Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection, Vol. 1

Forget all the complaints that this set contains too many "double-dips" of cartoons already released on DVD. These are not double dips. These versions of these classic cartoons, which now probably look as good as the day they were released, have never been available on home video before. Plus, even if you do own all the previous DVD releases several new cartoons and special features make this set worth a purchase. But I want to get to my main reason for this set being better than any Looney Tunes Golden Collections: a better set list. Yes, the individual cartoons are like songs and any collection is like an album. This Blu-Ray set hits exactly the right balance of variety and cohesion. In the Golden Collections entire discs would be dedicated to one series or theme or director, and to all but the most dedicated fans this is detrimental. I love Bob Clampett, but his frequent repetition of gags and storytelling devices means that after an hour or so of his cartoons my eyes begin to glaze over and everything runs together. On the 50 cartoons over these two discs the individual "chunks" in the set list (Bugs cartoons, Daffy cartoons, every Marvin the Martian short, ect.) average at five cartoons, which are perfect digestible chunks. Disc one starts with a chunk of Bugs Bunny cartoons, followed by Daffy, then Porky, and rounding out the disc is one or two cartoons from other main stars (Tweety, Road Runner, ect.). There's a nice balance within these chunks, too. They aren't skewed towards one era of a particular character. You get a nice sample of that character through the years and various permutations: earlier, heckling Bugs and later, more heroic Bugs; screwball Daffy and conceited Daffy; Clampett's wild Tweety and the more reserved (by Looney Tunes standards) Tweety of the Sylvester cartoons; ect. Disc two starts with a sampling of some of the best one-shot characters in Looney Tunes history. These are some of my favorites: The Three Little Bops, I Love to Singa, and The Dover Boys! The bulk of this disc is dedicated to the complete runs of characters who served as villains to Bugs and Daffy, and who only appeared in a few cartoons despite their popularity: Marvin the Martian, The Tazmanian Devil, and Witch Hazel. Rounding out the set are three of the wonderful Marc Antony and Pussyfoot cartoons (there are actually five of these. I wonder why the other two aren't here?) and both of the Ralph Phillips cartoons. Disc three contains several documentaries on director Chuck Jones and about 20 bonus cartoons split into two groups: cartoons by Jones made for either the US government or MGM, and several of the newer Looney Tunes cartoons which have been made in a scatter shot fashion for TV and theatrical presentation in the years following the end of the original series. Most of these cartoons are in standard definition and a little worse for wear, but a few are in HD. In short, this is a must-buy for a Looney Tunes fan, and if you've never collected them on home video before this is the perfect first set to get.

Before a review or critique of these cartoons can be made, the viewer of this material MUST grasp 2 facts about the material: 1) The content was NEVER intended for Children to be the main audience. A lot of (mis-directed) criticism has been thrown towards Warner Bros. for the violence and racial comedy in these cartoons. Although the cartoons are (mostly) appropriate for all ages, the original intended audience was the adult American movie goer. These cartoons were created to be shown at the movie theater, on the big screen, before the main show. it was in the 1940's, 50's & 60's considered to be part of an 'evenings entertainment" at the cinema. 2) To "whitewash" or to pretend that some of the material is obviously racially insensitive and abusive is to "whitewash" and ignore the reality of American culture of the time period when these films were created. America at that time was a racist and segregateonal society. This is an undisputable fact and any attempt to downplay or ignore this is an affront to the victims of the abuse. Racism is wrong, has always been wrong, But to act as if it has never existed in our culture is even more wrong, it's insulting. With that out of the way, this wonderful collection of cartoons has to be among the greatest film treasures for ANY fan of comedy. If you are from my age group (mid-30's) then you will no doubt recall some of these cartoons from your Saturday mornings. When I was young, these cartoons was hilarious. As an adult, the same cartoons are even more funny, and for all different reasons. The "gang from termite terrace" were some very funny and clever fellows, and it shows all through this collection. The blue-ray HD quality of the films is AMAZING. Especially when you compare it side by side to the old TV Show quality. Breathtaking. And did I mention that these cartoons are SOOOO FUNNY!!!! I am looking forward to sharing these treasures with my newborn son when the time is right, and hopefully, my grandchildren in the future. In contrast to the garbage that is released as "comedy" in modern times, these cartoons are actually FUNNY and will make you LAUGH. There is also a special treat on disk 3 of Vol. 1 The cartoon "Museum Scream" featuring Sylvester and Tweety Bird is the most hilarious modern Looney Tunes cartoon I have seen. Good Job Larry Doyle & Team. The ending gag is such a great payoff and really made me smile.

The main draw for me to purchase this set was that it included the complete collection of Marvin the Martian and Taz cartoons, as I already have the 6 Golden Collections and all the Superstars discs. Well after getting it and watching some of the cartoons my mind was blown as to how well the cartoons look on a 1080p set. The colors pop as if they were produced just yesterday. Although in some of the cartoons scratches and dust are more noticeable (one has to remember that these cartoons were made around 60-70 years ago), but it does not detract from the overall experience. Also included in the collector's set is a certificate of authenticity,a framed lithograph titled "The Looney Tunes March," a tin sign that features Bugs and Daffy, and of all things a Bugs Bunny shot glass. According to the box, only 36,000 of these sets were produced, so for die-hard Looney Tunes collectors this might be right up your alley! Disc 1 contains a random assortment of goodies from Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and other Looney Tunes stars. Disc 2 contains the complete Marvin the Martian, the complete Taz the Tasmanian Devil, and the complete Witch Hazel, as well as complete collections for other stars. This disc also features one-hit wonders such as I Love to Singa, The Three Little Bops, and One Froggy Evening. Disc 3 contains films revolving around one of the greatest animation directors of all time Chuck Jones, and features some of his greatest non-Looney Tunes shorts such as: The Dot and the Line and other rare Chuck Jones oddities. Also included on this disc is 9 bonus cartoons such as: Spaced-Out Bunny, Superior Duck, and From Hare to Eternity. If you are on the fence about purchasing this, pick this set up now! You will not regret it.

Very good Movie!

I'm not very good at reviewing products, because I don't like expressing my opinion to the general public, but I'll tell you a little bit about this DVD. You might be wondering what the difference is between the regular platinum collection, and the ultimate collectors' edition is. I'll tell you. With the regular one, you get all the cartoons, and all the bonus footage, most if not all of which was probably released in the Goldens. You will get nothing more, and nothing less. The ultimate edition does not have any more cartoons or bonus materials than does the regular edition. All of the viewing content is EXACTLY the same. The other little things that come with it are just collector perks, in the way of souvenirs. That is, you get a little 2.5 ounce glass, which is slightly larger than a standard shot. It has Bugs Bunny text by Warner Bros, and on the opposite side is a photo (actually a drawing because he's a cartoon) of Bugs in his rabbit hole, and smiling in a presentative fashion. You will also get a tin souvenir sign about 4 or 5 inches square with Bugs and Daffy hanging out of the Looney Tunes circle. It has a magnet on the back of it as well. Last, a framed litho cel of the main LT characters marching down the street parade style, and a certificate of authenticity. Also, your ultimate (special limited) set will be numbered, to mark the fact that this is a limited production. Only 36,000 units will be produced. And that's it! So, I think you are all aware of the new cartoons vs cartoons previously released, and I will not go into detail with that. It's up to you whether you want to pay the extra five bucks to get extra junk that you probably won't care about, unless you just like nicknacks. If all you care about is the viewing content, which is really the whole point, then go with the regular one and save 5 bucks. But if for some reason you do want it, 5 bucks isn't unreasonable for what you get. The price might change anyway, who really knows? If you do not own ANY of the prior collections, and you have a taste for blu-ray, then I'd highly suggest this product. It's a great stand-alone small collection of toons (50 of them) and a couple extra ones in the bonus footage. If however you have been collecting all the DVDs that are worth buying, then there are only about 8 new toons here, with more post-jones cartoons in the bonus featurettes. Unfortunately, this is enough to stop a lot of people from buying this who have given up hope on restoration for new cartoons. They might say you're paying 50 bucks for 8 new cartoons, which for the collector, you can't really argue with. I am not going to discuss video quality/playback/transfer or any of the sort either. I really don't know what I'm looking at to tell you. To me, a cartoon is a cartoon. I really like this product. That's the only opinion I'll give, and the only way I'll give it. Thank you.

I have all 6 volumes of the Looney Tunes Golden Collections on DVD, but don't own any other Looney Tunes DVDs. I bought the Platinum Collecion on blu-ray because I am a sucker for this stuff and want to get all the shorts I remember watching when I grew up. To my reckoning, of the 50 shorts released in this set (on disc 1 and 2), 39 are available on the Golden Collections which makes for 11 new shorts for me. This is pretty good considering that this could have been a complete double up. I don't really care for the extra shorts or bonus material on disc 3, but that's bonus content for ya. However there is easily room on those 2 discs for a lot more shorts so they really should have put 60 shorts on here to keep it in line with the golden collections approx 60 shorts per volume. What really suprises me is the improvement in quality between the blu-ray and DVD versions of the shorts. Some are better and some are much better. I really didn't think I'd be impressed with the difference, but I am. The cartoons aren't any funnier in blu-ray, but I really appreciate how much better they look remastered and in HD. The mix of shorts on this set is very good. Lot's of the well known ones that myself and many people will remember from their childhood are on here. All of the Marvin Martian, Taz and a bunch of my favourite Bugs and Daffy shorts. Only a couple of older ones that, although may be classics, just aren't entertaining for me. I really wish they would release these sets in a chronological fashion the way they have done so far for Tom and Jerry. However, unlike Tom and Jerry, I suppose WB would find it hard to shift the volumes containing the really early B&W stuff which isn't nearly as good as the best stuff (to put it nicely) which is probably why they mix up the sets in an almost random fashion. Hopefully all the shorts I remember from my youth, including "Wild and Woolly Hare" which I beg WB to put on volume 2, that didn't make it to the golden collection eventually do make it to the platinum collection. Time will tell. This first volume of the platinum collection is a good start.

I own all 6 Golden collections and Superstar collections (Bugs, Daffy, Foghorn and soon to be Pepe). I ordered the "Ultimate" edition of this Platinum Collection, and soon after I received it, I didn't realize that this was also a limited & numbered collector's edition! Everything that's contained in the box is way cooler than I expected! The discs are amazing! All the cartoons are carefully selected from all 6 Golden collections, re-mixed up and upgraded into hi-definition as well! They're so well upgraded that it makes me forget just how old these cartoons are! This is the first time I "double-dipped" with something that I technically already have. But, because its an upgrade to the Golden collections, and a Vol.1 to a new collectors series, I understand. I just hope Warner Bros. knows their fans and keeps giving us what we want. Like, I hope they continue releasing the Superstars collections for example, because at least those have new content (even though those ones also have a few of the same cartoons we already have. Us fans actually have to educate ourselves with every LT release now because the Tweety disc had zero new material and the Roadrunner disc was also a waste of time. If it wasn't for the internet & customer reviews, I and many other fans would have been screwed over). A Sylvester stand-alone Superstar disc with (at least some of) his unreleased cartoons would be amazing. I wish... Wait a second, didn't the description on the 5th Golden collection say "Your wish is our command"? Common Warner Bros. please finish what you started. Just do it once then never again at least. I'm totally fine with limited collectors editions. As long as you guys release the rest of the cartoons, my money is yours! If there is going to be a Vol. 2 in this new Platinum blu-ray series, I hope its all unreleased cartoons. If I have to start my collection all over again then I'll just stop buying because that's not fair to us fans. I'm not rich like they are and I can barley make a living myself. If they release SOME unreleased cartoons mixed with many we already have (like this set) I guess I'm a sucker for it. As long as there is new content, that's all that matters. Thank you Warner Bros. regardless.

For anyone who needs it, here is the track listing (by disc and chapter number). Enjoy! ## Disc 1, by chapter number 03 - Hare Tonic (1945) 04 - Baseball Bugs (1946) 05 - Buccaneer Bunny (1948) 06 - The Old Grey Hare (1944) 07 - Rabbit Hood (1949) 08 - 8 Ball Bunny (1950) 09 - Rabbit of Seville (1950) 10 - What's Opera, Doc? (1957) 11 - The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946) 12 - A Pest in the House (1947) 13 - The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950) 14 - Duck Amuck (1953) 15 - Robin Hood Daffy (1958) 16 - Baby Bottleneck (1946) 17 - Kitty Kornered (1946) 18 - Scaredy Cat (1948) 19 - Porky Chops (1949) 20 - Old Glory (1939) 21 - A Tale of Two Kitties (1942) 22 - Tweetie Pie (1947) 23 - Fast and Furry-ous (1949) 24 - Beep, Beep (1952) 25 - Lovelorn Leghorn (1951) 26 - For Scent-imental Reasons (1949) 27 - Speedy Gonzales (1955) ## Disc 2, by chapter number 03 - One Froggy Evening (1955) 04 - Three Little Bops (1957) 05 - I Love to Singa (1936) 06 - Katnip Kollege (1938) 07 - The Dover Boys at Pimento University (1942) 08 - Chow Hound (1951) 09 - Haredevil Hare (1948) 10 - The Hasty Hare (1952) 11 - Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953) 12 - Hare-Way to the Stars (1958) 13 - Mad as a Mars Hare (1963) 14 - Devil May Hare (1954) 15 - Bedevilled Rabbit (1957) 16 - Ducking the Devil (1957) 17 - Bill of Hare (1962) 18 - Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (1964) 19 - Bewitched Bunny (1954) 20 - Broom-Stick Bunny (1956) 21 - A Witch’s Tangled Hare (1959) 22 - A-Haunting We Will Go (1966) 23 - Feed the Kitty (1952) 24 - Kiss Me Cat (1953) 25 - Feline Frame-Up (1954) 26 - From A to Z-Z-Z-Z (1954) 27 - Boyhood Daze (1957)