The Corner Penthouse

Warner Brothers recently re-released the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 2 Blu-ray. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Look who's back with more gags, more laughs and more signature showcases! Make way for Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 with 50 animated theatrical shorts remastered in stellar hi-def Blu-ray. Disc One's selections focus on the core characters, such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. Disc Two offers hilarious one-shot classics, the complete escapades of Cecil Turtle, the all-purpose adversary Nasty Canasta, bashful little Beaky Buzzard and the hilariously hungry A. Flea. Saving the best for last, Disc Three serves up great fun and insider info with its wild array of bonus programs saluting legendary animators and historical gems. Not to mention, a fan-selected favorite that will be sure to satisfy even the most discerning cartoon connoisseur. So grab a chair, a comedy cohort and a carrot, 'cause it's always "wabbit" season when this must-own collection comes home!

[ SHORTS LIST ]

Since there isn't a guide or even a list of all of the shorts in the case (or printed on the discs), here is a list of every one of the 50 shorts. Some of the shorts are preceded by the disclaimer: "Some of the cartoons you are about to see are a product of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following does not represent the Warner Bros.' view of today's society, some of these cartoons are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."


[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

None of the shorts are rated and the aspect ratios vary between 1.33:1 and 1.37:1. Audio languages include English, German, Spanish (the latter two not available for all shorts). Subtitle languages include English SDH, French, German SDH, Spanish.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found on the noted Blu-ray discs.

• DISC 1: Audio Commentaries - On the following 19 shorts: "A Wild Hare" with Greg Ford, "Buckaroo Bugs" with Michael Barrier and Bob Clampett, "Buckaroo Bugs" with John Kricfalusi, Eddie Fitzgerald and Kali Fontecchio, "Long-Haired Hare" with Barrier, "Ali Baba Bunny" with Ford, "Show Biz Bugs" with Ford and Pre-Score Music, "Book Revue" with Barrier, "Deduce, You Say" with Constantine Nasr, "Porky in Wackyland" with Barrier, "You Ought to Be in Pictures" with Beck, "Porky in Egypt" with Mark Kausler, "Back Alley Oproar" with Ford, "Canned Feud" with Beck, "Birdy and the Beast" with Kausler, "Scent-Imental Romeo" with Ford, "The Foghorn Leghorn" with Barrier and Robert McKimson, "The High and the Flighty" with Ford, "Tabasco Road" with Beck, and "Mexicali Schmoes" with Beck.
• DISC 2: Audio Commentaries - On the following 18 shorts: "Wabbit Twouble" with Barrier and Clampett, "Rabbit Fire" with Ford and Chuck Jones, "Rabbit Seasoning" with Barrier, "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" with Eric Goldberg, "Drip-Along Daffy" with Barrier, "Tortoise Beats Hare" with Jones, "Tortoise Beats Hare" with Barrier, "Tortoise Wins By a Hare" with Kausler, "Porky's Hare Hunt" with Beck, "Elmer's Candid Camera" with Beck, "Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid" with Barrier, "The Bashful Buzzard" with Paul Dini, "An Itch in Time" with Kricfalusi and Bill Melendez, "Hollywood Steps Out" with Ford, "Page Miss Glory" with Will Friedwald, "Rocket-Bye Baby" with Nasr, "Russian Rhapsody" with Kausler, and "Dough Ray Me-Ow" with Beck.
• DISCS 1&2: Alternate Audio Programs - For the following shorts: "Ali Baba Bunny" music-only track, "Scent-Imental Romeo" music and effects track, "The High and the Flighty" music-only track, "Tabasco Road" music-only track, "Mexicali Schmoes" music-only track, "Rabbit Fire" music-only track, "Rabbit Seasoning" music-only track, "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" music and effects track, "Drip-Along Daffy" music-only track, and "Barbary-Coast Bunny" music-only track.
• DISC 1: Man From Wackyland: The Art of Bob Clampett (21:11) - A variety of guests discuss the career of animator Bob Clampett.
• DISC 1: Bosko, Buddy and the Best of Black and White (9:28) - Bosko, Leon Schlesinger's first recurring animated character; Buddy, a key character in early Warner Bros. shorts; and other nearly forgotten stars of black and white animation are revisited.
• DISC 1: Leon Schlesinger: The Merrie Cartoon Mogul (20:24) - Producer Leon Schlesinger assembled a team to make Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes shorts.
• DISC 2: Forever Befuddled (3:27) - Joe Alaskey, Leonard Maltin, Noel Blanc, and others pay tribute to Elmer Fudd.
• DISC 2: A Hunting We Will Go: Chuck Jones' Wabbit Season Twilogy (9:32) - A discussion of the three classic Chuck Jones shorts - "Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit Seasoning", and "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" - that first gave us the Bugs and Daffy we remember most.
• DISC 2: Looney Tunes Go Hollywood (9:20) - Looney Tunes created parodies of the era's biggest movie stars as Jack Bunny, Owl Jolson, Babbitt and Catstello.
• DISC 2: A Conversation with Tex Avery (7:06) - Famed animation director Tex Avery speaks to his work and career.
• DISC 2: Looney Tunes Go to War! (10:18) - Bugs, Daffy and Porky enlist in the war effort.
• DISC 3: King-Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution (41:31) - A lengthy in-depth Tex Avery documentary.
• DISC 3: Tex Avery: King of Comedy (52:06) - Another lengthy Tex Avery documentary.
• DISC 3: Friz on Film (54:41) - Looney Tunes director Friz Freleng is interviewed in this documentary that examines his history and career.
• DISC 3: Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons (45:39) - This Cartoon Network documentary features rare cartoons, animation sequences, abandoned TV pilots, commercials, and a live-action short.
• DISC 3: Real American Zero: The Adventures of Private Snafu (9:17) - An overview of the WWII wartime cartoons commissioned by the U.S. Army.
• DISC 3: The World of Leon Schlesinger (48:40) - Leon Schlesinger shorts introduced by Martha Sigall and Jerry Beck: "Bosko, The Talk-Ink Kid", "Sinkin' In the Bathtub", "Crying for the Carolines", "It's Got Me Again", a "Haunting Gold Title Sequence", and "Schlesinger Production Christmas Party Reels" with optional commentary with Sigall and Beck.
• DISC 3: Friz at MGM (43:59) - Five Fritz Freleng shorts: "Poultry Pirates", "A Day at the Beach", "The Captain's Christmas", "Seal Skinners", and "Mama's New Hat".
• DISC 3: The Best of the Rest of Tex (9:55 & 1:14:07) - Eleven Tex Avery shorts: "The Blitz Wolf", "Red Hot Riding Hood", "Screwball Squirrel", "Swift Shift Cinderella", "King-Size Canary", "Bad Luck Blackie", "Senor Droopy", "Wags to Riches", "Symphony in Slang", "Magical Maestro", and "Rock-A-Bye Bear".
• DISC 3: Private Snafu (34:00) - Eight Private Snafu wartime shorts: "Coming!! Snafu", "Gripes", "Spies", "The Goldbrick", "The Home Front", "Rumors", "Snafuperman", and "Censored".
• DISC 3: Mr. Hook (11:16) - Cartoonist Hank Ketchum's Mr. Hook in three wartime shorts: "The Good Egg", "The Return of Mr. Hook", and "Tokyo Moves".

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

No digital copy code voucher is included inside the standard three-disc blue Blu-ray case. The back cover promises a "28-page booklet with rare images and cartoon guide by historian Jerry Beck", but that was only for the original release. This new MOD re-release (still factory-pressed discs) does not come with a booklet. Warner Brothers forgot to update the artwork to reflect this change. Such a shame that the company didn't want to pay the minimal cost of printing up booklets. I'm pretty sure that it's only seven dual-sided pieces of paper folded in half and stapled in the middle.

[ NOTES ]

Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 2 is available on Blu-ray (MOD)*, Blu-ray (Orig), and DVD. *As is the case with Warner's MOD (Manufacture On Demand) Blu-ray, is it a factory-pressed disc and NOT a recorded BD-R disc. This makes it exactly the same as the original out-of-print Blu-ray. The only difference between the two Blu-ray releases is that the original came with a slipcover and a ??-page booklet. If you don't mind missing out on those physical items, this MOD re-release is a much more affordable way to buy this Blu-ray than eBay scalper prices for the original release.

Volume 1 was recently re-released, as well: Blu-ray (MOD), Blu-ray (Orig), Blu-ray (Orig Deluxe), and DVD. The packaging for the MOD Blu-ray differs greatly here, as the original was in a Digibook, and now it's in a standard plastic case. The "book" content is no longer included. Again, if it means that much to you, you can spend several Hundred Dollars for second-hand copies of the original release. Otherwise, if the on-disc content is all that matters to you, this MOD re-release is the way to do.

So far, Volume 3 has not been re-released. That means that scalper prices for the original out-of-print release is your only option: Blu-ray (Orig) and DVD. It also comes with a 12-page booklet that, most likely, will not be included if/when it gets re-released.

These three volumes are excellent collections, but they're not a complete set of every Looney Tunes and Merry Melody short ever created. As far as I'm aware, Warner Brothers has never released such a set. If you want to supplement this beautiful collection of lesser-known shorts with more of the well-known variety, you would be advised to buy the following Blu-rays: Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Volumes 1-4 (reviewed here), Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny: 80th Anniversary Collection, and Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: Chuck Jones Collection. The Bugs & Mouse collections may repeat shorts found on the Platinum Collections, so be aware of that.

This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.