Customer Reviews

Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One (Ultimate Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

***** - the films
***** - the discs

This review may seem contradictory, this is a five-star set of cartoons presented in a five-star Blu-ray release, and I have to rate this set on those merits. But there are some things not five-star for those of us who have been collecting the Golden Collections on DVD.

O.K, , you are probably saying "These Looney Tunes Blu-ray titles seem familiar", that is because just about all of them have been released on the DVD Golden, Oscar, & Superstars Collections. Why? Because when they were restored for those Collections they were restored in Hi-Definition 1080p, so Warner had an easy Blu-ray release here with out spending much money for new film transfers.

This means that unlike the "Wow" effect we got when we first saw the Golden Collection DVDs after watching washed out Laserdiscs & VHS tapes, this time we will see the same film transfers with improved restoration in 1080p resolution. I have seen the Blu-ray presentations of "Rabbit Hood" and "I Love to Singa" and they look nice, but you will need a rather large HD-TV to notice any kind of improvement over the Golden Collection DVDs. "I Love to Singa" still looks grainy & has negative dust just like the Golden Collection DVDs.

One BIG improvement is with BABY BOTTLENECK, the original film transfer has undergone further restoration work to reduce the grain seen in the older DVD. There is still grain, but it is a big improvement.

Warner did spend some money to make a few new Hi-Def transfers for titles not previously on DVD:

Disc #1
Lovelorn Leghorn - Foghorn Leghorn - only available previously on VHS

Disc #2
Hasty Hare - Bugs Bunny & Marvin Martian - previously available on the Laserdisc "Looney Tunes After Dark"
Hare-way To The Stars - Bugs Bunny & Marvin Martian - previously available on the Laserdisc "Looney Tunes After Dark"
Bill of Hare - Bugs Bunny & Tasmanian Devil - previously available on the Laserdisc "Stars of Space Jam"
A Witches Tangled Hare - Bugs Bunny & Witch Hazel - only available previously on VHS.
Feline Frame-up - previously available on the Laserdisc "Assorted Nuts"

Disc #3 (Presented in STANDARD DEFINITION unless noted)
Marvin Martian in the 3rd Dimension (1996) - non-anamorphic letterboxed small screen presentation.
Father of the Bird - Foghorn Leghorn (1997)
Museum Scream - Tweety & Sylvester (2003) - High Defenition, anamorphic widescreen
And some Chuck Jones productions:
Hell Bent for Election (1944)
Hitch In time (1955) - High defenition
The Door (with Bill Cosby 1968)

It is puzzling, and disappointing that disc #3 is mostly in STANDARD DEFINITION Blu-ray, with noticeable scan lines. It is obviously hobbled together quickly to give this set a third disc. I saw only three Hi-Definition cartoons on disc #3: "A Hitch In Time" (1955), "90 Day Wondering" (1955) and in anamorphic widescreen "Museum Scream" (2003). "Superior Duck" also looks good like it might be in Hi-Definition but it clocks in with the other standard definition cartoons. "Marvin Martian in the 3rd Dimension" (1996) is a real disappointment in standard definition, it is letterboxed and not anamorphic, the picture is really shrunk down. I was also looking forward to seeing "The Dot and The Line" as well as "The Bear That Wasn't" in Hi-definition, but that was not to be here. Maybe if a Chuck Jones MGM Cartoon set comes out in Blu-ray we may see true Di-Definition presentations of those cartoons then.

So if you have all of the DVD Golden Collections, The Oscar Winners & Nominees collection, and the Superstars Collections, you will likely only be buying this for the 6 newly restored cartoons on discs 1 & 2.
I guess a direct re-release of the Golden Collections on Blu-ray would have sold less than a Blu-ray collection featuring 6 new titles not previously on DVD.

Notice that there are only 50 classic cartoons here, the old Golden Collection DVDs had 60 cartoons per set. So it will take more Blu-ray sets to cover the same quantity of cartoons as the old DVD sets.

** If you are trying to decide between the expensive "Ultimate Collector's Edition" and the regular edition, there is really nothing "Ultimate" about the "Ultimate Edition". The Ultimate edition adds a Bugs Bunny shot glass (yes you heard me Bugs Bunny is promoting alcoholic drinking) and a certificate of authenticity (like we are worried about bootleg Blu-rays), a tin with a picture on it and a matted lithograph. I think reproductions of the cartoon lobby cards that appear shrunken in the booklet would have been a better deal.
Save your money & get the basic version, the discs are the same.**

At least something is being released for the animation fans again by Warner Home Video. If you can afford it, lets support this Hi-Def project and keep some new titles coming out.

The main draw for me to purchase this set was that it included the complete collection of Marvin the Martian and Taz cartoons, as I already have the 6 Golden Collections and all the Superstars discs. Well after getting it and watching some of the cartoons my mind was blown as to how well the cartoons look on a 1080p set. The colors pop as if they were produced just yesterday. Although in some of the cartoons scratches and dust are more noticeable (one has to remember that these cartoons were made around 60-70 years ago), but it does not detract from the overall experience.

Also included in the collector's set is a certificate of authenticity,a framed lithograph titled "The Looney Tunes March," a tin sign that features Bugs and Daffy, and of all things a Bugs Bunny shot glass. According to the box, only 36,000 of these sets were produced, so for die-hard Looney Tunes collectors this might be right up your alley!

Disc 1 contains a random assortment of goodies from Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and other Looney Tunes stars.

Disc 2 contains the complete Marvin the Martian, the complete Taz the Tasmanian Devil, and the complete Witch Hazel, as well as complete collections for other stars. This disc also features one-hit wonders such as I Love to Singa, The Three Little Bops, and One Froggy Evening.

Disc 3 contains films revolving around one of the greatest animation directors of all time Chuck Jones, and features some of his greatest non-Looney Tunes shorts such as: The Dot and the Line and other rare Chuck Jones oddities. Also included on this disc is 9 bonus cartoons such as: Spaced-Out Bunny, Superior Duck, and From Hare to Eternity.

If you are on the fence about purchasing this, pick this set up now! You will not regret it.

This set is a revelation! People who think the DVD is "good enough" are nuts.

I just watched all the Clampetts and the early Jones cartoons on my ten foot screen and every single one had my jaw on the floor. They're beautiful. The overall saturation level is too high and the volume of the cartoons is a bit low, but I turned down the color and turned up the sound and they were perfect... No, beyond perfect. I've seen these cartoons projected theatrically quite a few times, but the colors weren't anywhere as well balanced in theatrical prints as they are here. It isn't like the Disney films where everything is goosed up and shifted to primary colors. These transfers have very sophisticated color schemes with muted colors AND vivid ones. Great Piggy Bank Robbery and especially Kitty Cornered had some of the most amazing color I've ever seen. The lines were sharp, you can see textures and brushstrokes on the backgrounds and every frame is crystal clear with no compression or DVNR artifacting. I've been quite critical of the transfer quality of the Looney Tunes on DVD, but this time, WB got it right.

Don't believe me? Check out this photo I shot off my screen using my iphone...
[...]

If you think your DVDs look good, pop in One Froggy Evening and skip to the scene where the crowd of people is exiting crossing the scene about 3/4 of the way through the cartoon. Still frame on that crowd. On DVD, it's a macroblocked mess of colored boxes. On bluray, it's pristine. The color balances, digital noise reduction and frame sharpness are MUCH worse on the DVDs. This set is a thousand times better. When I put in the third disk with the standard def documentaries with the old prints, it was like going back to the stone age. They could have totally eliminated the supplements and just given me more cartoons in HD. I want more of these sets.

I'm not very good at reviewing products, because I don't like expressing my opinion to the general public, but I'll tell you a little bit about this DVD.

You might be wondering what the difference is between the regular platinum collection, and the ultimate collectors' edition is. I'll tell you. With the regular one, you get all the cartoons, and all the bonus footage, most if not all of which was probably released in the Goldens. You will get nothing more, and nothing less.

The ultimate edition does not have any more cartoons or bonus materials than does the regular edition. All of the viewing content is EXACTLY the same. The other little things that come with it are just collector perks, in the way of souvenirs. That is, you get a little 2.5 ounce glass, which is slightly larger than a standard shot. It has Bugs Bunny text by Warner Bros, and on the opposite side is a photo (actually a drawing because he's a cartoon) of Bugs in his rabbit hole, and smiling in a presentative fashion. You will also get a tin souvenir sign about 4 or 5 inches square with Bugs and Daffy hanging out of the Looney Tunes circle. It has a magnet on the back of it as well. Last, a framed litho cel of the main LT characters marching down the street parade style, and a certificate of authenticity. Also, your ultimate (special limited) set will be numbered, to mark the fact that this is a limited production. Only 36,000 units will be produced. And that's it!

So, I think you are all aware of the new cartoons vs cartoons previously released, and I will not go into detail with that. It's up to you whether you want to pay the extra five bucks to get extra junk that you probably won't care about, unless you just like nicknacks. If all you care about is the viewing content, which is really the whole point, then go with the regular one and save 5 bucks. But if for some reason you do want it, 5 bucks isn't unreasonable for what you get. The price might change anyway, who really knows?

If you do not own ANY of the prior collections, and you have a taste for blu-ray, then I'd highly suggest this product. It's a great stand-alone small collection of toons (50 of them) and a couple extra ones in the bonus footage. If however you have been collecting all the DVDs that are worth buying, then there are only about 8 new toons here, with more post-jones cartoons in the bonus featurettes. Unfortunately, this is enough to stop a lot of people from buying this who have given up hope on restoration for new cartoons. They might say you're paying 50 bucks for 8 new cartoons, which for the collector, you can't really argue with.

I am not going to discuss video quality/playback/transfer or any of the sort either. I really don't know what I'm looking at to tell you. To me, a cartoon is a cartoon.

I really like this product. That's the only opinion I'll give, and the only way I'll give it. Thank you.

Warner has done an exceptional job of restoring many of these classic cartoons first for the DVD presentation and now for Blu-ray using the same high def masters for both.

Unless giving the deluxed, limited boxed set as a gift, there's really no advantage to spending the extra money to me as the essential content (the shorts, extras, etc.) are the same.

How does this set look? The DVDs looked exceptional--with bright, bold colors and crisp detail. The Blu-ray although it isn't as much a huge jump from, say, VHS to to remastered DVDs but they are still worth picking up. What was dazzling in the DVD sets is even more dazzling here. There's improved detail and other improvements that are quite noticeable. Your mileage may vary depending on your set up but for me this was an improvement.

Be aware however that dark backgrounds still show the dust that was on the animation cels when they were photographed to create the film. I'm fairly certain that Warner chose not to remove this because it's technically not considered a "flaw" by them--it's like film grain an inherent element of the shorts and there was concern about overuse of digital clean up tools to remove all the character of the originals. You may like this, you may not but it's still there so be aware of it.

Audio sounds quite nice with a nice restored mono presentation of the original soundtracks.

This three disc set contains 50 cartoons on the first two discs. Unfortunately Warner has once again mixed up these cartoons often sequencing them in a sometimes puzzling fashion; I would have group them by character, era or type of cartoon. There is a pretty good comedic flow in the sequencing here but it is a bit frustrating if, for example, you want to stick with a certain era or director. The first disc is grouped with a series of classic Bugs Bunny cartoons followed by Daffy Duck and then a smattering of the other popular characters.

Hare Tonic
Baseball Bugs
Buccaneer Bunny
Old Grey Hare, The
Rabbit Hood
8 Ball Bunny
Rabbit Of Seville
What's Opera, Doc?
Great Piggy Bank Robbery, The
Pest In The House, A
Scarlet Pumpernickel, The
Duck Amuck
Robin Hood Daffy
Baby Bottleneck
Kitty Kornered
Scaredy Cat
Porky Chops
Old Glory
Tale Of Two Kitties, A
Tweetie Pie
Fast And Furry-ous
Beep, Beep
Lovelorn Leghorn
For Scent-imental Reasons
Speedy Gonzales

Featurettes include:
Wagnerian Wabbit: The Making of What's Opera, Doc?
Twilight in Tunes: The Music of Raymond Scott
Powerhouse in Pictures
Putty Problems and Canary Rows
A Chuck Jones Tutorial: Tricks of the Cartoon Trade
The Charm of Stink: On the Scent of Pepé le Pew

It's pretty clear that most of the critical and audience favorites were the focus on disc one.

The second disc features a mix, again, of Bugs and Daffy along with some of the ones associated strongly with certain directors for example "One Froggy Evening" by Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese and "The Dover Boys at Pimento University" (a cartoon that I've never cared for and the appeal of which, honestly, has always escaped me) by Friz Freleng and Ted Pierce.

One Froggy Evening
Three Little Bops (A clever jazz retelling of "The Three Little Pigs")
I Love To Singa (another cartoon the appeal of which escapes me)
Katnip Kollege
The Dover Boys at Pimento University
Chow Hound
Haredevil Hare
Hasty Hare, The
Duck Dodgers In The 24th Century
Hare-way To The Stars
Mad As A Mars Hare
Devil May Hare
Bedevilled Rabbit
Ducking The Devil
Bill Of Hare
Dr. Devil And Mr. Hare
Bewitched Bunny
Broom-stick Bunny
Witch's Tangled Hare, A
A-haunting We Will Go
Feed The Kitty
Kiss Me Kat
Feline Frame-up
From A To Z-z-z-z
Boyhood Daze

Featurettes include:
It Hopped One Night: The Story Behind One Froggy Evening
Wacky Warner One-Shots
Mars Attacks! Life on the Red Planet with My Favorite Martian
Razzma-Taz: Giving the Tasmanian Devil His Due
The Ralph Phillips Story: Living the American Daydream

The third disc includes 9 Chuck Jones government shorts including: "Point Rationing of Food", "90 Day Wonder", "Hell-Bent for Election", "Drafty, Isn't It?", "So Much for So Little" and "A Hitch in Time" plus "The Dot and The Line" Jones' Academy Award winning short based on Norman Juster's book and "The Bear That Wasn't". "The Door" an anti-war parable produced by Bill Cosby is included in what appears to be an SD transfer upscaled and we getthe pencil tests for "How The Grinch Stole Christmas".

We also get "Chuck Amuck" the movie about director Chuck Jones; "Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens" a salute to Jones; "Chuck Jones: A Memory of Childhood"

The last disc is rounded out with the following cartoons with popular characters "out of their element" as it states and documentaries/featurettes. Almost all of these appear to be in standard definition which is a bit disappointing. : "Fright Before Christmas" (an SD presentation of the cartoon which suffers from some interlace issues), "Spaced-Out Bunny", "Duck Dodgers and The Return of the 24 1/2 Century", "Another Froggy Evening", "Marvin The Martian in The Third Dimension", "Superior Duck", "From Here to Eternity", "Father of the Bird", "Museum Scream"

The packaging is quite nice. The discs are packaged on the inside of the outer covers. There's a book in the center that gives us details on each cartoon (although curiously the years they were made in aren't listed)and the special features are listed along with a synposis for each cartoon included. There's also nice artwork including photos of model sheets, pencil tests, etc. as well as information on various characters.

Warner has done a good job of putting this set together much like the strong job they did with the DVD sets but, again, I would have preferred that these be grouped by characters, directors or themes for the whole set. I understand why Warner puts these sets together the way they do (just enough of the popular cartoons along with unknown gems and some outright stinkers)to they continue to sell it's a bit annoying for collectors.

Most of the work here is exceptional but as noted there are some issues with SD transfers being used (I'm assuming no high def master exists for these)and some other minor issues with the set.

Recommended.

For all cartoon lovers abroad, I report this blu-ray is zone free so you can play it on your blu-ray player wether you live in the USA, Europe, Asia or elsewhere.

"Eh, what's up, Doc?" I bought the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection on Blu-ray Disc and watched it on my family's big screen TV. The cartoons have never looked this great before! The picture was so crystal-clear, I could see the original film grain, along with the dust and dirt that were photographed on the original animation cels. The monaural soundtrack was so clean and bombastic, it literally blew me away. The same high-definition masters were reused, but this time, some of the cartoons have undergone further restoration to remove any imperfections that Warner Bros. had missed when they first restored the cartoons for the Looney Tunes Golden/Spotlight Collection on DVD. For instance, I watched "Baseball Bugs" on DVD, and there were some emulsion stains and one splice bump that Warner Bros. forgot to tackle. That splice bump appeared in one frame as Bugs Bunny paced his first pitch. The DVD version also had excessive film grain. I watched the same cartoon on Blu-ray, and I noticed a huge difference. The emulsion stains are now gone, the splice bump has been eliminated, and the film grain has been reduced. Another cartoon that I saw was "From A to Z-Z-Z-Z," which was shown on television with the Merrie Melodies Blue Ribbon title sequences from the early 1960's reissue. And now, the Looney Tunes title sequences from the original 1954 release have been restored for the Blu-ray release. I'd strongly recommend this Blu-ray Disc set to die-hard animation fans alike. I'd also recommend it to aspiring animators, including myself. "That's all Folks!"

This has been great fun for both my husband & myself. It's great to watch cartoons and recognize them from our youth! The enhanced images make them better than the originals, (that we watched on grainy black & white TV's). This collection has been worth every cent I spent on it! Good, clean, wholesome fun...how refreshing!Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One (Ultimate Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

I own all 6 Golden collections and Superstar collections (Bugs, Daffy, Foghorn and soon to be Pepe). I ordered the "Ultimate" edition of this Platinum Collection, and soon after I received it, I didn't realize that this was also a limited & numbered collector's edition! Everything that's contained in the box is way cooler than I expected! The discs are amazing! All the cartoons are carefully selected from all 6 Golden collections, re-mixed up and upgraded into hi-definition as well! They're so well upgraded that it makes me forget just how old these cartoons are! This is the first time I "double-dipped" with something that I technically already have. But, because its an upgrade to the Golden collections, and a Vol.1 to a new collectors series, I understand. I just hope Warner Bros. knows their fans and keeps giving us what we want. Like, I hope they continue releasing the Superstars collections for example, because at least those have new content (even though those ones also have a few of the same cartoons we already have. Us fans actually have to educate ourselves with every LT release now because the Tweety disc had zero new material and the Roadrunner disc was also a waste of time. If it wasn't for the internet & customer reviews, I and many other fans would have been screwed over). A Sylvester stand-alone Superstar disc with (at least some of) his unreleased cartoons would be amazing. I wish... Wait a second, didn't the description on the 5th Golden collection say "Your wish is our command"? Common Warner Bros. please finish what you started. Just do it once then never again at least. I'm totally fine with limited collectors editions. As long as you guys release the rest of the cartoons, my money is yours!

If there is going to be a Vol. 2 in this new Platinum blu-ray series, I hope its all unreleased cartoons. If I have to start my collection all over again then I'll just stop buying because that's not fair to us fans. I'm not rich like they are and I can barley make a living myself. If they release SOME unreleased cartoons mixed with many we already have (like this set) I guess I'm a sucker for it. As long as there is new content, that's all that matters. Thank you Warner Bros. regardless.

I love the classic Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons from the Golden Age of animation, but I've always been a little disappointed that they never looked as good as they did when they were made. However that all changed when I purchased the Blu Ray disc of "The Adventures of Robin Hood". That wonderful disc included a bonus feature of two classic cartoons ("Rabbit Hood" and "Robin Hood Daffy") in high definition! Wow, talk about a difference! I couldn't believe how beautiful these cartoons looked! The colors and detail were amazing. I assume the cartoons on this set will be treated with the same loving care since they have been newly remastered. This is a huge improvement compared to seeing these cartoons on DVD.

This set, along with the soon to be released Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Vol. 1, becomes a must own blu ray in my opinion.