Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get...

Hey guys, I found out recently that my boyfriend is a huge fan of the Warner Brothers Road Runner cartoon segments and I really wanna buy him some DVDs of it. What's the best possible way to get these ?

He's a fan of the other Warner Brothers stuff too (Bugs, Daffy, Porky, etc), so if Road Runner's included on those Looney Tunes Gold Collections (I'm not sure I have that right--are there different full set releases of Looney Tunes, or just those definitive ones?), maybe I'll just get the all-encompassing sets.

But there're individual DVD releases specifically for Road Runner/Coyote too, right ? I could've sworn I saw some.

Just wanna know the best possible way to buy these.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

I would recommend the Looney Tunes Golden Collection vol 2. There is almost an entire disc devoted to Road Runner/Coyote shorts.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

There was/is available "Looney Tunes Movie Collection" - 2 DVDs and one has circa 20 minutes of Road Runner. Don't know if it is still available.

EDIT: It is still availabe on Amazon

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Appreciate the help guys, thanks.

I think I'll just go for the Gold Collections (but I'm glad I got that specified, 'cause there's a "Spotlight Collection" and something else that looked sort of like a complete set. Apparently there's also a very comprehensive set on Laser Disc that would probably cost an arm and a leg, but I'm not about to buy a laser disc player just for this). Who knows, might end up wanting to collect the entire library (or as much as Warner Brothers is able to put on DVD, rights-permitting), so it won't hurt to have all the other material in addition to the Road Runner stuff.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

I'm a big fan of Wile E. Coyote & Bugs Bunny....but I think the way these great old cartoons are being released in these Golden Collections is a disgrace. The latest collection has a whole disc devoted just to Speedy Gonzalez! (I've yet to meet anyone who likes Speedy!)

With these Golden Collections, you may get a few eps of the cartoons you like, and several discs of cartoons that you don't like- while paying a steep price for the whole set.

As big of a cartoon fan as I am, I have yet to purchase any cartoons on DVD. The studios are going to have to do better and either release character-specific sets...or better mixed sets if they want my $$$.

I too wish there were a set of just Roadrunner cartoons. (I complained to a studio exec once, but he dropped an anvil on me. )

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Here are the Road Runner/Coyote cartoons that have been released to DVD and where to find them:

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 1
Fast And Furry-Ous (the first Road Runner/Coyote cartoon)
Don't Give Up The Sheep (Wile E. Coyote, aka Ralph Wolf, and Sam Sheepdog)

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2
Beep Beep
Going! Going! Gosh!
Zipping Along
Stop! Look! And Hasten!
Ready, Set, Zoom
Guided Muscle
Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z
There They Go-Go-Go
Scrambled Aches
Zoom And Bird
Whoa, Be-Gone!
Adventures Of The Road Runner, The (TV series pilot)
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour (TV show opening title)

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 3
Steal Wool (Coyote/Sheepdog)
To Beep Or Not To Beep

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 4
Operation: Rabbit (Bugs Bunny/Wile E. Coyote)
To Hare Is Human (Bugs Bunny/Wile E. Coyote)
Wild Chase, The (Road Runner, Coyote, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester)

I'm not up on what's on all of the old Laserdisc releases, but I can tell you that none of The Golden Age Of Looney Tunes laserdisc box sets include any Road Runner/Coyote cartoons (those sets consist of pre-1948 cartoons then owned by MGM/UA, and none of the Road Runners were in that package).

Vol. 2 has the most bang for your buck!

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Since we're talking Looney Toons I might as well ask: What about Yosemite Sam? He's my husband's and my favorite character, but cartoons with him are hard to come by, at least from what I can tell. I've never seen a Sam-only set -- although that doesn't mean it isn't out there. If anyone can recommend a set with a good number of his cartoons on it I would appreciate it. That, or please point me to a site where I can get a list of them.

Thanks!

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

All they've released so far have been the Looney Tunes Golden Collections (WB releases one a year and there have been five volumes so far), the Spotlight Collections (essentially abridged versions of the Golden Collections), Looney Tunes Movie Collection (which includes two of the feature-length compilations), and things like Space Jam, Back In Action, and a couple compilations of more recently-produced cartoons. Warner Bros. has not done sets by character the way Disney has.

That said, Yosemite Sam is all over all of the Golden Collections.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Hi! Nice to meet ya! *extends hand with ACME 4,000,000 volt electric joy buzzer wound and ready*

I've always liked Speedy.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Now stop that!

Sheesh! Ya have a dog who's almost as cute as mine! ...and now you're trying to out-do my uniqueness by being one of only 2 living people who likes Speedy?!

Hmmmph! Show-off!



(O-K, if ya must know...my mother is the other Speedy fan. )

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Try the other hand... *extends hand containing a live rattlesnake*



I think I like Speedy's slow moving/talking buddy the best. But there's just something about Speedy's "Ah-reeva ah-reeve!! Yeppa yeppa!!!" that gives me the giggles.

Goldie my little dog down there. She's great. But sick with cancer these days and doesn't look like that picture anymore. A tumor has changed her whole nose over about a year and a half. But she still manages to smile.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Man, sorry to hear about your dog.

RichieMagoo said:

I'm finding that comedy cartoons seem to get the shaft more often than action-adventure/fantasy/sci-fi. Although I should specify, older funny cartoons. Things like The Simpsons (which I'm not gonna buy anyway 'cause it's readily available god-knows-how-many-times-a-day and I'm not as much of a fan as I was in my tweens and teens), South Park (love it, but have only rented up to Season 4 + movie so far and catch the odd one on TV sometimes but otherwise I'm way behind the new stuff), and Futurama (own it, love the sets) all seem to get good to awesome treatment for DVDs.

Action-adventure, it depends. Usually the more popular, the better the treatment. BCI's Ink & Paint division have done some great sets, most recognizable among them the He-Man and She-Ra sets. Are those the kinds of shows you were also looking to buy Richie, or mostly older classic stuff ?

I thought Thundercats could've gotten a better first release, but maybe they got better with the last three releases. I only have Season 1 Volume 1. It's annoying that they're so over-packaged/huge.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Yeah, it's the classic stuff that interests me- the old Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker- and alot of the other stuff from those studios.

Those studios had quite a prolific output- and it's not practical for most of us to be able to own every cartoon they ever made- so they should realize this, and try to offer sets in such a configuration so that we could get the stuff that interests us, while skipping the stuff that doesn't.

And I do think it is good that they are releasing some of the more obscure 'toons in the collections....but I just wish they'd do so in such a way that when we buy a $40-$70 set, we aren't faced with the prospect of getting an entire disc or two of stuff that we dont want to watch.

I see they have also done a nice job with Spongebob Squarepants (The only modern cartoon I care for).
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Awww....Radioman- so sorry to hear about Goldie
I can tell, she is just such a sweetie!
One of my beloved dogs- Precious, is getting old and has lumps all over now.... I'm sad to say, I think she will be my first dog who will not make it to 15 -and she is the best dog I have ever had..... (She has the same sweet look about her as your Goldie)

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Not really trying to play the "devil's advocate" here, but... (well, maybe I am)

One big reason the WB cartoons have been released in the configurations that they are in, and the order they're in, has to do with restoring them for DVD. I don't know if you've seen any of the DVD sets they've released so far, but if not, you owe it to yourself to check some of this stuff out. For the pre-1948 cartoons (formerly part of the a.a.p./UA/MGM-UA/Turner holdings), I guarantee you, you will not recognize them, because this is the first time ever (since their original theatrical release) that these cartoons have been mastered from the original Technicolor separations. The reason is that for 40 years, WB had all the original negatives, but MGM/UA owned the films...so any versions seen in all those years were sourced from duplicate masters in varying states of preservation. This is no exaggeration...you'll think these are brand new cartoons and it'll feel like you're seeing them for the first time.

There have been some issues here and there with the sets, but thank God they haven't monkeyed with these films with DVNR, etc. They are so clean and so authentic, you can actually see the occasional fleck of dust trapped under the animation cels!

Anyway...from what I'm told, WB has a big restoration program going on, and only so much money per year, so for the first set, they started with ones that had already been done...in some cases, certain titles had been restored for theatrical release, or some kind of foreign release, so those titles were handy and set to go.

Are there really people out there who want JUST the Daffy Duck cartoons, or JUST the Road Runner cartoons?

Maybe when they finish restoring everything, they might do a limited series like the Walt Disney Treasures for each character...who knows?

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

You make a good point, too, Mark Y.

And I do like the prospect of having a wide mix of cartoons/characters...but the trouble remains, how do you aquire the cartoons you want, without paying for discs full of those you don't want?

The only answer to this might be for them (or some enterprising smaller company) to offer custom discs- where you can choose exactly what episodes you want on an individual basis. The technology certainly exists. Years ago some company was doing this with audio tapes and CD's- offering custom-made albumns with artists/songs chosen by the customer. They were priced at about what todays MP3 downlaods are. Obviously, that company must've become obsolete with the advent of MP3s though....

I guess we should be grateful though that these 'toons are being nopt only preserved, but restored, and unmolested, as you describe.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Agree that it's worth buying these sets even if you don't like all of the toons included. There were a few on there I probably wouldn't choose if there was custom DVD option on these and you could choose your own...but they ended up being fun to see. For that reason alone I'd prefer the current method just so I can make those pleasant discoveries.

-------------------
Thanks Kris. Richie, you've had some great success with dogs. Goldie is a tough mutt. Extremely smart too. In October 07, my 15+ year old dog Bear (Goldie's mother, actually) died of old age. I (and my vet) was worried Goldie was going to closely follow but we work through the complications and she keeps on going and being happy. Since then I also found out Goldie was 11 and not 10 as I'd thought. It helps knowing that at least she passed the 10 year old mark. Typically, dogs that get passed 10 are doing good. Bear was a large dog and should have died at 12. I guess keeping them indoor helps too. Anyway, good luck with your buddy. With Bear (and now Goldie) I just try to enjoy every day I have with them, especially in this old age when, for a lot of dogs owners, your dog knows you better than most people do.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

While I like a set of mixed cartoons, it is kind of hard to believe that the best cartoon ever (The Road Runner) is still not completely out on DVD when the format is almost done. I think there are only about 40 shorts (pre-66), but I thought we'd see another disk of these by now. Or better yet, 4 or 5 on each set on a disk of miscellaneous shorts.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

My wife and I like Speedy! :p

Well, whatever we think about these Golden Collections being awesome releases (my opinion) or "a disgrace", it appears to be all over.

I've just posted the announcement for Golden Collection Volume 6, and Warner says that it is the last one.

So what happens to the unreleased shorts? Do they ever see the light of day?

And what's next? Certainly there WILL be more Looney home video releases. Will they be character-themed, as suggested in this thread? Will we get some hi-def Blu-ray releases (there will be two 1080p shorts on the just-announced Errol Flynn Robin Hood Blu-ray...was it that way also on the HD DVD for that film? I forget!).

We'll see, I guess.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Add me, my wife and my son. We're up to 7 people who like Speedy!

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

This is not good.

Here comes yet another stalled "series". -and I have a feeling that anything released in the future will just be previously-released stuff mixed up in different collections, or a mix of yet-unreleased stuff mixed with previously released stuff, so that Golden Collection owners will have to wastefully duplicate stuff they already have, just to get the new stuff.

My condolences to all who purchased Golden Collection sets- investing alot of money; thinking that the collection would eventually be completed.

They haven't even come close to releasing all the Bugs Bunny eps, correct?

Way to win loyal customers, studios. NOT!

My DVD-buying days are over. I refuse to patronize these studios after the way they've treated all of us with classic shows. There are still a bunch of items on my "want" list...but I will not buy another thing till the incomplete series I already own are completed....and I am not holding my breathe for that to happen.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Thank you Richie and whatever happens now going forward, they just lost me as consumer on any future release/series of Looney Tunes. I never intended to "own" Looney Tunes shorts on DVD, but it was through reading Mr. Beck's enthusiasm for the project on his blog, that I wanted to thrown in my support. I was hoping (at best) to get most of the ones I grew up watching on The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, the ones that appeared in The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, and a few rarely seen ones like Volume 4's "Southern Fried Rabbit" and "Mississippi Hare", for example, both which I have never seen before. "Mississippi Hare" had a great commentary associated with it by Eric Goldberg. And speaking of which, this means no more audio commentaries from cartoon historians/voice artists, etc. No more music-only or music and effects tracks. No more restored title cards, restorations, etc.

This has been a big seller for Warner's theatrical division, so I don't understand their thinking of shutting this down with Volume 6.

EDIT: According to Wikipedia, Volume 5 didn't sell as well as previous volumes, is that correct?


What really upsets me is that this means no "Hare-Way to the Stars".


That's for sure.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

Halt. Stop. Parada.

I just added this update to the story:

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

*serves RED VOLCANO HOT burrittos to the thread*

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

David thanks for the update.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

To be fair to the studios though, when it comes to a property like this where they couldn't obtain the rights to everything and...correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think all the Looney Tunes cartoons had proper "seasons" the way a traditional network TV or premium cable season works nowadays...it can be a pain in figuring out how to package it in a way that would satisfy most fans. They couldn't just do "Season 1, 2, 3, etc" because the show wasn't set up like that (nevermind the fact that there's little to no continuity between the segments so order isn't really important unless they go by production date or date of original airing/showing) and because rights issues got in the way of some stuff.

And if it's low sales that stop them from being able to justify releasing the remainder of a series...*shrug*...I dunno, can't really get mad at them for that, much as the situation sucks for anyone caught with two thirds of a series or whatever and stuck with completion

Looking forward to hearing what WB's plans are for future releases.

Amazon.ca shipped Gold Collection Volume 1 and 2 (shrinkwrapped stuck together) yesterday. I figured I'd get Volume 2 for the heavy Roadrunner/Coyote content but also spring for Volume 1 just to start at the beginning. That way my boyfriend can add to the in-order collection if he wants more. Can't wait to watch 'em. There'll almost for sure be stuff that's new to me and even if there isn't, I haven't seen a lot of this stuff since the early `90s.

Re: Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons--what's the best DVD set to get 'em in ?

I came across this forum by accident last night while trying to find a certain Road Runner cartoon/sequence. After reading the thread completely, I realized I was in the right place. I don't believe there is a more knowledgeable source for the info I seek than right here. As soon as I logged off, I bought Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2 based on the recommendations I found here.

Which brings me to my long-winded point. I'm going to Skagway, AK in late January to host an informal film festival (because they don't have a movie theater), and I wanted to open the evenings with cartoons for the kids, and as far as I'm concerned, Road Runner humor is a lost or dying art form that needs to be kept alive. I am particularly looking for a sequence of cartoons in which the Coyote orders a box of Acme bomblets. The box gets knocked over a cliff before he can use the first one (who would have thought!). The bomblets continue to randomly appear in the remainder of that segment. Here's the interesting part: The bomblets continue to appear randomly in the next two cartoons as well. I only saw this once about 40 years ago, but I would really like to find that sequence. Am I hallucinating or did I really see this? If I did, is it available?