Customer Reviews

Tex Avery's Screwball Classics [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Tex Avery first made a name for himself at Warner Brothers, but it was with MGM that his comedic genius burst forth to its fullest. These eight cartoons display the fast pace of gags, animation, and reaction shots that are the hallmark of Avery.

Who Killed Who was Avery's first MGM cartoon, and lampoons the mystery genre in terrific fashion, from the victim who's read the book based on the film to the suspects who put "a gun" on a table and it turns out to be a lot more than that.

The Cat Who Hated People sends its title character to the moon, where he finds it is A LOT stranger than home.

Bad Luck Blackie is a charming revenge cartoon where a black cat helps out a white kitten, and later Blackie's kindness is repaid in an ending that can almost be taken seriously in its message about mutual help.

Symphony In Slang is a different Avery cartoon, in that sight gags are done not for their own sake but to directly back the story, which is a hilarious tale of a man's romance told in a sea of cliches.

Avery's libidous wolf appears and jousts with Swing Shift Cinderella in a cartoon so popular with wartime servicemen it was replayed halfway through many features. The cartoon's sexual undertone is surprisingly effective in the gag where Cindy mashes Wolfie with a sledgehammer and now flattened to only two feet tall he deadpans, "Just call me shorty."

And so it goes with the king of cartoon comedy, Tex Avery.

I found this video very enjoyable. I had seen most of these cartoons before on t.v., but only the butchered versions that the censors felt were appropriate for you and I to see. I highly recommend this video if you wish to see Tex Avery's work as it was originally intended, not to mention that these are some of the most hilarious cartoons ever made anyway.

Why, oh why is this not on DVD?! This is a fantastic colection and should be on DVD (with lots of extras) for every one to enjoy. The toons are classic. I can remember seeing many of them as a kid. Some of the gags are a little dated, perticulaly those made during the war years. How ever, over all this was some of the best animation ever produced.
I hope the studio gets it together and put this out in DVD format.

Tex Avery's "Screwball Classics" contains a great selection of cartoons that I loved as a kid, and which I still find wonderfully funny. "Magical Maestro," "Bad Luck Blackie," and "Symphony in Slang" are by far very original and funny. "The Cat Who Hated People" is a cartoon with a moral: "Things could always be worse!" Although "Who Killed Who" has its moments, it doesn't seem to fit with the other cartoons selected. Overall, "Screwball Classics" can be enjoyed by young and old and features some of the best in cartoon entertainment!

Tex Avery is the god of wacko comedic cartoons. This is a must for any animation freak. Bug-eyed screaming characters started here. This is the best of the series. My grandkids and students recognize the quality and appreciate not being played down to. Two thumbs and 6 fingers up.

This video contains eight great cartoons: LITTLE TINKER (1948) SWING-SHIFT CINDERELLA (1945) MAGICAL MAESTRO (1952) BAD LUCK BLACKIE (1949) LUCKY DUCKY (1948) THE CAT THAT HATED PEOPLE (1948) SYMPHONY IN SLANG (1951) WHO KILLED WHO? (1943)

Just one of these is worth the price.

I have not seen these toons in a while. The last time I watched these toons on cable, they were hacked up and censored, mainly due to the racist humor in them. For example in 'Magical Maestro' an ink pen is squirted onto Poochini and transformed in a "black faced" performer. Well I was glad to see the cartoons on this tape were not touched by the censors, and everything is in tact!

This is a must for any Tex Avery fan, I plan on purchasing the next volumes in this series.

I would loved to have seen it on DVD :) (hint hint)

Why is it that one of the undisputed grand masters of american animation does NOT have any of his work on dvd in the united states ????? This is such an incomprehensible feat of omission by Warner who owns the rights to practically al of his greatest work that I just can not get over it!!!! Indeed, a marvellous boxset, with extra's, of 63 of his best cartoons has been issued by this studio....but ONLY in FRANCE!!!! They think of Tex Avery as a genius over there and so warners cashed in on his fame....in the USA there seems to be the idea that nobody will buy a boxset of Tex Avery cartoons I guess.....In these days when every piece of trash that has ever appeared on tv or film gets a ultimate collection boxset the work of this genius, these hilarious works that were so far ahead of their time get not even a nod in their own country!!!!!

When Tex Avery departed Warner's "Termite Terrace" for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942, the animator's wild imagination was given free reign - bolstered by the studio's high production values. This out-of-print video includes eight Avery gems for a glorious hour of cartoon madness. "Who Killed Who?" (1943), "Lucky Ducky" (1948), "Bad Luck Blackie" (1949) and the influential "Magical Maestro" (1952) represent Tex at the peak of his frenzied powers. Though Avery's entire MGM work was released on laserdisc in 1993, it remains criminally unavailable on DVD.

One of the best reasons, at any rate. One hour of pure uncut slapstick insanity directed by MGM's gonzo animator, Tex Avery. A must have for any animation fan!