Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol. 6 (Repackaged/DVD)

Well, at long last, I have purchased Volume Six of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series! This was the final installment in that particular series...and while there are still many more Looney Tunes cartoons still to be re-discovered, the bulk of the studio's animated classics had already become available via this Golden Collection series and so with Volume Six the remainder of the classics made their way onto this collection. Much of the cartoons on Disc 1 and Disc 4 were part of a Spotlight Collection I had previously bought and so I didn't watch the cartoons on those two disc's. I mainly focused on Disc 2, the early black and whites on Disc 3, and the documentary on Disc 4 about Mel Blanc titled Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices. On Disc 1 and Disc 3 you'll see cartoons with a lot of different voice actors. Daws Butler's voice appears in several cartoons on Disc 4. His voice can also be heard briefly on the short, "Heir-Conditioned", on Disc 2 as some of the alley cats who are after Sylvester's inheritance. Butler is also heard more prominently in "Yankee Dood It", on Disc 2, as the shoemaker and the King Elf's apprentice who can never remember the name 'Rumpelstiltskin' and often utters the phrase 'Jehoshaphat'. King Elf is actually Elmer Fudd in traditional Elf costume sporting a big gold crown on his head. Sylvester is part of this cartoon but doesn't have many lines. The documentary on Mel Blanc is exceptional, in my opinion, as it showcases Mel's career from it's beginnings in the 1920's on local radio in the upper West Coast until his sudden death in 1989. In the span of one year, 1988-1989, the animation world lost several legends: Daws Butler, Mel Blanc, George O'Hanlon, and Jim Backus. In short, Mel Blanc was a true superstar of radio, records, television, and cartoons. Yes...Mel made a lot of records in the '40s and '50s...a lot of those records were aimed at children (some singles had an older target audience, too). Most people don't know that Mel created the Woody Woodpecker laugh...and was the original voice of Woody at the very beginning. Those offering their thoughts on Mel in this documentary are a varied group. Disc 2 is comprised mostly of the World War Two cartoons from the early to mid '40s. The last three cartoons on Disc 2 are about the rewards of capitalism and how it's the ideal economic system of free nations: "By Word of Mouse", "Heir-Conditioned", and "Yankee Dood It". The war cartoons in their unedited form have been a much sought after item of Looney Tunes fans for decades and it took until this final Golden Collection installment to have a disc devoted entirely to those particular cartoons. I saw a comment on-line about how a consumer was dismayed about the all-military art work on the DVD and how it made the person think the entire collection was only military cartoons. The consumer must've bought the DVD based upon cover art and didn't really notice the product page here that describes what all is on the collection. Now...about that second disc...first and foremost I find nothing wrong with these war cartoons. I am of the belief that the private citizens of Germany and Japan were not being mocked or ridiculed in those cartoons...instead it was the Government of those countries and their military being ridiculed. Once a person enlists in the military he or she is no longer a private citizen and anything's fair game (however 'unfair' that may come across to some). Before going any further a history lesson is in order for those my age and younger who perhaps aren't as familiar with the mid 40's era of animation and the impact the war had on everyone in all forms of entertainment. Today's audience see what I call fractured political and military messages strewn through prime-time dramas and comedies on a regular basis...but back in the '40s there was one singular message that flowed through these war cartoons and that message was crystal clear: Support the War Effort. During WWII America's enemies were primarily Germany and Japan...and the military of those two countries saw a heavy dose of ridicule from cartoon houses all over America. All the animation studios were doing war cartoons on a frequent basis but the Warner cartoons were the most daring, I think, of all the animation studios. Why do I say that? Well, it's because of the style in which the Warner cartoons prided themselves as being. The same irreverence and slapstick overtones of the non-military cartoons carried over to the war cartoons...using the same established characters doing things that the military personnel and those on the home front would LOVE to have done to any number of dictators and tyrants of the world. In that regard the war cartoons provided a much needed psychological comfort. Some have complained about the ethnic stereotypes in those cartoons but I have no sympathy toward the dictators, tyrants, and enemy combatants who get ridiculed and mocked (stereotypically or otherwise) in these war cartoons. The WWII cartoons are sought after so much, as I mentioned, that it appears the company deliberately used the military decor to put all the attention on those WWII cartoons. The individual disc's feature a character in a saluting position with an American flag backdrop. Each disc's number is penciled onto an illustrated dog tag, too! What are the extra's and bonus features you may be asking!?! On Disc 4, as mentioned earlier, there's the Mel Blanc documentary. There are four "bonus cartoons" on Disc 4. On Disc 2 there are three bonus cartoons of a military overtone to go along with the WWII cartoons on that disc. Also, there's the inclusion of The Captain and the Kids cartoons that Friz Freleng did for MGM during his short hiatus from Warner Brothers. On the black and white Disc 3 there's a special called The World of Leon Schlesinger while there are 4 bonus cartoons. In actuality there are 4 bonus cartoons on each disc, making that 19 cartoons altogether on each of the 4 discs. There are 2 Looney Tunes television specials as special features on Disc One: "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court" and "Daffy Duck's Easter Special". The first special, from 1978, is listed on the DVD by it's VHS title of "Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court". The made-for-TV cartoon is entertaining and doesn't feature any clips of vintage cartoons which was often the case whenever the Looney Tunes appeared in TV specials. However, there ARE scenes in the King Arthur special which re-use dialogue from other Bugs Bunny cartoons and the die-hard fans will spot right away. Also something that will be detected right away is that Mel Blanc provides the voice of Elmer Fudd, as he had done off and on since original voice actor, Arthur Q. Bryan, had passed away. Mel's natural voice was quite distinctive and it shines through in his performance as Elmer. The second special, from 1980, is also listed by it's VHS title, "Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement". In this special there are three newly created stories woven together: "The Yolk's On You", "The Chocolate Chase", and "Daffy Flies North". The characters featured are Daffy, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester, Miss Prissy, Foghorn Leghorn. In subsequent decades the three cartoon shorts have been shown separately on various Looney Tunes programs. All in all it's an outstanding collection...which are what the Golden Collection releases have always been.

As Spike, the bulldog in that famous cat-and-mouse series from another studio entirely, once put it, "'dis is more like it!!" I have wanted the LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION series to look like the contents of these four truly golden disks for as long as the collection existed! This collection truly has something for everyone--cartoons from the days that were golden to those who were introduced to these characters on many a Saturday morning, and cartoons for those of us (like me) who grew up knowing that there were LOONEY TUNES before Bugs and Daffy and the rest of the characters that most folks (and the clothing makers) are familiar with. No one, and I mean *NO ONE* should be complaining here. I think I've played the contents of these disks more than I've played all the contents of the other sets combined, and the pure gold in these sets have also forced me to go back and appreciate all over again the true essence of other volumes in this collection. My only down side is that I wish it were still going beyond six volumes but, judging from the previous reviews here, it seems as if the collections that indeed are promised for the future may have to further sharpen their focus, perhaps a deeper unearthing of all the decades of this studio's prominence in separate volumes, to each find their nitch audience as so many are sneering here at the diligence of those at Warner Brothers who do really care about the history of the animation studio. It is all very important and should be seen in volume after volume, and gathering them into one detailed series is getting those who would have never given some titles a toss a chance to again check the stuff out and enjoy the studio in all its incarnations and struggles to get to where it got before the doors were closed in the 1960's. We finally get the taste that some of us have been longing for of the wartime shorts here, with the inclusion of an ultra-rare WB short called "THE DUCKTATORS", now seen here with its ending intact, and even the earliest LOONEY TUNES star, Bosko, suddenly finding his world at war! On the same disk, as bonus feature, we get a glimpse at what Friz Freleng had done during a time away from the Warner Brothers cartoon studio, working on a failed series for MGM of the KATZENJAMMER KIDS comic strip, here called THE CAPTAIN & THE KIDS, and, despite its unpopularity even with the animators, we see that Freleng ads his own comic touch to some of these shorts, like the beer barrel sequence in "A DAY AT THE BEACH" and the hilarious results of the horse in "MAMA'S NEW HAT" accidentally tipping over a bottle of glue and getting an electric fan stuck on its rump--makes me long for a similar unearthing and restoration on these and other more notable MGM titles to show the touches given to that studio by the likes of Mel Blanc who voiced the goofy raven in the two BOOK WORM cartoons produced by Hugh Harmon. The third disk is daring in its exposure of some shorts that show our perspective on the world during the 1930's. It is a unique time capsule as the studio begins to formulate and the animators find their way. Now, we finally get to see the uncut version of "BUDDY'S CIRCUS", a cartoon often severely edited on Nickelodeon showings, and then there is the simple but surreal "CARTOONIST'S NIGHTMARE", a premise perhaps somewhat better executed at a studio like Max Fleischer's during that same period and before, but it is still a unique touch. It is also notable that we finally get the complete "blooper reel" or gag reel that those at Termite Terrace produced to amuse themselves at the Warner Brothers Christmas party. The set closes on a high note, too, with an ASSORTED NUTS collection of one shots that prove the studio's diversity over the years, displaying that, even within the often-disliked final period of "limited animation", the last theatrical age of LOONEY TUNES and MERRIE MELODIES, the mid-1960's, there was still a hint of something novel and creative. In fact, I liked the way the set closes, with an inventive cartoon from its early period ("PAGE MISS GLORY") and its final days ("NORMAN NORMAL"), the latter featuring the vocal talents of Peter, Paul & Mary with the comedy "stylings" and vocal clowning of Paul Stookey, telling the story of one man and his dissatisfaction with the corporate world which should be played over and over again during our current economic trials! It is not only a time capsule, but a film that still unfortunately remains relevant! This set is an absolute triumph, and I want Warner Brothers to know that I've never seen such an intelligent, clear-headed collection from any studio to rival this. If this is the end of the series, I only hope that the years hence bring us gems that dig even deeper into the vaults before the ravages of time do a healthy job of stealing more of our memories! Wonderful job, guys and gals. This should win all kinds of awards for its excellence! It should and will not be the last "hoorah" for all LOONEY TUNES and MERRIE MELODIES as this is just the tip of the iceberg! The true thaw has begun!

Good Looney Tunes DVD set. Lots of good rare classics of Bosko and Beans on Disc 3 and they are in Black & White. Not as much Bugs Bunny on Disc 1 & 2 as other Golden Collections' but many other fantastic Looney Cartoons with Foghorn & Henry Hawk, Porkey Pig does his thing, plenty of great Daffy, and one of my favorite cartoons with Tweety is titled Satan's Waitin is here !!! Disc 4 is some stand alone great cartoons that don't have many of the popular Looney Tunes but are still very good by themselves. One cartoon on Disc 4, which is one of my childhood favs and didn't realize was here till I watched DVD set, is Chow Hound by the great Chuck Jones. The Dog keeps saying "You Forgot To Get The Gravy", fantastic cartoon. Disc 4 also has a great bonus feature on Mel Blanc that is a must watch. Its so amazing that one amazingly voiced actor could be the voice for basically all these great Looney Tunes characters. And as always there are other great bonus features on all of the Discs in this set. Overall this Looney Tunes set is worth the 20$$ or so you will pay on Amazon, because these cartoons wonderful and rare and getting older every day.

This collection is great for any devoted Looney Tunes fan or animation history buff. Each disc is aptly titled, and includes a multitude of rarities. Disc 4 - Most Requested Assorted Nuts & One-Shots has many classic and almost forgotten favourites. Disc 3 - Bosko, Buddy & Merrie Melodies contains many early black and white shorts. Disc 2 - Patriot Pals, as the cover indicates includes wartime propaganda, anti-Hitler fare. And Disc 1 - Looney Tunes All Stars contains the more contemporary mainstream, yet lesser known, shorts. Overall this set is very enjoyable (and educational). (As expected, there is a warning, noting that certain racist portrayals were representative of the era.) Also there are some wonderful bonus materials in this collection which include many commentaries, music-only tracks, additional shorts, tv specials, studio home-movies, and my favourite, a superb 69min. documentary profile, Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices! Highly recommended.

"The Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6 is intended for the adult collector and is not suitable for children"! Es ist etwas schwer dieses Produkt "einfach so" als Fan von Cartoons zu bewerten, da es sich erstens nicht ausschließlich um die übliche Looney Tunes-Kost/Merrie Melodies handelt, wie bekannte Bugs Bunny oder Daffy Duck Cartoons, sondern spezielle, nicht ohne den nötigen Kontext vernünftig einzuordnende Trickfilme. Warum habe ich mir diese Collection geholt? Ich bin zufällig auf den Clip "Russian Rhapsody" von 1944 - Hitler versucht im Alleingang Bomben mit einem Flugzeug auf Moskau abzuwerfen und wird dabei von "gremlins from Kremlin" sabotiert - gestoßen und war von meinem Standpunkt als angehender Geschichtslehrer auf zwei Ebenen begeistert. Zunächst als Fan der Looney Tunes und dann als Historiker. Denn dieser Film ist pure Propaganda seitens der Amerikaner, was alleine schon das Entstehungsjahr und der Inhalt verdeutlicht. Da ich diesen Film haben wollte, zwecks eigener Interessenbefriedigung und andererseits möglicher Einsätze im Unterricht, suchte ich eine Veröffentlichung, auf der dieser Film ist (Wie ich später erfahren habe, gibt es diesen Film auch auf der deutschen Platinum Collection Vol. 2(oder 1?), welche bei Amazon erhältlich ist). Was macht dieses Set nun so besonders? Betrachtet man alleine das Cover fällt die Deutlichkeit der Thematik auf. Es handelt sich in erster Linie um Filme, die Krieg zum Thema haben, aber, und das macht diese Veröffentlichung auch so "delikat", auch um rassistische Darstellungen, besonders der afroamerikanischen Bevölkerung, wobei hier verstärkt Stereotypen unkritisch verarbeitet werden. Hierbei ist es nun wichtig zu wissen, dass die Entstehungszeit der einzelnen Filme von den 1930er Jahren bis in die 1950er reicht. Das Bedeutet für einen Teil, dass die Bürgerrechtsbewegungen der afroamerikanischen Bevölkerung erst noch ansteht und der Zweite Weltkrieg bevorsteht bzw. im vollen Gang ist. Um diesen Umstand zu verdeutlichen und niemand ohne jeglichen Kontext diese "Kost" zu präsentieren hat sich der Publisher dazu entschieden beim Start der Scheiben ein Statement abzugeben, indem auf die Entstehungszeit hingewiesen wird und das damalige Bild der Bevölkerung wiedergibt, man aber diese Filme nicht vergessen wolle, da dies einem Vergessen dieser Umstände gleich käme, was den „Opfern“ dieser Filme nicht gerecht wäre. Meiner Meinung nach eine vernünftige Herangehensweise, da ich absolut gegen Zensur in jeglicher Form im Bereich der Kunst bin. Was sind die Highlights? Zunächst sind Filme mit unseren klassischen Helden wie Bunny, Duck, Pepe oder Elmer usw. zu finden. Als Liebhaber dieser klassischen Figuren kommt man nicht zu kurz, doch tauchen mitunter Figuren auf, (die mir bisher unbekannt waren bzw. mir nur vom Sehen her bewusst waren,) wie z.b. Bosko oder Buddy, welcher mir gänzlich unbekannt war. Das soll insgesamt heißen, man darf nicht erwarten nur die beliebtesten und bekanntesten Figuren der LT/MM zu sehen. Mein persönliches Highlight ist das Aufeinandertreffen von Bugs Bunny und Hermann Göring in "Herr meets Hare" von 1945. Wie gesagt ist das historische Potenzial dieses Sets für mich interessant. Basics: Was bekommt man eigentlich für sein Geld? Dieses Set besteht aus vier Discs und insgesamt sind 60 Filme plus einige Bonuscartoons. Angegeben wird eine Laufzeit von ca. 410 Minuten (die 60 Filme). Es gibt keine deutsche Tonspur, nur englisch. Untertitel werden mit englisch und ungarisch angegeben. Die Bildqualität ist für die gegeben Verhältnisse gut, aber nicht überwältigend, ebenso der Ton (1.0 Dolby Digital). Für wen ist dieses Set geeignet? Zunächst nicht zwingend für Kinder. Der Hinweis, den ich zu Beginn geschrieben habe sei zu beherzigen. Ich will keinem vorgeben, was er seinen Kindern zum Gucken gibt, aber wenn, wäre ein aufklärendes Gespräch nach bzw. vor dem Konsum angebracht. Es richtet sich eben in erster Linie an erwachsene Sammler bzw. Interessierte. Zudem gibt es keine deutsche Tonspur, was Englischkenntnisse voraussetzt. Ansonsten ist dies allen Geschichtsinteressierten Menschen ans Herz zu legen. Hier kann man Geschichtsbilder pur erleben und wer mag dies auch als Quellenmaterial nutzen und analysieren.

This DVD contains some very rarely seen cartoons. The World War II propaganda cartoons are almost worth the asking price alone. (In addition to Bugs and Daffy, Hitler himself is featured flying a bomber to Moscow only to be attacked by "Gremlins from the Kremlin".) Be warned that unless you are familiar with old Warner Brothers characters that did not make it into the modern era, you will not recognise the characters that are not on the first disk. These are, for the most part, not WWII cartoons, but are quite interesting from an historical perspective. That issue aside, this is a must have for collectors of old cartoons or those interested in getting a feel for what early 20th century American entertainment culture was like.

dommage qu il n y et pas de traduction pour celui ci mais bon dvd avec different annee de creation

I held back buying the US import of Vol 6 as it was fairly pricey, and this stategy has paid dividends: the Region 2 release is emminently affordable, and bursting with great value and features. Housed in a handsome slipcase, the four discs contain the usual 15 cartoons each, and this total of 60 is boosted with a further 20 added 'toons, making a healthily total tally of 80, if I'm not mistaken. The only downside is that the extra cartoons are not as meticulously mastered as the core 60, which are as impeccably-realized as per usual, and noticably clearer than the old TV prints we all remember. Disc One; an assortment of the regular cast, Bugs, Daffy, et al. Opening 'toon 'Hare Trigger' sets the lunatic tone nicely. Disc Two: it's all-out war as this disk is WW2 propaganda from the 40s: 'Russian Rhapsody' is a personal favourite, with it's caricatured Hitler spouting 'Nutzis is duh CRAZ-IEST PEOPLE!!' as only the peerless Mel Blanc could. Disc Three: curios abound as we are treated to a bunch of early b/w entries, with early 'stars' who never quite became household names, like Bosko and Buddy. These items are great for animation buffs like me, but if it's Bugs and Daffy you prefer, then mebbe not for you. I like this disk the best, though. Disk Four: one-shot offerings of experimental ideas, a standout being the 'Hole Idea' which was etched into my memory for many years. Other belters include 'Martian through Georgia'. Overall, this set seems to be identical to the US release, which is a real relief. This is the final Looney Tunes Golden Colection, meaning about 360 of the 1000+ cartoons are out on release. The good news is that Warners are cleaning up a further 60 'toons per year from the vaults, meaning more releases will likely follow, possibly with a hi-def option? Fantastic value: MUST BUY for serious vintage animation fans. Just bung these babies in your machine: you know it makes sense.