Product Details

• Actors: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan, Stan Freberg, Vincent Price, Billy Bletcher
• Directors: Abe Levitow, Arthur Davis, Chuck Jones, Constantine Nasr, Friz Freleng
• Format: Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: October 28, 2003
• Run Time: 411 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (510 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000AYJXS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,782 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #41 in Movies & TV > DVD > Sports
• Learn more about "Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Vol. 1" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For years, animation buffs have waited impatiently for the Warner Bros. cartoons to appear on DVD. The Warner shorts never commanded the budgets and prestige of the Disney and MGM films, and won fewer Oscars than they deserved. But decades after the best ones were created, they remain the quintessential Hollywood cartoons: brash, fast-paced, aggressively funny and uniquely American. Virtually everyone in the U.S. under the age of 60 grew up on these films, in theaters and on TV. The 56 cartoons in the set (out of a studio output of over 1,000) were transferred from good prints--which means the viewer can see dust, scratches, and occasional mistakes by the cel painters. The films are all presented uncut, in defiance of the killjoys who have insisted on censoring alleged "violence" in the versions shown on television. Warner Bros. is obviously testing consumer response with this set. Although the erratic selection includes many classics, purists will argue (correctly) that it offers neither a fair representation of the directors' oeuvres, nor anything approaching a coherent history of the characters or studio style. (Nearly half the films were directed by Chuck Jones; only three are by Bob Clampett, and there's nothing by Tex Avery or Frank Tashlin.) But it seems petty to carp about omissions and biases when the discs offer excellent, uncensored prints of some of the funniest films ever made in the U.S.--or anywhere else. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

They're the crown princes of animation. They're the international ambassadors of cartoon comedy. They're the fabulously funny friends you grew up with! And now, 56 of the very best animated shorts starring the very wackiest Warner Bros. cartoon characters have been rounded up on DVD for the first time ever in The Looney Tunes Golden Collection! Just barely contained in four special edition discs, each specially selected short has been brilliantly restored and re-mastered to its original, uncut, anvil-dropping, laughter-inducing glory! Featuring some of the very earliest, ground-breaking on-screen appearances of many all-time Looney Tunes favorites, it's an unprecedented celebration for cartoon-lovers eager to re-live the heady, hilarious, golden age of Warner Bros. animation! Sparkling with one unforgettable, landmark animated marvel after another, there's that icon of carrot-crunching aplomb, Bugs Bunny, in a dazzling assortment of his very best classic shorts. Also highlighted in their own delightfully zany series of cartoon gems: the ever-flustered Daffy Duck and eternal straight-man Porky Pig. Plus, all the rest of the beloved Looney Tunes lineup starring in some of the most wildly imaginative cartoon shorts ever created! Including an array of exclusive bonus DVD features from expert commentaries to insights into the evolution of these classic characters, this is the ultimate animated experience for anyone who's ever thrilled to the timeless query: "Ehhh? what's up, Doc?"

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1,063 of 1,081 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden Rules for Looney Tunes March 23, 2004

By Doctor Mabuse

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Animation legend Chuck Jones had a mythic set of ground rules for his ingenious Road Runner series: the setting was always the desert, the characters never spoke, the Road Runner never left the road, the Coyote never caught the Road Runner, etc. A similar set of rules seems at work in THE GOLDEN COLLECTION introductory DVD presentation of Warner Bros. animated shorts. Here is the breakdown:

1. The majority of the fifty-six motion pictures included are artistically valuable and the collection as a whole is a sheer delight which belongs in the library of anyone who loves classic cartoons. The set includes such masterpieces and popular favorites as "Duck Amuck", "Bully for Bugs", "Deduce You Say", "Fast and Furry-ous", "Long-Haired Hare", "Rabbit of Seville", "Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit Seasoning", "The Scarlet Pumpernickel", "Wabbit Twouble" and "Duck Dodgers in the 24-1/2 Century". All the films, even the weakest, deserve preservation, restoration and DVD availability.

2. The selection of complete shorts spans two decades (1940-59), according to year of initial theatrical release. This means that the heyday of Porky Pig (1936-39) is excluded, along with the historic Harman-Ising period (1930-33) and such early characters as Bosko, Buddy and Foxy. On the other hand, the set is also free of material from the Warner cartoon studio's years of decline (1960-64) and decay (1965-69).

3. Within the 1940-59 span is an intensive focus on the six-year "middle" period 1948-53, when the Warner cartoons were at their technical zenith. Fully half of the films in the collection were released during the three peak years of 1949-51 (ten in 1950 alone).... The high degree of concentration allows for appreciation of the studio output of a particular era, lent contrast and variety by the broader context.

4. The star of the show is unquestionably Bugs Bunny, with twenty-one cartoons. There is an adequate amount, for a starter set, of Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Sylvester & Tweety. Key films of the Road Runner, Pepé Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn and Speedy Gonzales are duly included. Important supporting characters like Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam and Marvin the Martian are well-represented, and the Tasmanian Devil makes a token appearance. The bill is rounded out with a few one-shots and curios.

5. The individual directors at Warner's animation studio are as notable as its character stars. A full twenty-five of the films (almost half) are by superstar director Chuck Jones (and written by Michael Maltese). Most of the rest are directed by Friz Freling, with several by Robert McKimson and one by Arthur Davis. Only three films are directed by the great Bob Clampett.

6. There are no films directed by the legendary Tex Avery, who departed the studio in the early 1940's, or the influential stylist Frank Tashlin.

7. Most cartoons are voiced by the amazing Mel Blanc.

8. All cartoons are scored by Music Director Carl W. Stalling or his immediate successor.

9. Most notable of the anomalies is the poor showing of the ultra-popular (and ultra-"violent") Road Runner, with only one episode (albeit his debut); while tired old Foghorn Leghorn encores with an undistinguished late episode -- rather than, say, "The High and the Flighty", his memorable pairing with Daffy Duck. In keeping with Rule #6, Avery's Oscar-nominated classic "A Wild Hare" (1940), the first "true" Bugs Bunny cartoon, is supplanted by Jones' "Elmer's Candid Camera", a rare prototype from earlier that year which features the debut of Elmer Fudd and the still-evolving Wascal Wabbit. And the extras, in their mania for completeness, include the animated excerpts from the feature films TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS and MY DREAM IS YOURS twice each, but only one version is digitally restored.

10. Not all of these Golden Era cartoons are masterpieces or true classics, but the less exceptional films included represent the high standard against which the extraordinary stand out. A technically crude quota quickie like McKimson's "Rabbit's Kin" shines because voice artist Stan Freburg's endearingly dumb Pete Puma character is memorable. A couple of genuine duds (Davis' "Porky Chops", for instance) have been thrown in for good measure, and even these serve to offset the overall excellence of the remainder.

11. Organization is minimal, with most of the Bugs Bunny material on Disc One, Daffy and Porky on Disc Two, and the others in an "All-Star" free-for-all on Discs Three and Four. The cartoons are presented in seemingly random order, but this very randomness is exactly how audiences experienced them both in theaters and on television.

12. The hours of extras are an embarrassment of riches.

13. Such beloved masterpieces as "Beanstalk Bunny", "Duck, Rabbit, Duck!", "Robin Hood Daffy", "The Singing Sword", "The Three Little Bops", the Oscar-Winning Rabbit's "Knighty-Knight Bugs", and (supremely) "One Froggy Evening" and "What's Opera, Doc?", have been withheld for future DVD editions. The set is designed to whet the appetite for more and leaves the grateful viewer with much to look forward to.

14. THE GOLDEN COLLECTION is worth more than its cost in dollars and is an infinitely better investment than the cheap alternate "Premiere Collection", which simply duplicates Discs Three and Four with no extras. The Premiere Collection is kiddie fodder for the undiscerning bargain-store shopper and is to be avoided by anyone concerned with art and popular culture. High sales of the vastly superior Golden Edition will determine future releases, so buy 'em up and give 'em to your friends.

CARTOONS ARE FOR EVERYONE!

Rating: 10/10 ***** EXTRAORDINARY. Read more ›

479 of 484 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Directorial Information Organized by Disc February 25, 2006

By E. Lynch

Format:DVD

For those of you who have a favorite Director you may have found categorization by character quite frustrating. Personally I don't care for a whole disc of Bugs, or a whole disc of Daffy; I want a whole disc of Chuck or a whole disc of Friz. Even the fine episode lists above, which really do hold all the information you need, are not organized according to how the episodes appear on the discs in the collection. To remedy this problem I have the following list to provide you with the episodes, organized in the order they appear on the discs, and who directed them. I hope this proves useful to someone, and will save them from having to do this all over again themselves.

Volume One: Disc One

1.Baseball Bugs (Friz Freleng)

2.Rabbit Seasoning (Chuck Jones)

3.Long-Haired Hare (Chuck Jones)

4.High Diving Hare (Friz Freleng)

5.Bully for Bugs (Chuck Jones)

6.What's Up Doc? (Robert McKimson)

7.Rabbit's Kin (Robert McKimson)

8.Water, Water Every Hare (Chuck Jones)

9.Big House Bunny (Friz Freleng)

10.Big Top Bunny (Robert McKimson)

11.My Bunny Lies Over the Sea (Chuck Jones)

12.Wabbit Twouble (Bob Clampett)

13.Ballot Box Bunny (Friz Freleng)

14.Rabbit of Seville (Chuck Jones)

Volume One: Disc Two

1.Duck Amuck (Chuck Jones)

2.Dough for the Do-Do (Bob Clampett)

3.Drip Along Daffy (Chuck Jones)

4.Scaredy Cat (Chuck Jones)

5.The Ducksters (Chuck Jones)

6.The Scarlet Pumpernickel (Chuck Jones)

7.Yankee Doodle Daffy (Friz Freleng)

8.Porky Chops (Arthur Davis)

9.Wearing of the Grin (Chuck Jones)

10....Deduce, You Say (Chuck Jones)

11.Boobs in the Woods (Robert McKimson)

12.Golden Yeggs (Friz Freleng)

13.Rabbit Fire (Chuck Jones)

14.Duck Dodgers in the 24 ˝ Century (Chuck Jones)

Volume One: Disc Three

1.Elmer's Candid Camera (Chuck Jones)

1.Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (Chuck Jones)

2.Fast and Furry-ous (Chuck Jones)

3.Hair Raising Hare (Chuck Jones)

4.The Awful Orphan (Chuck Jones)

5.Haredevil Hare (Chuck Jones)

6.For Scent-imental Reasons (Chuck Jones)

7.Frigid Hare (Chuck Jones)

8.The Hypo-Chondri-Cat (Chuck Jones)

9.Baton Bunny (Chuck Jones)

10.Feed the Kitty (Chuck Jones)

11.Don't Give up the Sheep (Chuck Jones)

12.Bugs Bunny gets the Boid (Bob Clampett)

13.Tortoise Wins by a Hare (Bob Clampett)

Volume One: Disc Four

1.Canary Row (Friz Freleng)

2.Bunker Hill Bunny (Friz Freleng)

3.Kit for Cat (Friz Freleng)

4.Putty Tat Trouble (Friz Freleng)

5.Bugs and Thugs (Friz Freleng)

6.Canned Feud (Friz Freleng)

7.Lumber Jerks (Friz Freleng)

8.Speedy Gonzales (Friz Freleng)

9.Tweety's S.O.S. (Friz Freleng)

10.The Foghorn Leghorn (Robert McKimson)

11.Daffy Duck Hunt (Robert McKimson)

12.Early to Bet (Robert McKimson)

13.Broken Leghorn (Robert McKimson)

14.Devil May Hare (Robert McKimson) Read more ›

247 of 253 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Total Hilarity, Smartly Assembled, and BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED! November 15, 2003

By A Customer

Format:DVD

QUERY: "What's Up, Doc?"
ANSWER: My favorite DVD of the year. Possibly of all time.

The original LOONEY TUNES gang is back, and boy do they look terrific. Warner Home Video has compiled a terrific selection of 56 animated gems starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky, Pig, Elmer Fudd, along with dozens of other characters, and added hours and hours of bonus features and documentaries. This is sure to become a perennial in anyone's serious DVD collection.

Best of all, the cartoons have been GORGEOUSLY restored. Restoration means bringing something back to its ORIGINAL form, and that's what Warner Bros. has lovingly done here. The glorious Technicolor imagery is mind-boggling, the animation art is sharp and clear. So sharp and clear that you see can even see the dust that was on the original cels these cartoons were painted on.

THAT'S restoration.

Thank heavens Warner didn't go the route that Disney did with SLEEPING BEAUTY and monkey around with these images, wiping out all traces of the original cel animation and making them look like CGI. No, it's beautiful old-style animation, and each cartoon has been restored to look as they did when they first hit theater screens decades ago.

Each cartoon on this collection is an American classic in its own right. Happily these classics have not been tampered with, but are presented with the utmost respect and attention for the masterpieces they truly are.

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is the One To Buy July 31, 2003

By A Customer

Format:DVD

Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. You know the characters: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweety, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd. You love the cartoons, with the hilarious gags and sharp dialogue, the superb animation and design, the great voice acting and music. Well, let me tell you this: If you're looking for these cartoons on DVD, GET THIS SET and this set alone. The Looney Tunes Golden Collection features 56 cartoons from the 1940s and '50s, fully restored from the original negatives (so that they look better than you've ever seen them on TV). The cartoons will be uncut, so you'll get to see the gags they won't show on TV: the suicide gags in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" and "Tortoise Wins By a Hare," the Russian-Roulette game at the end of "Ballot Box Bunny." And the set includes an incredible number of extras, including: audio commentaries by animation experts and voice actor Stan Freberg (who provides the voice of Pete Puma in "Rabbit's Kin" and Junyer Bear in "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears"); excerpts from TV shows and recording sessions; storyboards; featurettes; a new documentary on the making of Looney Tunes; music-only tracks for Carl Stalling's musical scores; and more, much, much more than I can list here.

It's hard to believe, but Warner Brothers is reportedly not sure that these cartoons can sell. This set is a test to see whether DVD collectors are in the market for Looney Tunes fully restored and presented with in-depth extras. If the set sells well, there will be more big boxes like this one, with still more cartoons (including earlier classics that are still in the process of restoration). If it doesn't sell, all we'll get is bare-bones samplers aimed at kids alone.... So don't buy the bare-bones "Premiere Collection," a poorly presented kid-oriented release with no extras and only half of the cartoons on this set. Get the Golden Collection, and you'll not only get the extras, but you'll get Bugs posing as conductor Leopold Stokowski ("Leopold!") and getting revenge on an arrogant opera singer in "Long-Haired Hare"; Daffy and Porky battling Marvin the Martian for control of Planet X in "Duck Dodgers in the 24 & 1/2th Century"; Porky and Sylvester dealing with psycho-killer mice in "Scaredy Cat"; Bugs playing against an entire baseball team by himself in "Baseball Bugs"; Daffy as the host of the game show "Truth or AAAAAGGGGH!" in "The Ducksters," and on and on and on. 56 cartoons. Great extras. Help make "The Looney Tunes Golden Collection" a best-seller and you'll not only be helping the cause of classic animation on DVD, you'll be getting some of the best comedy films ever produced, animated or live-action. You'll be getting fascinating extras and supplements. You'll be getting hours and hours of great entertainment. What could be better than getting great entertainment in a good cause? Buy this set, and if enough people do, we'll get to see more sets of Bugs, Daffy, and the rest, to enjoy at home as often as we want -- and believe me, we'll want to watch it often. Read more ›