Customer Reviews

Tex Avery's Droopy - The Complete Theatrical Collection

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Don't you just love Tex Avery? His zany work shines in this collection, which features his best-known character. I'm a big fan of Disney cartoons (note my byline below), but most of these Droopy shorts (sorry, couldn't resist) are just terrific. They're fast-paced, the characters are often well aware they are in a cartoon (they stop often to address the audience) and nearly every gag takes you by surprise. Avery created Bug Bunny and Daffy Duck at Warner Brothers, but really hit his stride when he left in a censorship fight for MGM, where he spent more than a decade creating these classics.

There's something here for everyone. The first few shorts introduce the deadpan doggie, but actually give more screen time to Avery's libidinous Wolf and slinky, um, woman. OK, dame. (This, by God, is a dame.) Not for kids at all, "The Shooting of Dan McGoo" and "Wild and Woolfy" are as lusty as anything you'll ever see that's sold on Amazon. Avery designed the two shorts with American G.I.s in mind, and they were shown at U.S. military camps during World War II. The other Avery girlie cartoons, "Red Hot Riding Hood" and "Swing Shift Cinderella," are currently out of print. (Want to see an early Avery effort? His 1936 "I Love to Singa" is a bonus feature on Happy Feet (Widescreen Edition).)

The rest of the cartoons here are more family friendly, with the Wolf often replaced by Spike or Butch, both G-rated bulldogs. The last few shorts on this set were produced without Avery by television outfit Hanna-Barbera. They will be of interest only to children.

Most all the shorts have been digitally restored, and they look fantastic. The colors are bright and the focus is sharp. Extras in this collection include the documentary "Droopy and Friends: A Laugh Back," which includes commentary by animation historian John Canemaker, as well as a "Doggone Gags" montage of Droopy highlights.

Here's the list of the cartoons, each with my rating of one to five stars:

DISC ONE

The first four shorts on this DVD are the cream of the crop, and worth its price all by themselves:

***** "DUMB-HOUNDED" (1943). A real classic. From the moment Droopy drags himself onscreen (bringing up the rear of a team of police bloodhounds) you know he's a different kind of hero. "Hello all you happy people," he deadpans to the audience, breaking the fourth wall for the first of, oh, a hundred times. "You know what?" I'm the hero." He continually sniffs out the Wolf, an escaped prisoner.

***** "THE SHOOTING OF DAN MCGOO" (1945). The song "Frankie and Johnny" sets the theme for this adventure set in (say it fast) Coldernell, Alaska. It's a gag-filled remake of the Robert Service poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" ("A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon; the kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune..."), with a dance-hall dame so hot even Droopy howls at the moon.

***** "WILD AND WOOLFY" (1945). Droopy gets the girl -- and lets loose with another wild howl -- after he saves her from the Wolf's kidnapping attempt. Along the way there's a fork in the road (yes, a real fork) and a horse that takes off its shoes to cross a stream.

***** "NORTHWEST HOUNDED POLICE" (1946). When the Wolf escapes San Francisco's Alka-Fizz Prison -- by simply drawing an escape door -- Droopy tracks him down wherever he goes. Amazingly funny.

Other shorts on Disc One:

*** "SENOR DROOPY" (1949). Bullfighters the Wolf and Droopy ("Senor Droopy from Guada-loopy") compete for a beautiful (and live action!) senorita. About as good as the best Bugs Bunny.

** "WAGS TO RICHES" (1949). Spike the bulldog tries to knock off Droopy when a millionaire leaves our hero a fortune... that goes to Spike if he dies.

* "OUT-FOXED" (1949). Droopy goes fox hunting. Skippable.

** "THE CHUMP CHAMP" (1950). Droopy and Spike compete in sports events. OK, but Disney's "How To" shorts with Goofy are funnier.

** "DAREDEVIL DROOPY" (1951). Droopy and Spike compete to become a circus acrobat. See above.

*** "DROOPY'S GOOD DEED" (1951). Droopy and Spike wage war in a Boy Scout competition. The best moment: when Droopy goes into a burning cabin, the damsel in distress looks a lot like Disney's Cinderella (whose film was, gee, released the same year). A moment later comes the black-face moment with Spike that other reviewers have mentioned. A Rochester gag comes later. The racial scenes take away from an otherwise first-rate cartoon. The slapstick gags are similar to, but funnier than, those in the best Road Runner shorts.

** "DROOPY'S DOUBLE TROUBLE" (1951). Now a butler, Droopy teams up with his twin brother Drippy to stress-out Spike.

*** "CABELLERO DROOPY" (1952). Violinist Droopy and a guitar-strumming wolf (the "Kristo Kid") woo a senorita. More Road-Runner-style gags.

DISC TWO

** "THE THREE LITTLE PUPS" (1953). A parody of Disney's "The Three Little Pigs." Snoopy, Loopy, and Droopy are the three little dogs. Has another black-face moment. Includes a couple moments where the characters watch a (real) live-action western on TV.

**** "DRAG-A-LONG DROOPY" (1954). The definitive Droopy cartoon. When his sheep destroy the pasture of some cattle country (the "Bear Butte Ranch"), shepherd Droopy gets into argument, a shooting-skills contest and eventually a head-to-head stampede with the rancher Wolf. Has talking cows, naked cows and the strangest Droopy dame: the Venus de Milo, who, when the Wolf takes over her body (don't ask), runs away on very shapely high-heeled gams. (Yes, gams. I'm really getting the lingo down, don't ya think?)

***** "HOMESTEADER DROOPY" (1954). The plot? The Wolf (here, "Dishonest Dan, the Cattle Man") hassles homesteader Droopy. The reasons to love it? Well, it's got great gags, great writing, a baby Droopy (he's the hero this time) and one of the funniest talking-cow moments in film history. When a bull comes into the Wolf's office and says simply "Moo Moo Moo Moo! Moo! Moo!" the Wolf responds "What? A dirty homesteader just fenced in our water hole in Red Rock Canyon?"

*** "DIXIELAND DROOPY" (1954). Droopy plays John Pettybone, a dog who has one single ambition: to lead a Dixieland Jazz Band in the Hollywood Bowl. A loud Dixieland score, with unexpected sudden moments of dead silence, sets this one apart.

*** "DEPUTY DROOPY" (1955). The characters get more angular (i.e., more '50s-style) and the colors get brighter as lawman Droopy stops some varmints from making off with some gold. No Wolf, no Spike, but not bad.

** "MILLIONAIRE DROOPY" (1956, Cinemascope). A throwback, this is simply a widescreen version of "Wags to Riches."

Now things change. Tex Avery leaves MGM and animator Michael Lah creates six Droopy shorts on his own. Kids will like them, but these remaining cartoons lack the Avery touch. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, they lose their fast pace and unpredictable nature, and seem much more like 1960s TV fare. But the color, at least, is fantastic:

** "GRIN AND SHARE IT" (1957, Cinemascope). When Droopy and Butch (think Spike crossed with Yogi Bear) strike gold, Butch wants it all to himself.

** "BLACKBOARD JUMBLE" (1957, Cinemascope). Three school boys (all of which look like Droopy, but don't have his personality) try the patience of their substitute teacher, a slow-moving Wolf (who now has the voice of Huckleberry Hound). Funny at times, but has none of the deadpan Droopy wit.

* "ONE DROOPY KNIGHT" (1957, Cinemascope). Sirs Butchalot and Droopalot vie to kill a dragon. Nominated, somehow, for 1957's Best Short Subject Cartoon Academy Award.

*** "SHEEP WRECKED" (1958, Cinemascope). Droopy guards his sheep from the Wolf. The best of the Hanna-Barbera shorts. Very colorful, with lots of orange backgrounds.

** "MUTTS ABOUT RACING" (1958, Cinemascope). Droopy and Butch compete in a car race.

* "DROOPY LEPRECHAUN" (1958, Cinemascope) Butch mistakes Droopy for a leprechaun. An airline stewardess looks just like Jane Jetson.

I wanted to take a star away because disc #1 contains some un-restored cartoons, in particular the first. I actually think the Laserdisc looks better! The grain is the same, but the LD colors are brilliant while the DVD colors are faded. All other cartoons look better on the DVD.

It appears that disc # 2 is restored & newly remastered, all of the cartoons look brilliant & sharp.

The five stars are for the cartoons themselves! These are real gems of the golden age of cartoons! Tex was an expert at throwing gags at you faster than you would know what hit you. But Tex did tend to repeat himself, so viewing this entire set in one sitting may lessen the enjoyment of some later cartoons.

It should also be mentioned that while Tex Avery's name is on the title of this DVD set, he only directed 17 out of the 24 Droopy cartoons. Which also means that 7 cartoons from this set would not appear on any possible future Tex Avery DVD collection.

There is a mistake on the DVD sleeve title listing, the credit reads "Cartoons 1-18 are directed by Tex Avery", but not all of them are! I know the last one on disc #1 is not a Tex Avery 'toon.

The extras on Disc #2 leave alot to be desired, the documentary is full of clips from the cartoons you just saw, with interviewers telling you why you laughed. But there is no real new information here. This is followed by a greatest gags clip show, which is pointless if you just watched the cartoons or the documentary. It seems all of the good Text Avery bonus material has already been used in the LOONEY TUNES DVD sets.

Junior, bend over--

--and read the vital stats for this promising 2-DVD set:

Episodes:
Dumb-Hounded - (1943)
The Shooting Of Dan McGoo - (1945)
Wild And Woolfy - (1945)
Northwest Hounded Police - (1946)
Senor Droopy - (1949)
Wags To Riches - (1949)
Out-Foxed - (1949)
The Chump Champ - (1950)
Daredevil Droopy - (1951)
Droopy's Good Deed - (1951)
Droopy's "Double Trouble" - (1951)
Caballero Droopy - (1952)
The Three Little Pups - (1953)
Drag-A-Long Droopy - (1954)
Homesteader Droopy - (1954)
Dixieland Droopy - (1954)
16x9 LETTERBOX Deputy Droopy - (1955)
Millionaire Droopy - (1956)
16x9 LETTERBOX Grin And Share It - (1957)
16x9 LETTERBOX Blackboard Jumble - (1957)
16x9 LETTERBOX *One Droopy Knight - (1957)
16x9 LETTERBOX Sheep Wrecked - (1958)
16x9 LETTERBOX Mutts About Racing - (1958)
16x9 LETTERBOX Droopy Leprechaun - (1958)

Special Features:
--Documentaries - "Droopy and Friends: A Laugh Back" - a documentary retrospective featuring the highlights of Tex Avery's iconic character and band of regular misfits, which made the collection so memorable and dear to our hearts. Peppered through the featurette will be moments reflecting on Tex's early days, from inspiration, to his passions as an artist, entertainer and eventual auteur.
--Gag Reel - 'Doggone Gags" - a montage of great moments from the Droopy series, culled together in the fashion of a gag reel.

To repeat: G'wan and buy a copy already!

After watching these classics on VHS, the DVD (Uncensored) were were a great surprise in quality. I can only hope that they'll be releasing the others along with more Droopy, such as Screwy Squirrel, Woolfy, etc. I can't say enough good things about this DVD collection!!

Like most animation fans I love the work of Tex Avery for its rich, varried and fast paced humor. As a teacher of animation history I show my students about 2 hours of Avery's best work after their midterm exam each semester to cheer them up. That selection always includes at least one Droopy short.
I assume the producers of this collection thought the best way to sell Avery's work is to give the public a well known star who had a TV show years ago. That may sell more DVDs than a disc set called The Crazy World of Tex Avery, but in Averys case they are simply selling a once popular name and not the artist's best work. Avery's best shorts were not cartoons that featured the same star over and over. While a few of the Droopy shorts are brilliant, it appears Avery's producer or the front office at MGM told him they wanted more of the same. As a result too many of the shorts on the disc are full of variations of the same plots and gags. To make matters worse there are several late Droopys directed by Mike Lah after Avery left MGM that are disapointing for many reasons.
If you are an Avery fan the set is worth buying for the 5 or 6 gems on it and to understand what happens when the boss says give me more of the same. Seeing the set also helps explain why Avery felt he had to leave directing theatrical cartoons. I hope enough copies of this DVD set sell so in another year or two we will be treated to a much better selection of Avery classics. Many of those shorts do not feature a star, but are brilliant "one off" films; wonderful works of surreal humor. Avery is still in my mind the king of cartoons, but you might not agree he was that great after seeing this selection that features too many of his lesser works.

Let me start by saying that I enjoy all of the films on this DVD. None of them are what I consider "bad animation". It represents a chronological journey through the theatrical life of one cartoon character. I found this very enlightening as to what happened to animated shorts over the span of their popularity. My knowledge of animation is not expert level, but definitely better than the average viewer (it's at this point I "name-drop" my life-long friend and Disney, Family Dog, Fern Gully animator, "The Critic" director and Pixar story director. I owe much of what I know to him). Now that my feelings and credentials are straightened out, let me break down what you should expect from this DVD set from the collectors perspective and the Parents perspective;

P.S.; I'm not going to include a list or synopsis of the shorts. It would be redundant in this forum and not particularly enlightening at this point.

COLLECTORS;

-First things first; as stated on the box, this is a collection of all the THEATRICAL Droopy cartoons ever made. None of the later television appearances are included.

-Many reviews say the same TRUE thing; Shorts 1-11 and 13-18 are directed by Tex Avery (unlike the assertion on the box that states "1-18". A small caveat in this is that (and this is only my speculation as I can't find any real information on this) Number 18 "Millionaire Droopy" is a complete cell-for-cell re-shoot of "Wags to Riches" on new cinemascope friendly (more graphic) backgrounds. This film credited Avery and Michael Lah as Director. I suspect Lah gets credit for putting in the new backgrounds. Tex was probably already gone by then.

-Many reviews here state that the first disk is not restored. I would add that it is worse than not restored. These shorts were put through the DVNR process. This process was designed to automatically remove scratches and artifacts from live-action films. The computer's algorithms detect unusually sharp lines in moving objects and replace them with surrounding hues. Unfortunately this is hard line animation. The undesirable effect is the blurring of black or dark lines with surrounding color. Personally, I would rather watch a scratched and hairy film. That said, I am still thankful that these films are here to view.

-This is a great way to understand how ever tighter budgets changed animated shorts. In the early shorts each frame of film is a unique image. The characters are completely animated from frame to frame. Using this technique Tex was free to use the wild shape changing techniques that made cell animation great. Squishing, stretching, bouncing and dismembering were an advantage Tex understood and employed like no other in animation. Also, the background were very painterly and three dimensional. As time passes you notice the backgrounds become more graphic and flat in nature. Even later, the characters bodies start to slow down or become stiff. By the end you have animated comic books. Often only the extremities and the head move. Sometimes only the mouth would move. To their credit, these later cartoon still (at least) employed full animation to the parts that did move and still obtained a shred of cleverness that existed in the prior films. Near the end, as Hanna and Barbera took over the production of these shorts for MGM, you can see a hint of their early independent animation and character style to come.

-I can't vouch for whether these are completely unedited. Based on some of the un-PC content I'd have to assume any omissions were unintentional. I'm not complaining about the content. Though offensive to the reasonable person, it is great source material for why things can't go back to the way they were.

This is a good time to move on to what concerns parents.


PARENTS;

As a parent I had to think a little bit about whether I want my kids to see some of this. I'm going to break this down into sub-categories to make it simple for all of us.

-VIOLENCE: Yep, there's lots of it!! Lots of gun play (very cartoony for the most part), lots of Road Runner gravity violence and lots of explosions. If your kid has trouble discerning what the real consequences of these actions are, you might want to stay away. Personally, I talk to my kids about the thing that happen (i.e.; what would really happen if you jumped off a tall building?). I let my kids watch a lot of this stuff and they have yet to show interest in repeating any of it. In fact, the stuff they repeat is from current cartoons and it usually pertains to a sassy attitude (unique, I know).

-VICE: Yep, there's lots of that too. Lots of beer drinking, lots of smoking and a fair amount of gambling. I have more problems with my kids seeing this stuff because this is where the consequences get a little blurry. The cartoon characters seem to be having a lot of fun doing this stuff. With alcohol and drug addiction rather rampant in schools these days, it is a tough one to get around. In all fairness only three episodes depict drinking beer as a great thing (I enjoy a beer now and then, but I'm an adult). I don't think the gambling is such a problem to explain to kids. They understand losing something or being tricked out of something (like your money!!). I also don't have a problem with the smoking. My kids will have nothing to do with it.

-SEX: Yep, a fair amount of this too. Lets face it; RED IS HOT by just about any standard. She must have drove soldiers crazy back in her day. However, I have to pause and think what message this sends to my 9 year old daughter (who is nowhere close to the intended audience). In fact it probably sends the wrong message to my 5 year old son as well. This is the new millennium after all.

-BIGOTRY: Though claims can be made that a few of these films have insulting racial images, only one of them has clear bigoted images. This would be "Droopy's Good Deed". If you wish to isolate your kids from the ugly realities of the past, that's up to you. I thought long and hard on this one. I'm going to discuss it with my wife. My argument will be; if our kids don't know where we've been they may end up there again. I think this is a great tool to get your kids to understand how bad things were for anyone who was not part of the mainstream culture of that time.

Here is a list of episodes broken down by potential child hazards;
BIGOTRY: 9 and10 (9 has a very brief post explosion black face gag. 10 has a very clear depiction of an "Uncle Tom" like character who can't count correctly and the term "Blackie").
VICE: 2, 3, 6 and 18 (2 and 3 depict life in an old west saloon. You figure it out. 6 and 18 have one small beer reference)
SEX: 2, 3, 8 and10 (2 and 3 have a very sexy RED and full "body" engorgements. 8 and 10 use curvy women as a prize. 6 references women as "Babes").
VIOLENCE: 1-24. Don't buy this if you're afraid of your kids seeing violence.

So, to wrap things up....

...PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T SEND ME A COMMENT SAYING I'M ADVOCATING CENSORSHIP!!! Nothing could be further from the truth. However, as a parent I felt a responsibility to let other parents know what they are in for. For you collectors, despite the quality issues, you're not going to do any better than this apparently. The extras could be better (though I did not expect any on a collection as specific as this). I still think this is an awesome collection and have zero regrets purchasing it. If it were a pristine restoration it would be 5 stars all the way!!

Disclaimer - while made by MGM, they were put on DVD by Warner Bros. The disclaimer you read is the same one Whoopie Goldberg narrates on the Looney Tunes DVDs. On these, you only get the verbiage to read. Fair enough, some of these cartoon episodes could be considered racist, of which I shall now adumbrate:

Yes, some of these episodes have bits that could be perceived as racist or are unquestionably racist. An example of a questionable bit is when the Wolf in "The Three Little Pups" sticks his head in a bag, not realizing the pup escaped and put in a piece of dynamite, and the bag explodes, the result is a charred black face (not dark brown) with a puffed mouth. This could be seen as caricaturing a black man, yet the skin is charred black and drawn in a way that seems more outlandish than anything remotely deliberately disparaging. However, gags like that one were usually not edited for modern day (1980s/1990s) broadcast because they generally don't come across racist.

However, occasional scenes that truly are racist were edited out. These exist in their entirety in this collection set. "Droopy's Good Deed" features a scene where a rich British millionaire's hat is blown away by the wind. Droopy runs for it. Spike the dog, in hiding, intercepts the hat and puts in a bomb. Droops, not seeing this, later catches the bomb and returns it to the rich British guy. The rich guy says Droops deserves an award and counts out ten $5 bills. During this point, Spike kicks Droopy away. At the $55 mark, the bomb explodes. That must be an expensive hat... The result of this explosion (now finally seen since its original showing in theatres) has both Spike and rich guy looking most distinctly like two disheveled penniless black men, completed with stereotyped broken teeth and high pitched voices as the rich guy continues to hand out charred flakes and count nonsensically, in overtly ridiculous manner. When seeing this the first time, my jaw dropped at the flagrant racist undertones; for it not only pokes jibes at black men, but the poor as well. (Remember, these were the days when education did pay off. In today's day and age, people with Masters degrees also have their jobs offshored.)

Keep in mind, these toons spare nobody. "South Park" has done far worse and gets away with it, but I digress. "Blackboard Jumble" shows the Wolf as a lumbering Southern Liberal type (now that's a combo!) having to teach three pups (Droopy, Snoopy (not the Peanuts one), and Loopy) as these pups had terrorized the previous teacher (Spike!) into leaving. This short is my favorite and hasn't dated that much considering what kids do today. So, in short, these shorts go after everyone and that needs to be taken into account too.

For the objectionable parts, look at them from a historical perspective as well as the perspective that, as with South Park, no race or mindset was spared.

As for the film quality, the sound is excellent. Clean and crisp. The video is a different story and the reason why I knocked off a star. Colors are accurate and vibrant, with little DVD compression artifacting (very nice), but the number of flakes and scratches shows no real attempt was taken to clean these distortions. Indeed, in "Out-Foxed" (another fave that has no obvious racial disparities), there is a horrible marring between two scenes' frames. The release could have been far worse, but if you're used to clean visuals, you'll be disappointed. But it's not terribly bad when all is said and done.

I shouldn't complain too much as the shorts that were made in CinemaScope (2.4/1 aspect ratio!) have been released in their proper frame aspect. W-O-W! I never realized how much detail was chopped to fit normal television screens. These were very nice to see. Kudos!

As for the extras; there are promos for other old cartoon releases - which I found interesting from a historical standpoint. "Wait Til Your Father gets Home" (with Tom Bosley?!) is an interesting piece of 1970 kitsch. Thelma of Scooby Doo is present, albeit not in anorexic form... Nice to see Popeye (1933-1938) as well, though those cartoons personify violence in a way few modern shows do. Just a forewarning. And having seen 1920s Betty Boop cartoons that were racist, these Popeye ones probably won't be much better. But I digressed again.

The documentary of Tex Avery's origins and mindset of the 1950s was fun to watch as well. There's something to learn in everything, even if you completely understand the time in which it was made.

All in all, the Droopy set could have been a better release, but all things considered it's a very solid release very much worthy of purchase.

I must say I am truly impressed. I just got done watching the entire first disc of this collection and it does indeed appear to be unedited! I still haven't popped in disc 2, but I will tonight.

How does this sound for 1950's Americana:
In 'Droopy's Good Deed' Spike runs into a burning house to rescue a pretty lady in distress - the house promptly burns up leaving Spike charred in the middle of a charcoal frame - Droopy runs back to the house, looks inside and says, 'Hey blackie, any more babes in there?' WHOA! That's uncensored folks.

10 stars for the studio having the balls to face up to our history and release these cartoons the way they were once originally seen.
No matter how awful and thoughtless, I believe original examples of pop culture - like Droopy - are one of the best ways to understand how racism was 'accepted' in the genteel and prosperous 1950's.

What will happen if all the offensive material is edited and removed from re-releases of great movies, shows, and cartoons like Droopy and Tom & Jerry?

History will repeat itself of course!

So these were originally produced by MGM -- you can tell by the lion that roars before all the credits :) But ended up belonging to Warners (thank goodness) who knows that there is gold in them there hills. Saving -- and restoring -- these beautiful cartoons and the history they represent is worth the time, energy and creativity of everyone working on the project.

First, the color is astonishingly brilliant -- even better than the restoration color in the Looney Tunes.

Beyond that is the endless stream of creativity that makes the Droopy cartoons more than kiddie fodder. This is where Jessica Rabbit was born. This is where the 20th century technicolor realization of skirt-chasing men as big bad wolves came to life. Not to mention the reckless abandon of letting the unconscious run wild without a conscious check and balance interveening.

I like to think of Droopy Dog as our own little unconscious representative. There are not artificial manners or conscious controls on him or any of his cohorts.

And the laughs are still there after all this time. There's the now standard disclaimer that some of these cartoons may not be politically correct and thus not fit for younger eyes and ears.... but we all know that. This is Tex Avery of the 1950's, after all.

But historical context aside, these are just great pieces of animation art. Thanks for saving them and restoring them to their original ccontent, and stunning color and sound.

Beware the later cartoons which are bland and without artistic value, and hold on tight for a look into animation without any hint of political correctness -- lest we forget, it's been a hell of a century.

When I was a kid, Droopy cartoons used to be shown on the local TV station on Sunday mornings, as part of the Tom and Jerry show (since both were from MGM studios). I always enjoyed the adventures of the sad little underdog (and most everything else by Tex Avery).
This set features several pictures which I had never even seen before, including "Dumb-Hounded" (Droopy's first appearance), "The Shooting of Dan McGoo" (with Red, the inspiration for Jessica Rabbit), and "Wild and Woolfy"(also with Red).
The pictures are presented in chronological order, so you can watch Droopy's character evolve over time, as well as how the style of animation changes from the lush, detailed backgrounds and fluid motion of the earlier pictures made during the 1940's to the simpler, stylized and less expensive animation style of the later 1950's.
Even with the differences in animation, the cartoons themselves are still funny.
Supporting characters include Wolf as escaped convict, also as "Dan McGoo" who chases Red, and as the cattle rancher who competes with Droopy for grazing land.
Spike the bulldog (who usually speaks with an Irish accent) makes a number of appearances, I had forgotten that in later films his name was changed to "Butch".
One film features the aristocratic Reginald the Fox, and several episodes feature the second version of Wolf, who whistles a southern tune and speaks with a voice very similar to Huckleberry Hound. One picture features the real-life latina actress Lina Romay, who appeared in a number of films during the 1940's and 1950's, as the object of Droopy's affection.
Watching these cartoons again is a pure delight. I literally laughed out loud, even watching the ones which I had already seen years ago. My wife grew up without ever having seen ANY of them, so was absolutely enthralled, and laughed even more than me.
The dust jacket states that these are intended for the adult collector, and may not be suitable for children. This should not be taken to mean that these cartoons are X-rated, or even R-rated, or that kids won't enjoy them. There is no nudity or profanity at all, although there are a few pictures featuring gags which would be viewed as politically incorrect today, usually involving someones face being blackened as a result of a fire or an explosion. I support the producers decision to include these as originally filmed, instead of editing these gags out. Art always reflects the social attitudes of the time in which it is produced. To deface these cartoons by editing them would be the same as pretending that those attitudes had never existed. These cartoons were originally written for a primarily adult audience, including members of the military, with some jokes which kids wouldn't appreciate as much (such as Red's dancing on stage, or Wolf's infatuation with her).
I highly recommend this set, and hope that other Tex Avery cartoons will also be released on DVD. I'd especially like to see the other pictures featuring Red ("Red Hot Riding Hood", "Swing Shift Cinderella"), as well as "Rock-A-Bye Bear", the "Tomorrow" series, etc.