The Extras - More Cartoons From the Vault: Looney Tunes Collector's Vault V1 Disc 2 Reviews

Episode Date: July 1, 2025

Send us a textWe continue our deep dive into the Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Volume 1 Blu-ray with animation historian Jerry Beck and Warner Archive's George Feltenstein, exploring the treasures of Disc 2 and the evolution of iconic characters.• Disc 2 features beloved characters and fan favorites, contrasting with Disc 1's more collector-focused rarities• The 1937 "Porky's Duck Hunt" introduced the world to Daffy Duck and marked the beginning of Warner's irreverent cartoon style• Daffy Duck cartoons like "Birth of a Notion" showcase the character at his screwiest, paired with a terrifying Peter Lorre caricature• Warner Brothers cartoons broke the fourth wall and created an interactive experience unlike Disney's more polished approach• First appearances of beloved characters like Speedy Gonzales and Yosemite Sam are included in this collection• Warner Archive hints at potential for a Volume 2 release depending on the commercial success of Volume 1Purchase Links: Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Vol. 1Also available:  Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 1 (Blu-ray)Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 2 (Blu-ray)Part 1 discussion on YouTubeThe Extras Facebook pageThe Extras Twitter Warner Archive & Warner Bros Catalog Group As an Amazon Affiliate, The Extras may receive a commission for purchases through our purchase links. There is no additional cost to you, and every little bit helps us in the production of the podcast. Thanks in advance. Otaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. [e-mail]

Hello and welcome to The Extras. I'm Tim Larr, your host. And this is part two of my ongoing discussion with animation historian Jerry Beck and George Feltonstein of the Warner Archive, as we talk about the recently released Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Volume 1 Blu-ray. Well, we've been dabbling in these two cartoons here, but let's turn the page to disc two. Absolutely. here, but let's turn the page to disc two. If disc one is definitely for collectors, Deep Vault, disc two has got all of the characters that people know. I shouldn't say all the characters, but so many characters that people know and love and enjoy and some of the all-time favorites. You've got obviously a lot of Bugs Bunny cartoons

on here and there weren't really too many in the collectors choice releases because a lot of them have been released. So there's going to be a lot here that we can talk about that are fan favorites and then you also have Speedy Gonzalez and Pepe Le Pew in this release as well. But I thought we could start with those notable Daffy Duck cartoons that you previewed. Porky's Duck Hunt from 1937, Texas area as well. Hey, that wasn't in the script. Don't let it worry you, Skipper. I'm just a crazy darn fool duck.

Daffy is totally crazy and some amazing gags in this one. I really enjoyed this one. Yeah, that's what put the character on the map. They learned early on around this time that the Porky Pig goes hunting motif as a scenario was working with audiences. They didn't know whether it was the wacky, zany character he was chasing, or if it was Porky himself and his reactions, or just the premise that it was

hunting. Maybe they actually believed at one point there that it was the situation of hunting that was the thing that was driving it and making it funny and popular. So they made many, many, as you note, if you go back in that period, they made many, many hunting cartoons, whether it was Porky or Egghead or whatever. Many, many, as you note, if you go back in that period, they made many, many hunting cartoons whether it was Porky or Egghead or whatever. That was what they thought was the thing. But soon they learned it was the character, the crazy character, whether it was Daffy

Duck or the Rabbit, whatever. And then they realized that and they went off from there. But the hunting aspect, and of course, was a bigger deal than I think it might be today back then. It was a rite of passage for people, for the young men in particular. It was a thing people could relate to. Imagine a screwball duck in the middle of the marsh. That's where it comes from.

Well, there's another Daffy one the next year, 1938, Daffy Duck and Egghead. Yeah. And I thought that was highly notable as well, again, just to continue. And then we're talking about them out of order from where, how they play on the, on the disc, but it starts with that very funny disclaimer, you know, characters portrayed or not, you know, there's a disclaimer at the beginning and it just gets crazier from there. Right.

Just, That's the beginning of the emergence of the Warner Brothers cartoon style of humor. The style, absolutely. Before that, as George has mentioned, the cartoons were based around a song and were pretty much of that three act, introduce a character and their family, danger, and then the resolution to the danger. Pretty much many, many cartoons had that scenario. This was the beginning of new ideas, new thinking.

I think, remind me, but Daffy Duck and Anket, even as the classic bit of talking back to the audience, not just breaking the fourth wall, but a person standing up, I believe. You know, and I mean, this was brand new. I always try to explain this to the classes I teach because to us, it's, it's we grew up with this, but to be in a theater where, where they're talking to somebody in

the audience and the silhouette of the character several rows ahead of you. Oh my God, it was an interactive experience. And it was also not the kind of thing Disney would ever do. It was just not what people were used to. Disney was the high watermark, the class, what a cartoon was. Warner's was the reflection of that. Warner's was the Saturday Night Live skit of it, the Mad Magazine parody of that. This was the beginning right there. The beginning of that style happens right there with the-

Well, introducing irreverent anarchy, anti-establishment, if you will. I mean, they just were, they were young, creative, talented innovators, and that's why their cartoons, in my mind, along with Avery, when he went to MGM, and Tom and Jerry, nobody made fun of your cartoons. And some companies made cartoons that were beautiful to look at and had no humor at all. Warner Brothers really takes the cake when it comes to comedy.

And of course, when Tex Avery left, he brought his own anarchy over to MGM. And I think that even influenced Tom and Jerry. Termite terrorists. And I think that even influenced Tom and Jerry. As much as we love the MGM cartoons, and we do, and we love Avery, but there's something about the Warner Brothers cartoons. That's something is, I've said this before, it's like the Beatles. I use that as an analogy, because it's these people, meaning the Warner Brothers crew of artists, the people who became the directors, Frank Tashland, Bob Clampett, their particular point of view, their skewed POV. But it was also the facilities of the studio. had first class compared to other studios like Walter Lantz, they had A-level budgets for these. They had talent. They had the music. They had Carl Stalling. They had Mel Blanc.

It was a combination of these factors that makes the Warner cartoon great. This collection really does personify that. Yeah. Well, I want to go now back to the one you mentioned earlier, Jerry, Birth of a Notion from 1947. You know, Daffy's looking for a winter home and he's trying to ingratiate himself to this dog and then there's this scientist. Yeah.

Peter Lorre needs a wishbone, a duck wishbone for his experiment. This is a wacky, awesome cartoon. This is one of the first ones that I think McKimson did and he animates on a lot of these things. He was like their best animator. As a kid, I actually was scared by this cartoon, even though it's so, it's wonderful.

The Peter Lorre caricature is so real looking to me. And he's so evil and he's so one of his own versus versus Daffy at maybe is screwy is really crazy, you know, slapping him, punching him, doing things to the protagonist that we normally don't even see, that they do. And it works. It's these two extremes at their most extreme in the cartoon world, in my opinion. And that's part of what makes it especially interesting. Yeah. Well said.

These three daffys, I mean, yeah. Well said. These three daffies, I mean, it's fantastic. I just thought. There are so many good daffies on this disc. There are some great bugs, cartoons, some of my favorites. I mean, every character is served well by the whole 50 film set. Yeah. You know, with obviously some of the cartoons not having central characters, but everybody gets a little bit of their screen time here.

Yeah. Well, why don't we talk about one of those that hasn't been on any of the collector's choice releases, that's Speedy Gonzales. You have two on here. You've got Cat Tales for two from 1953. He's the first one. Yes. Some might say we only have one on here because in that first one, he's really kind

of a little different than he, his character design is different. And they had, they, this was, it was a one-off. Again, what they would do is, I love that they did this. They would have to do X number of Bugs Bunnies. They'd have to do a Porky and a Daffy or some of the other Foghorns, some of the other characters that now became famous. But they always allowed themselves one or two each year, just miscellaneous subjects. That the kind of thing that brings us one froggy evening or you know the Ralph Phillips cartoons or whatever they would experiment with a new idea

new character that's what cat tales for two is it was never meant none of these are ever meant to be anything beyond the one-off and but the idea of Speedy Gonzalez you know, grabbed them. And the next year, McKibben said, didn't just keep that character, he kind of shared it with Fris Freling. Fris said, let me have a whack at that idea and redesigned the character,

made him a little more appealing. And got an Oscar. And got an Oscar, right. And that was the beginning of that series. Probably the last, I would say without just doing this really quick in my head, but that's probably the last great character that was a regular, you know, they developed a few other kind of characters later, but this might have been the latest one. You know, the Road Runner came about earlier. Even the Tasmanian Devil, which

McKimson came up with, I think comes out earlier for Speedy Gonzales' cartoon. So this is kind of the last of the great characters from the studio. And then you have the second one on there is the Gonzalez Tamales from 57. Yeah. After the Oscar. What's that? After the Oscar. Yes. After the Oscar.

And this one has all the town mice hire Sylvester to get Speedy. And I mean, it's so good. You know, they always had to come up with... That's the thing, I'll tell you. Other studios, lesser studios, they come up with some idea for the character premise. And then they just repeat it over and over again. You know, characters like, not to put them down, George knows I love these characters,

but characters like Casper or Maddy Mouse or something. It's really the same cartoon over and over again. At Warner's, they'd come up with a character, and with some very rare exceptions, they would always try to make the next cartoon, you know, different. It just, the character is the same. The scenario is a little different,

or a lot different in some cases. And that's, again, another one of the things that makes these cartoons repeatable and enjoyable. You can do a binge watch of a bunch of that one character because they're different. Each cartoon has a different story. Yeah. Well, I wanted to go back to one you mentioned earlier, Jerry, and that's that Banty Raids from 1963. Oh, yeah.

How about that? The Pets Patrolled. 1963. Oh yeah. sick man sick what I'll say what in the name of Jesse James do you suppose that is? And is this one McKimson's last foghorn leghorn? Without looking it up, I don't know. I don't think it is. Okay. looking it up. I don't know. I don't think it is. In fact, we, I think we put on the last set, I think we did a false hair, which is the last theatrical Bugs Bunny from that period. And that's 64 and it's directed by McKimson and Foghorn makes a cameo in that cartoon. So that really is the really last appearance of Foghorn by McKimson then. It's one of the later, later ones. It's interesting because of the oddball beatnik references in it. And it's a little more in tune of kind of what was going on at the time. Got the 60s slang, Groovy Man and you know.

Yeah, actually. Again, a demonstration of even that later date that they were not aimed at children. This was not a children's character. He was a swinger. Yeah. Like kicks. You know, they go off on that a little bit in the film. That's a cult classic, I think. A lot of people I know like that one in particular because of the strangeness. It's terrific.

And then you have a couple of Pepe Le Pew that you put on this release. Fans, you know, fans of Pepe have two on here. Odor Able Kitty from 1945. And that's the one where the male cat disguises himself. Well, if we didn't say it before, and we didn't, that makes another first cartoon, because that's the first Pepe Le Pew. He's not quite the character yet. In fact, he's not even... Right. I mean, there's a lot of things that are just off about that one, but it's great. I mean, it's Chuck Jones and it's 1945 and it looks great. And the Pest Perfumance, I believe is the name. And that one is one of my favorites because it takes place, I'm sorry to say this, I haven't

watched it again, but that's the one that takes place in a movie studio, right? Yeah. Yeah, I love that one. Yeah, that was terrific. That's really a classic, I think. Yeah. And they never really repeated, they would always do new variants of those gags where they're taking some French word or making it Americanizing. They did that a lot. I was always looking to see if they just repeated this again. They never did. They never repeated those type of gags. I love that about that series. They're really funny if you get it.

I will say this because Pepeppy's been, you know, had a problem in recent years, but people are forgetting that that's the joke. We're meant to laugh at him. We don't, we're not with him, you know, we're not the character he is. You know, we are laughing at how kind of stupid he is in terms of how he thinks he's going to get a lover in this

particular cartoon. He's going about it all wrong. And that's the point of the series. And that's why they're not wrong. They're not wrong. They're not wrong. Yeah. Well, we're going to talk about Bugs Bunny, but before we do, I did want to bring up these

terrific roadrunners. Gee Wiz from 1956 and Zoom and Bored from 1957. Zoom and Bored is one of my favorite Roadrunners. So good, right? Yeah. Yes. I'll tell you, if you watch them once in a while, as opposed to a binge watch on a set devoted to the Roadrunner. Well, all the Chuck Jones ones are good.

There's good stuff, but these are in particular great. Among the best. I say this because I have shown them in my little public programs. You just show one, the rest of the stuff on the program, like the set, or other characters and other things. Boy, does that kill. I'm saying this from showing it in a theater with an audience. Kill. Laughter. Today. These days. Part of the problem, there is no problem, but part of the problem of people watching Road Runner now is they're seeing it in the isolation of their home with nobody laughing around it.

Those cartoons are great. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think that makes, this is certainly something I would encourage people to get their friends to come over and have a communal viewing experience. Because there is nothing like watching a Warner Brothers cartoon with an audience. And Jerry and I have both, and I've been with him on several occasions when this has happened,

be in a movie theater and when that shield comes up, people go crazy. I think it speaks to the power of the excellence and resiliency of the Looney Tunes and Mary Melodies. When you have as many people over as you can comfortably fit in your home or apartment and show these discs. Do disc two and then have another party for disc one for people who want to dig deeper, whatever. Bring people over, make popcorn.

You know, this is the best way to see them. Technologically watching them in your home with this beautiful new presentation, but have that communal experience of watching with other people. It's the best way to do it. And I'll add something. I've never mentioned this before, but we had some students come over from a foreign country when I was in high school and they didn't speak English. We would watch these cartoons and we would all laugh in the same place. Especially the

Roadrunners because there's no English. I mean, there's really no dialogue. No dialogue, yeah. Yeah, there's no dialogue. So, the humor, everything just comes across through the action and not through the dialogue. And so those were always favorites, and we could all enjoy them together. So it was interesting how that crosses all language barriers, those roadrunners. Okay, okay, break it up. Show's over. Next demonstration tomorrow morning. Go on, scream.

Another day, another carrot. Oh, Rabbit, here, Bunny. Where are you, Bunny? Ah, there you are. What's up, Doc? Come along, little chum. The sale's over. We're transferring you to another department.

Ah, me. A rabbit's work is never done. Right in here, little chum. Hmm. Take it easy, buddy. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job.

I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. I'm going to get you a new job. Well, obviously there's a lot of Bugs Bunny on this release. And I know a lot of people, of course, you know, were anxiously waiting to get these all collected together. So we should talk about them,

starting with Hair Condition, 1945. Which is one of my favorite cartoons by far. It has, it's Jones, it has like bugs really locked down. Yeah. You know, five years into the progression after a while here in each director treated bugs a little differently. Yeah. A little differently.

But I am very partial to Jones take on bugs and the way he deals with the department store owner or manager or whatever in that cartoon who is a parody of a radio character of the time the great gilded sleeve which was a radio show with Harold Peary and there were even some great gilded sleeves movies that came out from RKO, which we did put on DVD as part of the Warner Garden collection. But they even have the joke in the cartoon. Bugs goes, ''Hey, you remind me of the great Gilder Snees.'' I do. I just love the inside jokes.

When he's trying on the shoes and there's just so much great stuff, so many gags, it's a perfect cartoon. It isn't the one that people talk about the way they'll talk about what's opera doc or rabbit seasoning. It isn't one of the absolute iconic Bugs cartoons, but it's absolutely one of the best. Yeah. So it's great to have this one on here. And then next we have another one from 45, Hair Trigger.

This is Bugs first encounter. Introduced a new character to the world, I believe. Yeah. Another first. How many firsts are on this set? Yeah. And that's of course Yosemite Sam for those listening and watching saying, who is it? And it's on a train. I mean, it's terrific. And they break that fourth wall at the end as well. I mean, this is just a really fun one.

I love that cartoon. It's so fun. So much fun. And it's fun to watch the evolution of Yosemite Sam. And for those who don't know, Yosemite Sam was very much based on the image of Fritz Frilling himself, you know, visually and possibly temperament as well. I can't speak to that, but Jerry, I bet could. That's what's been said. Yes. And that's they, you know, they were able to really, you know, animate him and, you know, they knew the character. They just didn't want to, but Freeling was cool with that, you know. He was totally, that's the beauty of it. So unpretentious,

so everybody in for delivering the laughs, making it look great, making it sound great. These cartoons are just to be treasured and that's what we're trying to do. I just have a soft spot for Yosemite Sam. I mean, I love it. And then of course, I just remember growing up and then, you know, you'd be on the road highway and there'd be a big truck and it would have those flaps, mud flaps and you'd be like, off. But that was the attitude. People I think really, you either know somebody or you are that type of attitude and it makes you laugh.

Or it's good if you can laugh at it, put it that way, knowing it about yourself or somebody else. So I just, that's a great one. And it's fun that that's the first appearance of Yosemite Sam. And then from 1946, you've got Rhapsody Rabbit. And George, we recently talked about your Rhapsody in Blue release. Right. And is this-

I was tempted. I deliberately did not put any cartoons or extras on that release because the film is so long and we've got the overture. I really wanted to keep it, you know, intact for what it was. But it was very tempting to put Rhapsody Rabbit on there. But Rhapsody Rabbit is classical music. And the irony of Rhapsody Rabbit is that it's basically the same plot device as Tom and Jerry and the Cat Concerto. Right.

And it's the same leader. And there's been a long debate of who came up with the idea first, because they're even spoofing the same piece of classical music. Yeah. That's the whole debate. We can't answer the question because it's a mystery that hasn't been solved. All the creators, though, in their day and in later years, speaking to fans and whatever, they all looked and saw.

And Cat Concerno won the Oscar by the way, the best he had made it short that year. But they say it was just a complete coincidence. And the only evidence of that really is the way the gags are different, you know, meaning it's just the premise. But that said, it does seem a little odd that that Bugs Bunny would be wearing a tuxedo giving a recital versus a mouse. That does seem more like something that Tom and Jerry would do. But that said, even Tom and Jerry didn't do that. They were normally in the home, chasing around the house. So it was an unusual concept for both characters. And it's kind of interesting to see how the directors could use both concepts and how they would do it.

I think everybody agrees they're both great. And very different. Yeah, there's nobody going, that one's better than this one. They're both great cartoons. Yeah, yeah. I going, that one's better than this one. Everybody, they're both great cartoons. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's fun to speculate these things and interesting to look into them, but just as entertainment, they're great. Oh boy, that's the old mix in it. Now let's uncork that right. Come on, come on, let's have a show here.

Let's really throw some letter. And then next you've got Rabbit Punch from 1948, which is, you know, it's a boxing match. It's Chuck Jones. It's kind of a classic. I think, you know, that's all I can really say about it. It's one of those classic. I think, you know, a lot of, that's all I can really say about it. It's one of those classic Chuck Jones. I mean, you know, lots of gags.

I don't even know what else this has. I don't know what else to say about it. Well, it just whets your appetite to want to watch Bunny Hugged. Right. Bunny Hugged, which was sort of a not remake, meaning it's not really a remake at all. It's wrestling as opposed to boxing.

The thematics. Yeah. That would make it great if you had to put on two cartoons. It would be great to just watch those two together. Those two together represent what I said before, which is how they had no way they were going to remake a cartoon. There are rare cases where they going to remake a cartoon. I mean, there are

rare cases where they did literally remake a cartoon, but very rare. They just took the basic premise. And in most cases, the second version, if you want to call it that, is many times better than the original. One, a cartoon I'm getting off topic, but one, a cartoon that approves that in my opinion, I think you'd agree with me, George, Back Alley Opera with Sylvester Mennets. Much better than Notes to You. It's a remake of an earlier Porky Pig,

but the remake is better. Much better. That is normal. Whenever they would remake something like that, it was better. Well, I think the big allure for me and many people about Bugs Bunny is that he just always gets the best of everybody, whoever his opponent is, whether it's a hunter or in this case, a boxer. And you know, just how he can get the best of people, make fun of them.

That's part of the allure. And he's... Well, he's a character we can relate to. He's offbeat. For me, as a New Yorker, he was me when I was going to high school. All the bad guys were the bullies in school. The fact that he always won, can be made him a hero to me, makes him a hero to a lot of people. That's why we love that character. Well, because of this release, I was interviewed by a writer for an article about this release. I was talking about how Chuck Jones is, you know, one of my, I would say,

favorite directors. It's really hard to say he's my, like, number one because I have such reverence for Avery and Clampett and Frilling for sure. Yep. But Chuck Jones, I was fortunate enough to get to interview. We interviewed 500 individuals that worked at either Warner Brothers, MGM, or RKO for an archival project that we did. We started in 1995 and it ended in 2011. And you see things from those interviews on our DVDs and our Blu-rays and on Turner Classic Movies. And I got to interview Chuck Jones. And I hadn't met him before, but he said to me about bugs and Daffy, something that I am sure he said as a forward line cemented to anyone when the subject came up, because it probably was asked the same questions.

He said, bugs bunny is the person we aspire to be. Daffy Duck is who we're afraid we really are. Right. And when he said it to me, it wasn't something I was really familiar with him saying. I was just knocked out by that. And loving these cartoons as much as I do and loving Bugs and Daffy as much as I do, it's so true. And that one little group of sentences says it all.

But we're so fortunate to be able to bring these cartoons out in this release to the people, people who supported Collector's Choice, made this broader release after the cartoons were getting overlooked in the new release department. And finally, One Archive is empowered to use our dedication to these cartoons to bring them out to the people who want to own them on their shelves Where nobody can take them away?

Well George that leads me to ask probably the question that everybody listening watching wants to know I bought volume one What's the future for the collector? It's looking pretty good. I think it will probably take us a little longer. It's not like we're working on volume two right now, even though Jerry and I have gotten our lists together, but we need to see how volume one sells and we are in a business to earn a profit for the shareholders of Warner Brothers

Discovery. We have to make sure this release is profitable. I believe it will be healthy in its profitability, but with that, we're looking at trying to broaden the scope of what we can include in these releases. And hopefully, if volume one is popular with consumers, that volume two is sure to follow. We've got a lot of animation projects in the works right now. And I think fans are gonna be very happy

with what's going to come in the ensuing months. This is a really wonderful release that I hope people can enjoy and share with their friends and just know that our goal is a volume two and to make it absolutely a knock out of the park as I think we've done here. I hope we've done here and we want to keep everybody happy. It's impossible to keep everyone happy, but we're trying our best. Well, George, I'm happy. Yeah, these are fantastic. And you know, I got the Blu-ray a little bit earlier than Street Date. So, as crazy as this sounds, I've watched them more than once because the first viewing was just, I was

kind of just overtaken by how beautiful they looked and they sounded. And then upon rewatching, I just kind of just sat back and just you know, just enjoying it again and just really getting to get into the storyline and the beauty of these. Well, that's wonderful. Yeah, so if it takes a little bit longer, there are 50 cartoons on here. And it takes a while to watch. And there will be 50 on the next volume,

and we're gonna follow the same path. And it's exciting the possibilities. We're tossing around a lot of different ideas. Right, right, right. Well, as always, Jerry, George, I love these conversations. So much fun to talk about these classic films, as we call them. So thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Thank you, Tim and Jerry, as always, my friend. Thank you.

Well, you've been listening to part two of our discussion about the Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Volume One release with Jerry Beck and George Felstein. If you haven't yet had a chance to listen to the first part of this episode, just look in our YouTube channel or on our podcast show list and you can listen to that at any time. I think you'll enjoy it. Until next time you've been listening to Tim Millard.

Stay slightly obsessed about animation.