Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Hopefully this isn't all, folks.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 15, 2023

Considering their huge pop culture impact and lasting influence, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts have been woefully mistreated on home video during the last few decades. We've gotten all sorts of piecemeal releases including assorted collections, character-driven sets, other themed releases, and more... but not what most die-hard fans really want: an all-inclusive chronological collection -- yes, that includes "The Censored Eleven" -- or even one spread across multiple boxed sets. Warner Bros. continues their irksome ways with Collector's Choice, Volume 1, a new Blu-ray that serves up 20 shorts and is being released through their boutique label, Warner Archive. This set's gimmick is that it's mostly lesser-known toons, including a handful that haven't been available since Laserdisc. So while there are no real "heavy hitters" here and some aren't even that great, even mediocre Looney Tunes is still a good time. (I'd probably give this a pretty soft 3.5/5 for content quality, but the "rare factor" gives it a nudge into 4/5 territory.)

Again, 20 shorts (~7 minutes apiece) are served up on this one-disc release. They're presented in what appears to be no particular order, but seem to be sorted chronologically by featured character with a few stray exceptions.

EPISODE LIST

"Beanstalk Bunny" (1954, Chuck Jones)
Bugs and Daffy match wits with giant Elmer Fudd in this re-telling of "Jack and the Beanstalk". Easily one of the best shorts on this disc, "Beanstalk Bunny" is amazingly making its first appearance on home video since laserdisc.

"Catch as Cats Can" (1947, Arthur Davis)
Sylvester and a parrot try to take down a canary that resembles Frank Sinatra. One of Sly's first appearances (and with a notably different voice/demeanor), this one's definitely a weak entry but still worth a look.

"The Unruly Hare" (1945, Frank Tashlin)
Bugs & Elmer Fudd duke it out when a newly-built railroad track crosses paths with his rabbit hole. Only one of two Bugs shorts directed by Tashlin, this uncut short is as surprisingly violent as ever.

"His Bitter Half" (1950, Friz Freleng)
After moving in with a wealthy suitress, Daffy is forced to cook, clean, and babysit for the brutish lady duck. A personal favorite, this entertaining short was was later remade as "Honey's Money" starring Yosemite Sam.

"Daffy Doodles" (1946, Robert McKimson)
Porky hunts down a notorious vandal who's been drawing mustaches all over the city. Robert McKimson's first animated short for Warner Bros., it's a decent effort whose concept outpaces the actual gags by a wide margin.

"Cracked Quack" (1952, Friz Freleng)
Daffy skips migration and decides to crash at Porky's house instead -- he even tries to pass himself off as a stuffed animal, but Porky's dog is able to sniff out the truth. A decent but somewhat mid-tier Daffy short.

"Little Orphan Airedale" (1947, Friz Freleng)
Charlie Dog needs a home and suckers Porky into adopting him. This is a color remake of the 1941 short "Porky's Pooch". Another personal favorite, and the only time Charlie Dog was ever mentioned by name.

"Hip Hip-Hurry!" (1958, Chuck Jones)
Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote duel in the desert. I mean, these are fun enough in small doses, but can you really rank one Road Runner and Coyote short over another? They're pretty much interchangeable.

"Hot Rod and Reel" (1959, Chuck Jones)
Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote face off again. See above.

"Greedy for Tweety" (1957, Friz Freleng)
Tweety, Sylvester, and Butch the dog are in the hospital with broken legs while nurse Granny tries to keep the peace. This is one of several shorts I hadn't seen in decades but it unlocked a core memory or two. Good stuff.

"Stooge for a Mouse" (1950, Friz Freleng)
In order to score some cheese, a hungry mouse tries to pit Sylvester against his friend Mike the Bulldog. As far as I know, this is another lesser-seen short that's been resurrected from Laserdisc purgatory. Sweet!

"A Mouse Divided" (1953, Friz Freleng)
A drunken stork drops off a baby mouse at the home of Sylvester and his wife. Another solid Sylvester short by Friz Freleng that I hadn't seen in decades, this one combines a great concept with memorable gags.

"A Fractured Leghorn" (1950, Robert McKimson)
Foghorn Leghorn and a black-and-white cat fight over a juicy earthworm. One of two "FL" shorts by McKimson included here, this marks one of the only times our hero doesn't do battle with Henery Hawk or that one dog.

"Plop Goes the Weasel" (1953, Robert Mckimson)
Foghorn Leghorn squares off against the barnyard dog... with help from everyone's favorite chicken thief, in his first of only three appearances (four, if you count "Space Jam"). Another one of several shorts new to Blu-ray.

"Tale of Two Mice" (1945, Frank Tashlin)
Babbit and Catstello attempt to steal cheese from a watchful cat. This one's probably my least favorite short on the set... but it only appeared on DVD twice (and as an extra, no less), so fans should appreciate having it.

"The Foxy Duckling" – (1947, Arthur Davis)
In search of stuffing for his pillow, a fox tries to chase down a quick-witted duck. One of the few shorts not starring an instantly recognizable character, this one's B-tier at best but kind of a pleasant little surprise.

"Two Gophers from Texas" (1947, Arthur Davis)
A dog tries and fails to capture the Goofy Gophers, but a helpful book might give him the edge. The second of nine "GG" shorts (and the only one directed by Davis), this is another rescued from Laserdisc.

"Doggone Cats" (1947, Arthur Davis)
Sylvester and his brother try to get even with a dog named Wellington by taking a package he's supposed to deliver. Yet another that, as far as I know, hasn't been available on home video since Laserdisc.

"What's Brewin', Bruin?" (1947, Chuck Jones)
Everyone's favorite dysfunctional grizzlies, The Three Bears, settle down for hibernation but Papa Bear keeps getting woken up by noises. Remember, beating your kids is only OK if they're stupid.

"The Bee-Deviled Bruin" (1949, Chuck Jones)
The Three Bears sit down for breakfast... but they're all out of honey, and Papa Bear isn't cut out for beekeeping. As far as I know, this short has never been released on home video. For that alone, it's worth a look.

Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Though their animated releases are sadly few and far between, Warner Archive has maintained a much better track record than their parent company when it comes to pure visual accuracy regardless of genre or format. It's not at all surprising, then, that compared to WB catalog titles like Max Fleischer's Superman and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Collector's Choice Vol. 1 is a step in the right direction. This isn't a perfect effort, though: these weren't advertised as all-new restorations and, after a bit of research (and some help from forum member Thad Komorowski), it's clear that most of these shorts were sourced from the same masters seen on HBO Max*. That's not a deal-breaking complaint, of course: though moderate amounts of digital noise reduction may have been applied -- to some more than others, as seen on the included screenshots -- they don't look nearly as "scrubbed" as the overly soft Superman cartoons or as processed as Scooby-Doo. The original textures and linework also benefit greatly from Warner Archive's reliably solid disc encoding, which means that die-hard fans will find much less to complain about here than typical animated titles released under the WB banner. Colors look nice and bright with no obvious bleeding or re-grading, rounding out what's ultimately a slightly compromised but mostly satisfactory presentation of these classic cartoons.

* - This also means that many of the title cards are slightly altered around the edges to maintain a uniform aspect ratio; some, like "His Bitter Half", are obviously modified while others are simply cropped a bit with no loss of important information. A few examples of these titles cards are provided in screenshots 22-27.

Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The sound situation isn't as rosy, unfortunately. Although thankfully presented in lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio, which preserves their original mono roots as a split-channel track, there are some pretty clear sonic discrepancies here if you're watching these shorts back-to-back. Plain and simple, some sound perfectly fine and others have a much less dynamic presence overall, qualities that can also be exacerbated by the fact that the volume levels vary quite a bit as well. It's nothing that a little on-the-fly remote work can fix, but it's a shame that better -- or at least more uniform -- restoration work couldn't have been done here; in all honesty, many of them don't sound much better than WB Looney Tunes discs dating back to the Golden Collection DVDs. While again this isn't a deal-beaker, it's still further proof that Warner Archive's parent company should be treating these classic shorts with a lot more love and respect.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 20 shorts, whether they need them or not.

Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unlike most WB Looney Tunes releases, Warner Archive's one-disc release of Collector's Choice, Vol. 1 makes a fairly dull first impression with basic design elements, no interior print, and no episode list or description -- not surprising given their track record, but still disappointing. No extras are included either, but at least the price is right.

Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though it's mostly comprised of B-tier Looney Tunes shorts, Warner Archive's short but sweet Collector's Choice, Volume 1 is a solid budget release that resurrects a few hidden gems from DVD and even VHS obscurity. This Blu-ray's A/V presentation doesn't achieve the high marks I give to the boutique label's best efforts (especially the audio), but its visuals are at least better than the majority of animated releases from Warner Archive's parent company. It's a total no-brainer for die-hard fans, but anyone newer to collecting Looney Tunes on Blu-ray will probably get more mileage out of the Platinum Collections or character-specific sets like the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection.