Product Details

• Actors: Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: October 12, 2010
• Run Time: 235 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003U0AHGE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,558 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Bugs Bunny, one of animation's most recognizable characters is celebrated through a set of 20 key classic shorts that define Bugs Bunny and showcase his interaction with other notable characters such as Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian and Daffy Duck. The Essential Bugs Bunny Collection is a comprehensive compilation that features some of the best of Bugs Bunny's body of work. It consists of theatrical shorts, television episodes, and specials. How Bugs Bunny Won The West, Bugs Bunny's Wild World Of Sports, and Hare and Loathing In Las Vegas are new to DVD.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of repeats, but still an "Essential" collection, July 12, 2010

By 

S. Lindvall - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Bugs Bunny (DVD)

This is a very good, concise collection of the best of the Bugs Bunny shorts. Unfortunately for those who have been collecting the Looney Tunes Golden Collection sets, there are a lot of repeats here. However, there are enough new items in this set that have never been released on DVD before, that it really is "essential" for fans.

Here's an updated list of the contents on each disc, along with the release year and director of each short:

Disc 1:
* Elmer's Candid Camera (1940, Jones)
* Excerpt from "My Dream is Yours" (1949)
* A Wild Hare (1940, Avery)
* How Bugs Bunny Won the West TV special (1978)
* The Old Grey Hare (1944, Clampett)
* Bugs Bunny Wild World of Sports TV special (1989)
* Baseball Bugs (1946, Freleng)
* Carrotblanca (1995, McCarthy)
* Hair Raising Hare (1946, Jones)
* Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas (2003 [unreleased], Kopp/Shin)
* Haredevil Hare (1948, Jones)

Disc 2:
* 8 Ball Bunny (1950, Jones)
* Rabbit of Seville (1950, Jones)
* Ain't I A Stinker (2010 mini-documentary)
* Rabbit Fire (1951, Jones)
* Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1992, Ford/Lennon)
* Show Biz Bugs (1957, Freleng)
* Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over (1980, Jones/Monroe)
* Knighty Knight Bugs (1958, Freleng)
* The Carnival of the Animals (1976, Jones/Klynn)
* What's Opera Doc? (1957, Jones)

All in all, a terrific anthology of Bugs Bunny's best. I just wish that Warner Bros. would either continue with the Looney Tunes Golden Collection sets or come up with another collectors' series that did not repeat so many of the same shorts.

Revised Note 8/25/2010: With the unfortunate cropping of the picture done by Warner Bros. on its two recent "Superstars" releases -- "Bugs Bunny - Hare Extraordinaire" and "Daffy Duck - Frustrated Fowl" -- I feel I have to withhold recommending this title for the time being. If Warner Bros. chooses to not make the same horrible cropping mistakes with this title, it WILL be a good collection to own as a supplement to the Looney Tunes Golden Collections or as a good stand-alone title. If, however, the powers-that-be decide to crop these cartoons and specials for wide-screen televisions, send them a message and stay away from this. Hopefully, Warner Bros. will get the message.

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful fact for LOONEY TOONS GOLDEN COLLECTION owners, October 4, 2010

By 

Jeffrey W. Meyer "Bookrats" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Bugs Bunny (DVD)

Quick note for those who own all the LOONEY TOONS GOLDEN COLLECTION: all of the cartoons on the ESSENTIAL BUGS BUNNY collection that were made before 1978 are also to be found in one of the 6 LOONEY TOONS GOLDEN COLLECTIONs.

I have all 6 of those, and so am much less interested in this collection. However, for those just starting out with getting Bugs on DVD, this disc has a nice selection.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NO Letterboxing, New material is only on disc 2 (correct disc listing), October 14, 2010

By 

Paul J. Mular (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Bugs Bunny (DVD)

First the good news, Warner did not mask any cartoons to make them look widescreen. Those cartoons that were masked in the theaters are shown in their original full screen here, retaining all of the animation. (Most likely because they are just re-issues of the Golden Collection transfers.)
The only cartoon in question is HARE AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, the main titles & end title are in widescreen, but the cartoon is full frame. The picture looks a little tight which makes me think this WAS a widescreen cartoon and "Center Cut" or cropped on the sides to make it full screen here.

For those with the Golden Collections (like me) Disc 2 will be the only disc of interest. It is too bad we have to re-buy all of the cartoons on disc 1 to get the new stuff on disc 2. Disc 2 seems like the "Bonus Material" that would have been in a Golden Collection if one were released this year. So add this to the Bugs, Daffy & Foghorn single discs released this year and you will get a 4-disc pseudo-golden collection.

The correct disc listing:

Disc 1: (all re-issues from the Golden Collections)
* Elmer's Candid Camera (1940, Jones)
* A Wild Hare (1940, Avery)
* The Old Grey Hare (1944, Clampett)
* Baseball Bugs (1946, Freleng)
* Hair Raising Hare (1946, Jones)
* Haredevil Hare (1948, Jones)
* 8 Ball Bunny (1950, Jones)
* Rabbit of Seville (1950, Jones)
* Rabbit Fire (1951, Jones)
* Show Biz Bugs (1957, Freleng)
* Knighty Knight Bugs (1958, Freleng)
* What's Opera Doc? (1957, Jones)

Disc 2: ( + means it is NEW TO DVD)
* "My Dream is Yours" - sequence (1949)
* How Bugs Bunny Won the West - TV special (1978) +
* Bugs Bunny Wild World of Sports - TV special (1989) +
* Carrotblanca (1995, McCarthy)
* Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas (2003, Kopp/Shin) +
--Bonus Material-- (listed as such on the disc menu, but only one is a documentary)
* Ain't I A Stinker, All new career profile of a remarkable rabbit: Bugs Bunny (2010 mini-documentary) +
* The Carnival of the Animals - TV special (1976, Jones/Klynn)
* Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1992, Ford/Lennon) {Original and Uncut theatrical cartoon}
* Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over - TV special (1980, Jones/Monroe)

The bottom line: There is still something new here for the Golden Collection owners to want, you just hate having to buy disc #1 to get it.

Packaging complaint: While Warner went to the expense of creating a cardboard slipcase, they only printed the contents on the reverse side of the DVD jacket. So you always have to remove the jacket from the DVD case to read the contents on the reverse side. It would have been nicer if Warner skipped the slipcase & printed a title list insert.