (1949), which features a great gag when Robin Hood finally appears. Although frequently in the role of a trickster, Bugs is shown to have a good heart in “8 Ball Bunny” (1950) when he promises to take “Playboy” Penguin before he discovers penguins live at the South Pole. These two opera-themed cartoons, “Rabbit of Seville” (1950) where Elmer chases Bugs into an opera house, and “What’s Opera, Doc?” (1957), a take on Wagner’s The Ring Cycle, are beloved. While I appreciate the boundary-pushing on display, I don’t understand why they are thought of so highly by so many.

Daffy Duck is the next character highlighted. After knocking himself out, Daffy thinks he’s Duck Twacy and works “The Great Piggy Bank Robbery” (1946, Clampett) crime wave. Then three cartoons with Jones at the helm. Daffy proves to be “A Pest in the House” (1947) working as a bellboy in a hotel where Elmer is manager. A tired, angry fella wants peace and quiet, but trickster Daffy causes mayhem and Elmer suffers for it. Then Daffy changes to his annoying, selfish persona in the meta cartoons “The Scarlet Pumpernickel” (1950) where Daffy pitches a dramatic role to a studio boss and the inventive and imaginative “Duck Amuck” (1953) where Daffy battles the animator.

Daffy hands off to Porky Pig in a pair of cartoons they appeared together. The title makes clear who the lead is in “Robin Hood Daffy” (1958, Jones) with Porky in the role of Friar Tuck. Their roles are reversed in “Baby Bottleneck” (1946, Clampett), which finds storks overworked due to the WWII baby boom, so Porky is brought in as traffic manager at the baby factory and Daffy is his assistant. Next up is Porky in a pair of cartoons with early versions of Sylvester. In “Kitty Kornered” (1946, Clampett), Porky battles his four cats over who is going to stay out of his house on a cold winter night. A non-speaking Sylvester is a “Scaredy Cat” (1948, Jones) who tries to warn Porky how dangerous their new home is before it’s too late. Porky stars on his own in “Porky Chops” (1949, dir. Arthur Davis), where he battles with a squirrel over a tree, and in “Old Glory” (1939, Jones) where he gets a history lesson from historical figures

Cats Babbit and Catstello try to catch an early version of Tweety Bird in “A Tale of Two Kitties” (1942, Clampett) and an early version of Sylvester, who doesn’t speak and is called Thomas by his human owner, tries to do the same “Tweetie Pie” (1947, Freleng) in their first teaming, which is also notable for being the first Warner Bros. cartoon to win an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

My favorite Jones creation is Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Their debut, “Fast and Furry-ous” (1949), is filled with classic bits like painting a tunnel onto a wall, skiing thanks to an ice maker, and jet-propelled tennis shoes. Three years later, “Beep, Beep” (1952) was released and it’s a bit odd with all the time to see recycled jokes like rocket skates and the cartoon ending with Road Runner in a vehicle that runs over Wile.

“Lovelorn Leghorn” (1951, dir. Robert McKimson) is the first pairing of Foghorn Leghorn and Miss Prissy, who tries to make Foghorn her husband, but he works to convince her that Dawg is a rooster. There is an impressive Rube Goldberg device to catch a husband. Unwanted affections continue in the Oscar-winning “For Scent-imental Reasons” (1949, Jones) which see the tables get turned after Pepé falls into a can of blue paint which covers his scent, making him more appealing to Penelope Pussycat.

“Speedy Gonzales” (1955, Freleng) is another Oscar winner that finds Speedy obtaining cheese from a factory on the other side of the border. Sylvester serves (unsuccessfully) as a guard cat.In the American Southwest setting, some of the gags bring to mind Roadrunner cartoons.

Disc Two opens with a collection of music-based cartoons. In “One Froggy Evening” (1955, Jones), a man discovers a singing frog, but its talents are only on display when they are alone. “Three Little Bops” (1957, Freleng) is a jazzy update to The Three Little Pigs with the Big Bad Wolf not being allowed into their combo. Young Owl Jolson declares “I Love to Singa” (1936, dir. Tex Avery) to the great disappointment of his father, who kicks him out but how will Owl do in a radio-station talent contest? “Katnip Kollege” (1938, dir. Cal Howard and Cal Dalton) is where cats learn about jazz but Johnny struggles to get it. “The Dover Boys at Pimento University” (1942, Jones) are three brothers who share a fiancee named Dora (what exactly is going on there is unexplained). She is kidnapped by Dan Backslide, but she doesn’t need any help. “Chow Hound” (1951, Jones) finds a dog using acat and mouse in schemes to get him food from various homes. He is always upset when they forget the gravy, but isn’t happy when they finally remember.

Created and directed by Jones, the Marvin the Martian cartoons typically find Bugs as his nemesis. Bugs gets sent to the moon in “Haredevil Hare” (1948) only to discover Martin his dog assistant K-9, both making their debut, trying to blow up the Earth. Martin is assigned to bring an Earth creature back to Mars in “The Hasty Hare” (1952). They don’t recognize each other. “Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½th Century” (1953) sees our hero travel to Planet X. Duck claims it for Earth while Martin claims it for Mars. “Hare-Way to the Stars” (1958) is a sequel to “Haredevil Hare” with Bugs again trying to stop Marvin blow up earth. Bugs tries claiing Mars for Earth but Marvin doesn’t like that in “Mad as a Mars Hare” (1963, dir.Jones and Maurice Noble).

Created and directed by McKimson, the Tasmanian Devil cartoons typically find Bugs as his nemesis. Taz makes his debut in “Devil May Hare” (1954) and he makes his way to Bugs whereas in the follow-up, “Bedevilled Rabbit” (1957), Bugs is dropped into the middle of a Tasmanian jungle. No recognition of their previous meeting by the characters and possibly the filmmakers as there are similar gags. For a change of Taz escapes a zoo and ends up at Daffy’s pond in “Ducking the Devil” (1957). Daffy realizes music charms the savage breast. In “Bill of Hare” (1962), Bugs looks for ways to feed Taz who eventually loses his appetite. The title for “Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare” (1964) is mixed up as Bugs plays various doctors to treat Taz.

Witch Hazel makes her debut in “Bewitched Bunny” (1954, Jones) where Bugs comes upon the “Hansel and Gretel” story taking place. Bugs falls for her when she turns into an attractive bunny, telling the audience, “Ah sure, I know. But aren’t they all witches inside?” which even for the era seems a strong sentiment for a cartoon. Hazel returns in “Broom-Stick Bunny” (1956, Jones). On Halloween night, Bugs shows up masked at Hazel’s. When she discovers he’s a rabbit, she’s wants to use him for a potion to help her stay ugly. In their last pairing, which is packed with Shakespearean references, an Elizabethan writer witnesses Hazel trying to cook Bugs in “A Witch’s Tangled Hare” (1959, dir. Abe Levitow) – the last time Bugs Bunny was paired with Witch Hazel, an Elizabethan writer witnesses her trying to cook Bugs. It’s Halloween again during “A-Haunting We Will Go” (1966, McKimson). Daffy’s nephew goes trick-or-treating wearing the costume Bugs wore in “Broom-Stick Bunny”. He tells Daffy he saw a witch but Daffy wants to show him she’s just an old lady. Before he gets there, Hazel turns Speedy Gonzalez to fill in for her, but when she returns she gets hungry for duck.

The set closes out with five Jones cartoons. The first three star the dog Marc Anthony and his kitten Pussyfoot. They meet in “Feed the Kitty” (1952) and because she isn’t scared of him he adopts her, but hides her from his owner. Quite a heart-wrenching scene when he thinks the kitty is killed in the cookie batter. To keep Pussyfoot around, Marc teachers her how to catch a mouse in “Kiss Me Cat” (1953). Claude Cat joins the household and tries to show his dominance in “Feline Frame-Up” (1954) . The second two star young Ralph Phillips who has fantastic daydreams in “From A to Z-Z-Z-Z” (1954) and in his bedroom when he is punished for breaking a window in “Boyhood Daze” (1957).

Appearing to be the same A/V specs as the title’s previous Blu-ray release, the video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer in various aspect ratios. The colors appear in strong hues across the rainbow. Blacks are inky and whites are accurate. After that, the 50 cartoons are presented with varying degrees of film grain and minor marks on the image. The audio is available in is Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is clear and balanced well with the music and effects. Occasional hiss appears on some shorts.

The Special Features are:

• Audio Commentaries: There are 23 audio commentaries on Disc One featuring the likes of director Eric Goldberg, filmmaker Greg Ford, historian Jerry Beck, historian Daniel Goldmark, writer Paul Dini. The most notable tracks include people who worked the cartoons. Those are: “What’s Opera Doc?” with director Chuck Jones, writer Michael Maltese, and layout artist Maurice Noble; “The Great Piggy Bank Robbery” with directors John Kricfalusi and Bob Clampett; “The Scarlett Pumpernickel” with historian Michael Barrier and voice actor Mel Blanc; “Duck Amuck” with Jones and Barrier; “Baby Bottleneck” with Barrier and Clampett; “Old Glory” with Beck and ink-and-paint girl Martha Sigall; “A Tale of Two Kitties” with Barrier and Clampett; “Tweetie Pie” with Ford and director Friz Freleng’ “Fast and Furry-ous” with Barrier, Maltese, and sound editor Treg Brown; “For Scent-imental Reasons” with Barrier and Maltese.
• There are 17 audio commentaries on Disc Two featuring the likes of Beck, Ford, Goldberg, and author Amid Amidi.The most notable tracks include people who worked the cartoons. Those are “One Froggy Evening” with Barrier, Jones, Maltese, Noble, and layout artist Corny Cole; “The Three Little Bops” with Beck and voice actor Stan Freberg; “The Dover Boys at Pimento University” with Barrier, layout artist John McGrew, and background artists Paul Julian and Gene Fleury; “Haredevil Hare” with Barrier and background artist Pete Alvarado; “Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century” with Barrier and Noble; and “Broom-Stick Bunny” with voice actor June Foray.
• Alternate Audio Programs: On Disc 1, there are music-only tracks available for “What’s Opera Doc?,” “The Scarlet Pumpernickel,” “Duck Amuck,” “Robin Hood Daffy,” and “Speedy Gonzales.” There is a vocal track with Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan for “What’s Opera Doc?” On Disc 2,there are music-only tracks available for“One Froggy Evening,” “The Three Little Bops,” “Hare-Way to the Stars,” “Ducking the Devil,” “A Witch’s Tangled Hare,” “Feed the Kitty,” and “Boyhood Daze.”Music and effects tracks available for “Bewitched Bunny,” “Broom-Stick Bunny,” and “Feline Frame-Up.” And, a vocal track for “The Three Little Bops.”
• Behind the Tunes are behind-the-scenes featurettes focused on specific cartoons, characters, or contributors.
  • Wagnerian Wabbit: The Making of “What’s Opera Doc?,” (D1, 10 min)
  • Powerhouse in Pictures (D1, 2 min)
  • A Chuck Jones Tutorial: Tricks of the Cartoon Trade (D1, 13 min) – A look at Jones’ rules of animation.
  • Twilight in Tunes: The Music of Raymond Scott (D1, 7 min)
  • Putty Problems and Canary Rows (D1, 6 min) – A focus on Sylvester and Tweety
  • The Charm of Stink: On the Scent of Pepe Le Pew (D1, 7 min)
  • It Hopped One Night: The Story Behind One Froggy Evening (D2, 7 min)
  • Wacky Warner One-Shots (D2, 9 min) – A look at when the studio did one-offs.
  • Mars Attacks! Life on the Red Planet with My Favorite Martian (D2, HD, 15 min)
  • Razzma-Taz: Giving the Tasmanian Devil His Due (D2, HD, 12 min)
  • The Ralph Phillips Story: Living the American Daydream. (D2, HD, 7 min)

The third disc is all special features.

• A Greeting from Chuck Jones (4 min)
• Documentaries:
  • Chuck Amuck: The Movie (51 min) – A 1991 documentary from writer John Needham about Jones
  • Chuck Jones: Extremes & In-Betweens, A Life in Animation (85 min) – A 2000 star-studded history of Jones’ career, his foray into animation, and his groundbreaking Looney Tunes work
  • Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood (26 min) a TCM doc from 2009 by Peggy Stern that traces the origins of Looney Tunes all the way back to Jones’ early years, dreams and inspirations.
• The Animated World of Chuck Jones: Rare shorts by Jones-animated odds. “Point Rationing of Foods” (6 min); “Hell-Bent for Election” (13 min); “So Much for So Little,” an Oscar winner of Documentary Short Subject (10 min); “Orange Blossoms for Violet” (9 min), the lone live-action short in the bunch with monkeys; “A Hitch in Time” (8 min); “90 Day Wondering” (8 min); “Drafty, Isn’t It?” (11 min); “The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics” (10 min); “The Bear That Wasn’t” (10 min) based on the children’s book of same name by Frank Tashlin.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas Pencil Test (7 min)
• The Door (HD, 7 min): Directed by Ken Mundie, this 1968 cartoon about two Native Americans dealing with the horrors of the time it was made.
• Bonus Cartoons: Nine cartoons made after the Golden Age.
  • Taz takes over for Santa in “Fright Before Christmas” from Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales (1979, Freleng).
  • Bugs has another encounter with Martin in “Spaced-Out Bunny” from Bugs Bunny’s Bustin’ Out All Over (1980, Jones).
  • “Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 ½th Century” from Daffy Duck’s Thanks-For-Giving Special (1980, Jones).
  • “Another Froggy Evening” (1995, Jones) is a sequel that repeats the one joke from the original throughout time.
  • “Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension” (1997, dir. Douglas McCarthy) is a 3-D Looney Tunes film made for an attraction.
  • “Superior Duck” (1996, Jones) – Daffy struggles to be a superhero.
  • “From Hare to Eternity” (1997, Jones) – Yosemite Sam is a pirate searching for buried treasure on an island but finds Bugs Bunny.
  • Sylvester is the “Father of the Bird” (1997, dir. Stephen A. Fossati) he intended to eat.
  • “Museum Scream” (2003, dir. Dan Povenmire, HD) – Sylvester is after another bird. This time it’s Tweety Pie.

Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume One is an outstanding collection of cartoons and behind-the-scenes material from the Warner Bros. vault that no Looney Tunes fan should be without even though the spotlight wasn’t shined evenly upon the talented creators.