Product Details

• Actors: Various
• Directors: Various
• Format: Animated, Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: August 28, 2012
• Run Time: 133 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0081LTBR8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,331 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Legendary animator and director Chuck Jones first began animating cartoons for Warner Brothers in the early 1930s. By 1939, Jones had become an integral part of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon-creation team with his animated shorts about Sniffles the mouse. The first disc in this two-disc, remastered Chuck Jones collection is devoted completely to Sniffles cartoons. The 1939 "Naughty but Mice" opens the compilation and introduces Sniffles the mouse as a cute little rodent with a very big head cold. Sniffles's trip to the drugstore yields some unexpected side effects from an alcohol-laden cold remedy, including a surprising friendship with an electric razor. This first Sniffles cartoon is a slow-paced short aimed at kids (though modern parents will question the appropriateness of the extended drunken mouse scene), and it's just as enjoyable today as it was in 1939. The pace speeds up, the gags get progressively funnier, and Sniffles becomes a real chatterbox as Jones's work evolves. Sniffles encounters everything from protective owls and their eggs to a silent little bookworm, the noisiest nature walk ever, a little chick who grows up to be a hawk, and, of course, a cat who would like nothing more than to eat that little mouse. Also included on disc one is a commentary on "Naughty but Mice" featuring Jerry Beck. The second disc opens with the 1943 cartoon "The Aristo-Cat," which showcases groundbreaking background art that is bright, abstract, and expressionistic, and stars a new mouse duo, Hubie and Bertie. Hubie and Bertie are two mice who are about as different from one another as two mice can be, but the one thing they do share is a particular tendency for finding trouble. In "The Aristo-Cat," the mouse duo is pitted against a spoiled cat who's scared of everything--including mice! The spoiled cat returns in later Hubie and Bertie cartoons as Claude Cat, whose nervous disposition and hypochondriac tendencies are the source of much comedy. There are just seven Hubie and Bertie animated shorts on the second disc, but there's plenty more to watch with 11 bonus Warner Brothers mouse cartoons, including "Country Mouse," "Little Blabbermouse," and "Merlin the Magic Mouse," as well as two commentary tracks for "The Aristo-Cat" (the first featuring Eddie Fitzgerald, and the second, Greg Ford). Additional commentaries include Ford on "Mouse Wreckers" and Beck on "The Hypo-Chondri-Cat." The "Of Mice and Men" featurette details the evolution of mice in cartoons, beginning with Disney's introduction of Mickey Mouse in 1928, as well as Jones's growth as a director. Finally, there's a storyboard reel for "The Hypo-Chondri-Cat." The picture certainly isn't perfect in these cartoons and the sound is low and at times dull and muffled, but one can't really complain considering the age of the source material. What is spectacular is that this Chuck Jones collection finally offers all the Sniffles cartoons on one DVD and really highlights Jones's development as an animator and director. --Tami Horiuchi

Product Description

From animation legend Chuck Jones comes the big cheese of mouse collections! Enjoy 19 remastered animated shorts featuring some mischievous mice and their daring adventures! Introducing Sniffles. He's cute, curious and got a heckuva cold! In Naughty But Mice, audiences came to know Sniffles as a sweet, wide-eyed simpleton with a talent for getting himself into trouble. But over the years, Jones had evolved Sniffles into an overly talkative but endearing nuisance. A trouble-loving twosome with a passion for pranks, Chuck Jones let loose the mice, Hubie and Bertie, in the short The Aristo-Cat. A departure from his previous cute and naiv‚ characters, Hubie and Bertie solidified a new direction for Jones. The change paid off with the Oscarr-nominated Mouse Wreckers*, which finds Hubie and Bertie tormenting their favorite nemesis Claude Cat with rapid-fire humor and sight gags galore. So steal a snack and scurry back to your hideout for some laughs and mouse-chief with the latest Chuck Jones Collection!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a Looney life. . . August 28, 2012

By A. Gammill VINE™ VOICE

After letting their beloved "Golden Collection" DVD line end a few years back, Warner Bros is slowly redeeming itself in the eyes of fans with new-to-video collections like this on Blu-ray and DVD. And let me just say up front that if you are a true fan, Blu-ray is the ONLY way to go here. Aside from the obvious higher resolution images, the Blu set contains 11 additional mouse-themed cartoons, for a total of 30 shorts.

You probably already know if these are the kind of Looney Tunes you like. There's no Bugs Bunny here, or "the one with the singing frog." It's just what it says: mouse cartoons, and lots of 'em. Of course, the collection is also essential for fans of the great Chuck Jones. We all know that this doesn't quite represent the maverick director's funniest or most inspired work that he would achieve in his later cartoons. Looney Tunes in general, didn't exactly get, well, looney until the mid-40's anyway. But Jones was still a great visual storyteller, and even his more generic stuff (Sniffles, I'm looking at YOU), was often still colorful and charming.

My only complaint with the set is that the cartoons are not listed on the package, nor are there any helpful liner notes. The Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One (Ultimate Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray] contained a very nice and detailed booklet, listing and describing each short. I admit this is a minor problem, but as a hardcore fan, I expected a little more in the package.

So is the "Mouse Chronicles" essential viewing? For true LT fans, of course it is. Casual viewers, however, will probably be bored by some the older, and admittedly less amusing, shorts.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hubie and Bertie finally get their day! November 19, 2012

By Ronald E. Weber

Amazon Verified Purchase

Always been a big fan of the Chuck Jones Hubie and Bertie cartoons, which are seldom seen anywhere. The two mice are really unique creations, always scampering on the periphery of late 40s/early 50s Warner Bros. animation. I'm sure he had real fondness for them, although their output never challenged the big honchos at the studio, Bugs, Daffy or the Road Runner. But the films of these little rodent scamps are truly funny... something you can't always say about the output of the others. That's because there were only a handful of the H&Bs and a seemingly million of those other star vehicles. So, having all of them in a blu ray disc is a real treat. But, they also featured a lot of other Jones mouse cartoons, including all of the Sniffles collection and a smattering of others. There are one each of the Jack Benny imitations and Honeymooner parodies. I seem to remember others in both of those series, but they don't appear. Were they not all Chuck Jones? Odd they'd not include them. But what's here is beautifully presented

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Is Blu-Ray necessary? December 28, 2012

By Robert Barker

Excuse me, but I don't see the great improvement Blu-Ray is supposed to give these cartoons. In fact, it seems to illuminate their flaws. Maybe my settings aren't right, but I see a lot of grain and I'm not getting the almost glass like quality I see on some HDTV broadcasts of older material. It makes me suspicious that they're not remastering these in HD, but simply throwing them onto the Blu-Ray format without proper restoration. I did a comparison and watched some cartoons from my Looney Tunes Golden Collections and they looked as good, and sometimes better, than my Blu-Ray Mouse Chronicles.

That being said, I love finally having the Sniffles cartoons I've wanted all these years, and I love the Hubie and Berty cartoons as well. Thank you. I feel like they won't make a dime on these and that I'm lucky to get them before they realized they were a bad business investment for them, but a great acquisition for me.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sniffles never looked so good - A must buy for fans September 9, 2012

By Dellamorte

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been a fan of the classic Looney Tunes since I was a kid in the 70's. I own all of the gold series boxes, and still have the old laserdiscs. I have passed on buying the Blu-Rays so far until they start releasing some of the older ones that have not been put out on DVD. When I saw that this would include the entire collection of Sniffles cartoons, I had to buy it. All I can say is WOW! I have never seen these look so good! I immediately compared the Blu-Ray and DVD versions of "Sniffles takes a Trip", and cannot believe the difference. There is so much more detail in the picture and colors, it's amazing. It's good to know that they are finally doing justice to the work of those great artists that made these short films. The Blu-Ray also has 11 bonus cartoons that are not included on the DVD set. Never cared much for the Hubie/Bertie cartoons, but they look amazing as well..

Although I am highly impressed with this release, I will probably still pass on upcoming Blu-Rays unless they offer cartoons that have not been released before. Come on Warner Bros., do a proper series with EVERYTHING and in chronological order like you did with the Laserdiscs so many years ago.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey, Boit! C'mere! A great collection for Looney Tunes fans September 3, 2012

By J. Cooke

Possibly the most exciting Looney Tunes release of the year stars some of Chuck Jones' smallest stars. Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection gathers together a total of 19 beautifully restored classic cartoons, most of them new to DVD/Blu-Ray, comprising the entire filmographies of Sniffles the Mouse and Hubie and Bertie. Yes, it's really an entire collection devoted to relatively minor players in the Warner Bros. cartoon roster. Folks looking for Bugs or Daffy may be disappointed, but collectors will love this release.

The most exciting thing for longtime Warner cartoon buffs and collectors is the amazing uncut and restored versions of these cartoons. The restorations are eye-opening and look amazing. The use of colors and the lush backgrounds in the early Sniffles cartoons easily rival anything Disney was doing at the time. Some perfect examples would be "The Brave Little Bat" and "Sniffles Takes a Trip". "The Unbearable Bear" is another stand-out, taking place mostly at night, the colors really set the mood, which you couldn't really appreciate in the faded versions we've seen on television for decades. I am also happy to report that a total of four cartoons have their titles restored and are seen here for the first time since they were issued to theaters! The titles are "Little Brother Rat" and "Hush My Mouse" on Disc 1 and "Trap Happy Porky" and "The Hypo-Chondri-Cat" on Disc 2. The others are either still sporting their Blue Ribbon reissue titles or are ones that have always retained their original titles (due to never being reissued). You have to commend the folks in charge who went the extra mile for this release.

There is also a selection of eleven mice-themed bonus shorts on Disc 2.... Since these are billed as bonus features, they are NOT restored and are presented in standard definition on Blu-Ray. It's still a fun variety that showcases mice from all eras of Warner animation, starting with early musical 1930s Merrie Melodies through the limited animated shorts from the studio's final days (with the likes of Daffy Duck/Speedy Gonzales and Merlin the Magic Mouse). There are some great gems in here that will hopefully get the royal treatment in a restored format someday (such as Chuck Jones' "Mouse Warming" and Friz Freleng's "Mouse Mazurka"). I was a little disappointed there was no "Play All" option for the bonus shorts, so you have to start each cartoon individually. My only other complaint is that contents are listed nowhere either outside OR inside the case!

If you are a Looney Tunes collector or fan, this set comes Highly Recommended! Read more ›