WHV COMIC-CON ANNOUNCEMENT: Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 1 (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[David Weicker]

There are 59 Looney Tunes on this Collection. 44 previously released on DVD and 15 new to shiny disc. There are also 9 Chuck Jones non-LT shorts for a total of 68 shorts. The never before released are: Lovelorn Leghorn Hasty Hare FelIne Frame-Up Hare-Way To The Stars A Witch's Tangled Hare Bill Of Hare The Fright Before Christmas Spaced Out Bunny Duck Dodgers And The Return Of The 24½th Century Another Froggy EvenIng MarvIn The Martian In The Third Dimension Superior Duck From Hare To Eternity Father Of The Bird Museum Scream As for the breakdown of shorts, 1930's - 3 1940's - 17 1950's - 26 1960's - 4 1970's - 1 1980's - 2 1990's - 5 2000's - 1 David

 

[Kevin Martinez]

The never before released are: Lovelorn Leghorn Hasty Hare FelIne Frame-Up Hare-Way To The Stars A Witch's Tangled Hare Bill Of Hare The Fright Before Christmas Spaced Out Bunny Duck Dodgers And The Return Of The 24½th Century Another Froggy EvenIng MarvIn The Martian In The Third Dimension Superior Duck From Hare To Eternity Father Of The Bird Museum Scream

This is a bald-faced untruth. The first two were bonuses on the Golden Collections and most of the others were bonuses on Space Jam or the compilation features

 

[David Weicker]

I didn't mean to make a bald-faced untruth. I was misinformed. I didn't see the first two as GC bonuses (must have missed them). And I don't have Space Jam, so I wasn't aware of it's extra content. I am aware that there are quite a few shorts included as extras on various WB releases. I don't have them all so I'm not aware of all their content. I do know that some the the Night At The Movies inclusions were not always the same quality as their GC counterparts. I was just trying to be helpful. David

 

[GMpasqua]

Originally Posted by Jamie E

Amazon updated their listing for this set. It looks like there are an additional 18 cartoons on what we originally thought was just the "bonus features" disc 3. So for those keeping track, there are actually 68 cartoons in this collection. The price is looking a lot nicer now, especially for the Plain Jane release. I'm looking forward to this one, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that all the shorts will make it to Blu-ray eventually.

Disc 3 (All Special Features):

A Greeting From Chuck Jones
Chuck Amuck: The Movie
Chuck Jones: Extremes & In-Betweens, A Life In Animation
Chuck Jones: Memories Ofchildhood
The Animated World Of Chuck Jones (9 Cartoons)

- Point Rationing Of Foods
- Hell-Bent For Election
- So Much For So Little
- Orange Blossoms For Violet
- A Hitch In Time
- 90 Day Wondering
- Drafty, Isn't It
- The Dot And The Line: A Romance In Lower Mathematics
- The Bear That Wasn't
How The Grinch Stole Christmas! Pencil Test
The Door
Bonus Cartoons (9 Cartoons)

- Fright Before Christmas From Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales
- Spaced Out Bunny From Bugs Bunny’s Bustin’ Out All Over
- Duck Dodgers And The Return Of The 24 1/2th Century From Daffy Duck’s Thanks-For-Giving Special
- Another Froggy Evening
- Marvin The Martian In The Third Dimension
- Superior Duck
- From Hare To Eternity
- Father Of The Bird
- Museum Scream

That's great news, 68 cartoon - I'll have to re-consider picking it up

 

[Sumnernor]

David, don't be upset. I also haven't heard of the other DVDs. Keep posting, thanks for your info.

 

[Joe*A]

Before I purchase this set, what I'd like from Warner Brothers Home Video is an assurance that this volume is the 1st of many more to come on BlueRay that will finally provide Looney Tunes fans the complete collection of shorts from 1930-1969. I have all the Golden Collection DVDs and with the recent Super Star releases, there are 600 shorts yet to be released. Is it too much to ask WHV to give us a sign that I won't have to be BUYING the same shorts over and over again to complete the collection?

 

[Peter Neski]

This set is only sightly better than the one we have(not counting the Blue Ray) Its still the worst of the six sets IMHO filled with latter cartoons I will only watch a couple of times at most ,with nothing much form the 30"s ,or early 40's really The Idea that buying this set will insure they release more is insane,I already bought 6 sets already and they could have'' done BR ,but knew we rebuy them again,not to mention rebuy all the cartoons we(I) don't want all over, At least the price isn't insane ,I would have preferred a new 7th set in Blue ray and DVD,At least we might get some new stuff (other than latter Jone stuff) Plus those who want that Jones Stuff are forced to re buy this set Maybe if they add older tunes to the next sets it won't feel like we are getting screwed,

 

[Traveling Matt]

If anything, I would look at a resumption of the Golden Collection model, either as it was or tweaked (slimmer volumes with fewer extras, one big box of the remaining films etc), as the only sign WHV is serious about completing the series. The Blu-ray sets are not going to be the answer.

 

[Brisby]

Before I purchase this set, what I'd like from Warner Brothers Home Video is an assurance that this volume is the 1st of many more to come on BlueRay that will finally provide Looney Tunes fans the complete collection of shorts from 1930-1969. I have all the Golden Collection DVDs and with the recent Super Star releases, there are 600 shorts yet to be released. Is it too much to ask WHV to give us a sign that I won't have to be BUYING the same shorts over and over again to complete the collection?

I must ask in all seriousness...who really wants every single WB cartoon on DVD? The 30's stuff is just grating, and the post-50's stuff is a weak shadow of the 1940-58 heyday of the Looney Tunes. I agree that being forced to buy the same cartoons over and over to get a handful of new-to-DVD ones bites, but would anyone buy a "Complete Looney Tunes: 1935-36" collection?

 

[Traveling Matt]

I want a completed series. The films are never on cable consistently and, when rerun, not all the films are shown (the censored ones never are). I admit I wouldn’t be too crazy about a two-disc “1935-36” set however. Future volumes or a big box, done chronologically, would need to omit the already-released films anyway.

 

[Joe*A]

You're right about the Tunes of the early 30s but I wouldn't mind watching them even once for how these Tunes matured into the classics of the 50s. I'm a completest by nature and would buy old Merrie Melodies shorts because of their artistic merits alone demonstrating the humour and culture of the time. The biggest issue with WHV is that they haven't landed on a target audience. I thought they did with the Golden Collection series, which was the way the go - no double dipping showing a variety of shorts (classics and duds). They just should've continued with the Golden Collection Volume 7 in both BRay and DVD and call it a day. Or for better marketing, just call the new set "Looney Tunes Classics Volume 1" and add material never released (i.e. a continuation of the Golden Collection series). Then go back and BlueRay the Golden Collection. But that would be TOO EASY, huh? I for one am NOT buying this set even though I'm a huge fan - it just doesn't make any sense. How many times do I need to buy the same content?

 

[Traveling Matt]

They just should've continued with the Golden Collection Volume 7 in both BRay and DVD and call it a day. Or for better marketing, just call the new set "Looney Tunes Classics Volume 1" and add material never released (i.e. a continuation of the Golden Collection series). Then go back and BlueRay the Golden Collection.

That's basically what I've suggested several times before. I've been a big supporter of recycling GC films for general release to support the restoration of unreleased films for collectors. If the aim is to complete the series in volumes, a Blu-ray line (set to cater long-term to casual fans at very little cost and a higher price point) could accomplish this by having recycled releases parallel a separate DVD series of new releases. For example, Blu Volume 1 with DVD Volume 7, Blu Volume 2 with DVD Volume 8 etc. The revenue from both series would simultaneously support new restorations and the cycle would continue. It could still be done, even with this first Platinum set heavy on big titles. Package and menu design could probably even be used again in some cases.

 

[Peter Neski]

"a two-disc “1935-36” set " I would gladly buy that if I could get a 38-40 set!!!!!

 

[Patrick McCart]

I don't think Warner would be able to sell the first Blu volume without repeating any Vol. 1-6 cartoons. They're still including a good percentage of new-to-disc shorts and it's inevitable for the first Blu volume to be reliant on shorts already released. This is how the DVD sets were handled. The first volume was overwhelmingly 1950s "popular" cartoons. No B&W, only a few 1940s cartoons, and nothing terribly outside the safe zone. Each volume became more eclectic and interesting. By the 6th volume, we had whole discs devoted to Harmon-Ising, Frank Tashlin, and WWII shorts.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

If the Blu-Ray was all double dips, and Warner guaranteed beyond the shadow of a doubt that a a proper successor to the Golden Collections was on the way, I wouldn't be so mad. Instead, this is the worst of both worlds, and only the biggest WHV PR tool can dispute that.

 

[Ethan Riley]

I don't think Warner would be able to sell the first Blu volume without repeating any Vol. 1-6 cartoons. They're still including a good percentage of new-to-disc shorts and it's inevitable for the first Blu volume to be reliant on shorts already released. This is how the DVD sets were handled. The first volume was overwhelmingly 1950s "popular" cartoons. No B&W, only a few 1940s cartoons, and nothing terribly outside the safe zone. Each volume became more eclectic and interesting. By the 6th volume, we had whole discs devoted to Harmon-Ising, Frank Tashlin, and WWII shorts.

Yeah, well, they did become more eclectic. And that's when sales started to dip and the GCs were discontinued. They should have done them by years, starting with a popular era like the late 40s or early 50s. And then they could skip around in years with each succeeding volume and please everybody, eventually. Maybe they could have even separated the shorts by directors. I know fans who are 100% behind Chuck Jones and can't stand Bob Clampett. And vice versa. I'm fondest of the late 40s/early 50s era. Why? Because for whatever reason, my local tv station had a syndie package that only aired shorts from those years. That's all I really ever saw as a child. The package seemed heavy on McKimson shorts and light on the others. Then there was another Bugs Bunny show on another channel which showed earlier shorts such as Clampett's and assorted 30s color musicals. Then there was another show that relied mostly on B&W Porkys by Clampett. But that particular show aired around 8:30am everyday and I was in school. Therefore, I grew up more on McKimson and not Clampett. The CBS Saturday morning airings always seemed heavy on Chuck Jones, and unfortunately I never watched it much. Therefore, kids growing up in the 70s are fondest of Looney Tunes eras according to which television package they happened to be watching. Yeah, I could pretty much quote chapter and verse a dozen McKimson cartoons, but I hardly ever watched Chuck Jones or Bob Clampett. Weird, huh? But it's probably a bad idea to separate the shorts by directors, because the directors overlapped in the timeline. I think a chronological collection would have been best. That way, they wouldn't have had to number the volumes consecutively; they'd just call it: Warner Bros: 1952-1953 or whatever. And a year later they'd offer 1946-1947. And mix it up, going back and forth through the years with each release. That's pretty much the only way to do it in my book--everybody, as I said, has their favorite "era," and such releases would sell most heavily to fans interested in those eras and therefore sales would probably be pretty even across the volumes. And maybe if they're freaked that nobody would buy the B&W cartoons, they could just offer those online and not in Walmart. But whatever--they didn't do it that way. They did what they did before--they started by rolling out a few dozen of the most popular cartoons first. Therefore, everybody will be sick of succeeding volumes, because they'll figure they already have the best ones and there's no reason to buy more. A little short-sighted of you, Warners. But you did it before. I'd really rather have a chronological release; I think the cartoons make more sense when you view them as produced, rather than skipping around through 30 years of production. The characters don't evolve; they go off-model and then back. And you're watching a B&W cartoon, and suddenly the next one is in B&W. Sampler packages that skip around through so much material are just confusing. Warner Brothers cartoons evolved so heavily throughout their lifetime; it's almost like you're watching different series every five years or so. I don't know...maybe this release can just be a "sampler" and next year they can start another series that's chronological. Or not.

 

[David Weicker]

I agree that this is just a testing of the waters, and is following the same model as the GCs - a wide variety with a lot of 'popular' titles to see how much interest there was. As for double dipping, did anyone really expect not to be double-dipping if they were going to Blu-Ray? For collectors, Blu-Ray is a double-dip model. I know I've been replacing my SDs with BR for the past year, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Now, some of the suggestions proposed here have been very pie-in-the-sky ("I won't buy unless its a complete 1000+ set with brand new extra's", etc.). I think this Platinum release is the way to go. It will re-energize the line and bring in newer buyers, as well as upgraders. However, I would have made one slight change to this particular release. I think there should have been a DVD release of the new-to-disc shorts at the same time (LT SuperStars: the Blu Disc). That way for people who aren't ready to move to Blu, they still could have added to their GCs and SSs and had the same content. I don't believe a dual release of GC 7 on DVD and Blu would have brought in enough sales. While the GC 7 would have sold (in diminishing numbers compared to each prior release, as all the GCs have done), and the GC 7 Blu would have sold to prior GC owners who have converted, it would have done very little business with new buyers. Can you imagine the kind of sales the GC line would have had if the first release was GC 6? Do you think we would have had six releases now? Now, this could work, if they continue with the Platinum line, and each subsequent release 'borrows' from the GC releases. By the time we reach PT6, we would have all the same content as the GC line, but in Blu (and maybe a few more titles). On another note, I do think the Chronological Sets, but out of order scheme proposed by Ethan Riley would also work, but thats not the current strategy. David

 

[Kevin Martinez]

I don't think Warner would be able to sell the first Blu volume without repeating any Vol. 1-6 cartoons. They're still including a good percentage of new-to-disc shorts and it's inevitable for the first Blu volume to be reliant on shorts already released. This is how the DVD sets were handled. The first volume was overwhelmingly 1950s "popular" cartoons. No B&W, only a few 1940s cartoons, and nothing terribly outside the safe zone. Each volume became more eclectic and interesting. By the 6th volume, we had whole discs devoted to Harmon-Ising, Frank Tashlin, and WWII shorts.

Good percentage? What galaxy do you live in where the new-to-DVD shorts on this set constitute a "good percentage"? Especially when there are fewer cartoons on here than on one of the Golden Collections

 

[Patrick McCart]

Good percentage? What galaxy do you live in where the new-to-DVD shorts on this set constitute a "good percentage"? Especially when there are fewer cartoons on here than on one of the Golden Collections

I wasn't expecting any new-to-disc cartoons in the first volume. Had they included two more shorts, they'd be at an even 1/4 new. I'm fine with Volume 1 being used as a "foot in the door" release as long as Warner makes future volumes more valuable. More cartoons, better selection, more new-to-disc.

 

[Traveling Matt]

I wasn't expecting any new-to-disc cartoons in the first volume. Had they included two more shorts, they'd be at an even 1/4 new. I'm fine with Volume 1 being used as a "foot in the door" release as long as Warner makes future volumes more valuable. More cartoons, better selection, more new-to-disc.

There is no reason to believe future volumes will offer more than what this first one does. This series only has value to consumers who want HD versions of the most popular films, and that is clearly the base being targeted. We would know if a true successor to the Golden Collections was coming, and it wouldn't involve anticipation of only a few new films per volume.