It’s been a while since the Black And White Porky Pig 101 came out and the Platinum Blue ray Collections, 1,2,3. Those were great but do you animation collectors think Warner Bros is done with these?? It’s been great getting uncut HD Looney Tunes, and we’ve got a lot, the 6 set Golden Collection and the Platinum and the Tex Avery. But it seems like it’s the end, which is a total bummer if true…….. Stinks that we get PART of the complete cartoons and then it stops, like the Avery, 3 volumes and then nothing. And over 500 looney tunes missing and nothing………… That’s why I applaud ClassicFlix for doing the little rascals. Beave
From what I understand, per The Animation Station Podcast, one of the issues the release of animated shorts is that often there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason in the way the collections are compiled (the exception are the collections of the Fleischer Brothers' Popeye cartoons which were compiled in chronological order by release date). As an example, I purchased one of the Looney Tunes Platinum collections mainly to get the odd shorts that you don't see on television anymore, like Russian Rhapsody, and also to get the unedited. However, I think a factor in this is the amount of demand for these shorts. One of the things these short collections are competing with are the large amount of other video releases.
And your last line is probably true,unfortunately. I was actually Blown away on this forum that the Little Rascals were being done! Never saw that one coming. But One side effect of them restoring these are that it preserves them for the future, and even if WB breaks even then that paid for the restoration right? So you’d think that they would wand to restore all they have while it costs them nothing, he’ll the Porky Pig 101 was perfect as a “burned on demand” set! Keep doing it that way if you need to. I’m just sad we’re losing so much “Americana” and there just doesn’t seem to be interest in the preservation of it. Granted I know they are businesses but we’re talking about great American culture here. It’s so unfortunate that even these things have become political crap. Damn shame so much is just going down the drain……….. Beave
The Golden Collection sets, flaws and all, cast a big enough net any further sets have to live in their shadow.
Agreed totally. I remember getting that set like 8 years ago when Amazon ha it for like $50. What a sweet deal. Back in the Laserdisc day, a lot of collections were complete, or ? Like Betty Boop, I think that was a 3 box set , 3 volumes, but was f’d up by digital noise reduction. So sad, and they also put out the Tex Avery (I think) 5 disc set, and 5 volumes of Looney Tunes. I don’t know if all the cartoons on that Laserdisc set are on the Golden or Platinum Collections, but thanks to some fanatics over the years they transferred the Laserdiscs to dvd and sold them on eBay, I actually got the complete Tex Avery from there, and although their not HD the guy put Much love into the transfers and the Box. And I think I paid like $40 for it. Again though, it’s disturbing that the remaining LT’s aren’t going to be preserved in HD. But I’m thankful for what we have, even the Golden collection isn’t BluRay, they still look exquisite! Beave
I really hope more are coming. I've been watching Looney Tunes on HBO Max but I have no idea what's been left out, what's there or anything and of course HBO or Warner's can pull them off anytime. But at the same time I think the physical releases are dead.
I hope physical releases are not dead. Despite the convenience of streaming/downloading, the problem is that it can disappear at any time. If physical purchases become unavailable, I hope that they offer an option for purchase where you can keep the music/video permanently.
Probably a function of how well or poorly classic animation releases from the last few years have done such as the Tex Avery Screwball Classics blu-rays from Warner Archive. The fact that Vol. 3 of that series was the only classic animation release from WA for this or last year is probably not a good sign.
Products for a niche audience won't do well when the niche ages and doesn't pass down from generation to generation. The same thing that makes streaming popular and ubiquitous, is what will kill the box set eventually.
So true. But we’ve been fortunate to get what we have on dvd and BR. I just ordered the Betty Boop Olive Blu Rays before they’re gone. Pretty good though Amazon has them at 33% off, $19.99 a volume…..I’ll take it! BeaVe
Most fans of the Warner Brothers cartoons have been salivating for many years for the big box featuring all the shorts in chronological order. With the reluctance of studios to release physical media and the increasing trend towards absolute political correctness, regardless of context the odds of this ever happening are close to nil. The set should be limited, exclusive and expensive enough to keep it out of the hands of children, it's the only way I could ever see it happening.
Classic Flix could take on a project like that, they’d just have to get the unreleased cartoons as the released ones are already in the digital realm. Yeah, I’m dreaming!!!
Yes, by all means, we must keep them out of the hands of the user most likely to watch them! Childhood nostalgic impulse commemorative deluxie-doo's ain't nothin' in the marketplace, I know. I might know one other person within my orbit who might even consider such a purchase if it ever dropped. But realistically, you're asking for a Hope Diamond, wrapped in gold-flecked Godiva Chocolate here. There's only so many corporate CEO's and hedge fund managers who have the discretionary income for such a white whale to make a profit for it. And by the time Elon's got the box with the low-numbered edition on his shelf, he's more likely to just say "Yeah, I've got one...caviar...?", than he is to actually crack it open and *horrrors!* break the seal on the shrinkwrap for such a jejune purpose as to actually enjoy it. Nah, leave it to the kiddies to discover, once they've checked the box agreeing to the terms and conditions (which would involve sitting through the mandatory scolding-video from Auntie Whoopi about the times they made these*). (* all snark aside, I think they did a nice, responsible job, prefacing the discs with the disclaimer clips the first time around)
I would love to see a comprehensive box set but yeah a third party would have to do it. I don't see Warner's doing it or giving anyone the rights to the catalogue.
The only way something like this could ever get started, is if the industry had a few "Dr. Ebbetts"es in their midst, quietly working in underground bunkers in the dead of night. Once those started surfacing, you can bet Warners would move heaven and earth for it, faster than you can say, "Paul McCartney bought 'Compleat Beatles' just to take it off the market". Hey Vidiot...whatever happened to that "barkyard bomb shelter" project you mentioned a couple years ago at the New Years party...?
Oh Lord ……..Whoopi. Good God I’m so tired of goody two shoes telling other people their opinions. How arrogant and condescending they are. Beave
Sure. You take centuries of that sort of treatment, and get back to me. Whoopi was a co-producer of the film Till, which was at our local arts cinema last week, where we see every film. Talks the talk, walks the walk. Incidentally, I see you just told us your opinion. Should we find that arrogant?
I've watched some of these remastered and cleaned up old cartoons on MeTv and it's weird seeing them in such clarity and good sound after remembering them in horrid quality in the 80s.
Actually, what I remember most about watching crappy old film stock growing up...is the sound when they went through the telecine. My local independent station sometimes let films run out before switching to the next element on the program log, and you'd get the audio of the film stock as the poor quality of the end film leader crossed the play heads. Such was the magic of early teevee before automated players and spot-break "build reels".
Are you tellin' me, KC & the Sunshine Band was being insensitive all this time?! Wake-wake-wake, wake-wake-wake, wake your booty...
By the way, isn't there some big database someplace that keeps track of which video compilation releases you can source every WB toon? I thought it was the Big Cartoon Database (would make sense right?), but link-after-link I don't seem to find it. There were titles on the laserdisc series that didn't make it into the videotape series, and titles on the videotape series that didn't make it onto the DVD series, and titles on the Blu-Rays that weren't on the DVD's, et cetera. Add to that the various character-specific box sets and WB feature films that were released with a toon short on them that might not have appeared elsewhere, and you gotcher clusterduck right there! Hopefully that database also has notations as to which sources are the best quality for each cartoon, just for the anal-retentive of us. Yadda-de-yadda-de-yadda-de...
Thanks for the tip on the Betty Boop titles. A couple years ago I started collecting any animation I remember watching … Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera, Freleng-Depatie, etc. Warner Archive was releasing several series on blu ray which was fantastic … as mentioned, it seems to have stopped with the most recent Tex Avery collection. I am hoping there are new releases in the future … however, I am also thankful I am not starting from scratch.
