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Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

Started by a peepee tipi, February 14, 2018, 10:30:50 PM

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a peepee tipi

Every couple of years or so it seems, I do a fuck-up and end up without cable and wifi for a few months. Same dilemma each time as a result - pitting series collections of In Living Color and Married... With Children against dusty boxes of any old random shit like bland Hudson/Day/Randall flick Send Me No Flowers and an unwatchable home recording of The Birdcage. A still unopened DVD case of Failure to Launch starring Matthew McConaughey that one of my sisters got me for Christmas, because she's an asshole. Three separate tapes my Mom had labeled "Remembering 9/11", given to me in case I forgot 9/11.

But there, on a special shelf separate from all, there they are: all 6 volumes of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, which I had made sure to grab over the years anytime the chance presented itself. It almost seems like a blessing to be unable to pay for one of my utilities. I didn't realize until today that some discs also include episodes of ToonHeads, a wonderful anthology series I remember being shown on Adult Swim, for extra cartoonage (I'm not sure if they're included, but ToonHeads was how I first saw the Private Snafu shorts). Full of wonderful documentaries and special features too, including the first, very racist, Bosko short, as well as the last WB Bosko short, where Bosko points at the picture's villain and calls him a "dirty fuck" (no, really, supposedly a parting shot at Leon Schlesinger by Harman and Ising, who had just been fired) without missing a beat.

Even considering the great fucking jokes all-around ("She may not be very pretty now, but she was someone's baby once), it really is something how much these hold up. Even the "cruder", more static  cartoons of the 50's on are bouncing with life and humor when compared to the assembly line feel of modern animation. I think my favorite is "Long-Haired Hare" (in which Bugs deals with a short-tempered opera singer), just a non-stop string of wonderful gags. Bugs having complete control over the singer's pitch still gets big laughs from me. "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears" is another easy favorite, due in large part to Kent Rogers's Junyer Bear (he also played the vulture in "Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid, king of the "stupid" voice). Just read that Rogers died only a few months after the short's release in a training flight accident while preparing to be shipped off for WW2, that's insane.

So yeah, until payday I'm in a wacky world of nostalgia, further accentuated by having just found my Tiny Toons set while typing this, holy shit I am a happy man right now. What are everyone's favorites?

Dead Soon

There's an episode where Tweety is in a birdcage in a window, Sylvester eyes him up... only issue is, to get to the window, he has to cross an entire yard full of dogs.

And that's it. The anticipatory humour is ripe from the very first second of the episode. You just fucking know the score and yet it still knocks you back when the failures happen.

bgmnts

I've always wanted to go out on the beer with Wile E Coyote and Daffy Duck.

colacentral

When trying to think of favourites, off the top of my head I always think of two Bob Clampett cartoons: Book Revue and The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (as seen in my avatar). Been a while since I've watched any so I don't have much more to add, except to say that I'm gutted they stopped releasing the Looney Tunes Platinum blu-rays due to poor sales.

The Tom and Jerry Volume 2 blu-ray was also shelved, something to do with an executive at Paramount (or whichever studio it was) being offended by some of the racist stuff in them and not wanting to put it out, despite the whole thing having been fully produced and ready to go. It's criminal. The cartoons on the first volume looked beautiful on blu-ray too.

jobotic

Quote from: colacentral on February 14, 2018, 11:09:26 PM
When trying to think of favourites, off the top of my head I always think of two Bob Clampett cartoons: Book Revue and The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (as seen in my avatar). Been a while since I've watched any so I don't have much more to add, except to say that I'm gutted they stopped releasing the Looney Tunes Platinum blu-rays due to poor sales.

The Tom and Jerry Volume 2 blu-ray was also shelved, something to do with an executive at Paramount (or whichever studio it was) being offended by some of the racist stuff in them and not wanting to put it out, despite the whole thing having been fully produced and ready to go. It's criminal. The cartoons on the first volume looked beautiful on blu-ray too.

Neon Noodle.

NEON NOODLE???!!!







is that that one?


Dr Rock

Quote from: a peepee tipi on February 14, 2018, 10:30:50 PM
But there, on a special shelf separate from all, there they are: all 6 volumes of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection,

Fuck my boots, I'm trying to download this now. Thanks for the tip.

notjosh

Quote from: a peepee tipi on February 14, 2018, 10:30:50 PMrandom shit like bland Hudson/Day/Randall flick Send Me No Flowers

That's the best Day/Hudson movie they ever did!

Now I won't tell you what my favourite Bugs Bunny cartoon is.

Quote from: a peepee tipi on February 14, 2018, 10:30:50 PM
I think my favorite is "Long-Haired Hare" (in which Bugs deals with a short-tempered opera singer), just a non-stop string of wonderful gags. Bugs having complete control over the singer's pitch still gets big laughs from me.

I think I remember that.  Isn't that the one where the singer goes pink, then red, then purple, then black in the face at one point trying to keep up a note?

Dr Rock

I have it - are the files ordered by decades right?

lebowskibukowski

Quote from: Phoenix Lazarus on February 15, 2018, 07:27:57 AM
I think I remember that.  Isn't that the one where the singer goes pink, then red, then purple, then black in the face at one point trying to keep up a note?

That's the one. Absolutely love it. As a 41 year old man, I still sing "My gal is a high born stepper" whilst playing a pretend harp.

lebowskibukowski


Dr Rock

I've also acquired a version 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection' where the files are 'volume one>Disc 1 - Best of Bugs Bunny/Disc 2 - Best of Daffy & Porky/Disc 3 - Looney Tunes All-Stars Part 1 etc, then the files are like Volume 2>Disc 1 - Bugs Bunny Masterpieces/Disc 2 - Road Runner and Friends etc - is this the sames the one you have? Seems like a fucking treasure trove anyway.

Dr Rock

Which disc has includes episodes of ToonHeads? Many thanks etc x

Phil_A

The ordering on the Golden Collection is really annoying, it just stops it being a perfect set. I occasionally have a Peter's Mad Thought about doing something insane like ripping all the discs and sorting all the cartoons into chronological order, but I know I'd just get bored and give up after an hour.

It's still miles better than the appallingly slapdash Tom & Jerry Collection.

Brundle-Fly

So, is this Looney Tunes Golden Collection the whole lot? What's the difference between this series and Merrie Melodies?

Checking on Wiki, I've just experienced a "F**k my Hat, I didn't know that!" Amazing things you've only just found out " thread moment. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were called that because they were aping Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies!

Me and my mates made a home video zombie film in 1981 and the titles opened with Chisel Chillers Presents... Great minds.

Phil_A

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on February 15, 2018, 10:18:32 AM
So, is this Looney Tunes Golden Collection the whole lot? What's the difference between this series and Merrie Melodies?

Checking on Wiki, I've just experienced a "F**k my Hat, I didn't know that!" Amazing things you've only just found out " thread moment. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were called that because they were aping Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies!


It's not complete, no. That would need around twice as many discs as there are in this collection.

I'm still not sure what the difference is between Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies since they both initially served the same purpose, which was to promote Warners' back catalogue of old songs following the acquisition of Brunswick Records.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Phil_A on February 15, 2018, 10:46:43 AM
It's not complete, no. That would need around twice as many discs as there are in this collection.

I'm still not sure what the difference is between Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies since they both initially served the same purpose, which was to promote Warners' back catalogue of old songs following the acquisition of Brunswick Records.

So is the Silly Symphonies connection a bum steer?

Dr Rock

Quote from: Phil_A on February 15, 2018, 10:46:43 AM
It's not complete, no. That would need around twice as many discs as there are in this collection.

I'm still not sure what the difference is between Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies since they both initially served the same purpose, which was to promote Warners' back catalogue of old songs following the acquisition of Brunswick Records.

Ok, but I've now got two versions of 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection'  On Disc 3 I have 'Bosko, Buddy and Merrie Melodies' but that's only 14 files... do I need another collection with more Merrie Melodies?

Phil_A

Quote from: Dr Rock on February 15, 2018, 11:13:13 AM
Ok, but I've now got two versions of 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection'  On Disc 3 I have 'Bosko, Buddy and Merrie Melodies' but that's only 14 files... do I need another collection with more Merrie Melodies?

There's only around 15 toons per disc AFAIK. Very few of the thirties shorts have been reissued, possibly because they're not very good.

colacentral

Quote from: Phil_A on February 15, 2018, 10:46:43 AM
It's not complete, no. That would need around twice as many discs as there are in this collection.

I'm still not sure what the difference is between Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies since they both initially served the same purpose, which was to promote Warners' back catalogue of old songs following the acquisition of Brunswick Records.

This explains a bit about why there was both Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies:

https://www.quora.com/What-was-the-difference-between-Looney-Tunes-and-Merrie-Melodies

Essentially, at certain points, one was in b&w and one in colour, one series always had a star character whereas the other featured unique characters each time, etc, until eventually they became exactly the same.

I'm sure I remember hearing that one of the two still remained the cheaper of the two series' or something, as in a budget "just bash them out" series, up until the end of their runs, but maybe I'm mistaken about that.

Have had the complete Golden Collection box for ages but have never dipped into it because the sheer amount of toons seem incredibly daunting for some reason

Maybe i should pace it out to a disc an evening or something

Norton Canes

Are these the ones that had the Tex Avery cartoons? They're the best.

colacentral

Quote from: Monsieur Verdoux on February 15, 2018, 04:08:34 PM
Have had the complete Golden Collection box for ages but have never dipped into it because the sheer amount of toons seem incredibly daunting for some reason

Maybe i should pace it out to a disc an evening or something

I struggle to watch them on a consistent basis too and I think it goes to the sequencing issue mentioned up thread: I like Bugs Bunny but I can't sit through more than two or three of his cartoons in a row before I need a bit of variety. It's fun seeing all the Taz and all the Marvin cartoons back to back, but I'd rather they'd randomised it a bit (or given the illusion of it by eg putting them in chronological order) to replicate the feeling of seeing these on TV / in a cinema.

On the other hand though, they've done it that way because in a worst case scenario there'd be no volume 2 produced, no volume 3 etc, so they've said make sure you chuck a load of bugs bunny on there.

At the time they released some of the discs as seprate best ofs, which is why you get the charchter themed discs rather than assortments.

Dr Rock

You can drop the whole collection into VLC and select 'random' and you don't have  to watch them in any order. That's what I'm doing, it's great. Still want to know if this Looney Tunes Golden Collection' has all the Merrie Melodies, which I now must acquire.

Replies From View

Chronological sets really are the way forward with these things.  They infuriate me when they're presented any other way.  See also the themed DVD releases of Laurel and Hardy.  I have a big box of Laurel and Hardy DVDs that's at least twice the size it needs to be (to accommodate pointless colourised versions) grouped into themes like, I dunno, occasions when Laurel and Hardy were in a caravan.  Do it chronologically!

About the only exception to this rule is I would like a release of the Pink Panther Show the way I saw it on telly in the 80s.

I hate when they release 3 or 4 episodes of a cartoon series, claim its a best off and charge you full price. Full series or fuck off.

Quote from: Replies From View on February 15, 2018, 05:59:52 PM
I have a big box of Laurel and Hardy DVDs that's at least twice the size it needs to be (to accommodate pointless colourised versions) grouped into themes like, I dunno, occasions when Laurel and Hardy were in a caravan.  Do it chronologically!

but what if you don't want to have to sit through all the shitty non-caravan based L&H shorts before you get to the good shit

if i see laurel and hardy on my screen, and they're not in a caravan, i am changing the fucking channel

Replies From View

Quote from: Delete Delete Delete on February 15, 2018, 06:10:48 PM
I hate when they release 3 or 4 episodes of a cartoon series, claim its a best off and charge you full price. Full series or fuck off.

What do you think of those ones that contain one random episode each of Dogtanian, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Clangers, Duckula, Willo the Wisp, Dungeons and Dragons and Bagpuss?