REVIEW: Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault Vol. 3

The success and excellence of the Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault series is an encouraging sign that we may finally get the complete library on disc for collectors and fans. The third film arrives on Tuesday and is just as strong as the first two.

The two-disc set presents the cartoons alphabetically by disc, which isn’t how I would have chosen to present them. Instead, a chronological approach per volume would let viewers watch beloved characters evolve, as well as the prowess of the various storymen, directors, and animators. Volume one presents 25 shorts, many for the first time on Blu-ray. The other 25 are newly restored. Of these, 16 are making their video debut, for which there should be rejoicing.

The Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes are mixed together, with the first Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub” (1930) and “Lady, Play Your Mandolin!” (1931), respectively. We get the usual assortment of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester & Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig, et. al., but remarkably, we also get a Bosko short, the first North American such inclusion in 18 years.

Bokso is an artifact from another era, speaking in his negro dialect, introduced in 1929 as a direct challenger to Mickey Mouse. He appeared in 33 Looney Tunes shorts before his creators, Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, left Warner Bros. for MGM and took the character with them. Neither human nor animal, he was described by Ising as an “ink spot,” make of that what you will. But it’s nice to have him here.

Directors, of course, include the wonderful Friz Freleng—who is represented on about half the collection, Chuck Jones, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery, Rudolf Ising, Arthur Davis, Hugh Harman, Frank Tashlin, Abe Levitow, and even Hawley Pratt.

I will admit that most of these stir memories of happily watching them on television decades ago, and they felt like revisiting old friends. The less familiar ones were still a joy to watch, making me wonder why such antics cannot be replicated in animated fare today. It seems a lost art form.

They’re not uniformly great, such as the last Honey-Mousers, 1960’s “Mice Follies” or the uneven “My Green Fedora”, a 1935 Freleng offering. They’re overshadowed by the truly great ones such as “Ballot Box Bunny,” “Duck Soup to Nuts,” “My Favorite Duck,” and “Really Scent”.

To help decide if this one is for you, we have an even dozen Bugs Bunny, including the WW II propaganda piece, “Herr Metts Hare” (1945); five Porky Pig; eight Daffy Duck (four of these 12 actually pair them up); Conrad the Cat (in his final appearance); five Sylvester the Cat (four with Tweety, one with Sam Cat); one Pepe Le Pew, two Foghorn Leghorn; one Bosko, one Two Curious Puppies (their first appearance); one Foxy; one Emily the Chicken (her final appearance); one Honey-Mousers; and 15 one-off characters.

Given the technical challenges presented in decades’ worth of source material, the restoration is good, but uneven. All are watchable, and the preservation efforts are laudable. The lossless 2.0 English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio transfers are also imperfect, but all are serviceable to great.

As for special features, there are none on volume one, and the second disc has five commentary tracks from Greg Ford, Eric Goldberg, and the immortal Jerry Beck.

This is a worthwhile treasure trove and deserves your support so the entire library eventually gets collected.