Hey, laughing boy! No more buwwets!
Wednesday, October 29, 2003Yesterday I splurged and purchased not only the 4-disc Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set, but also the 3-disc Spongebob Squarepants Season 1 set. It should be enough irreverrant animated goodness to last me well into… well, next week at least.
I can count the number of times I’ve seen Spongebob on TV on one hand, so the DVDs are turning out to be a real treat since I haven’t seen most of what’s on them.
But what really needs to be mentioned is the Looney Tunes set. I knew which shorts were included in this batch, but I wasn’t fully aware of what extras were included. I’m pleased to say that the site has far more extras than I was anticipating…
First off, many of the shorts include audio commentaries by animation historians Michael Barrier and Jerry Beck, animation director Greg Ford and voice artist Stan Freberg, all of whom really know their stuff. In addition to the commentaries, several of the shorts have a music-only track to showcase the manic orchestrations of Carl Stalling.
There are also a couple of featurettes and a documentary called Irreverent Imagination on the chracters and themes of the shorts which feature interviews from the creators, their offspring, and contemporary filmmakers such as Joe Dante, the director of the I-can’t-believe-this-was-made Looney Tunes Back in Action and the Looneytunesian Gremlins movies.
But the real gem in the collection is The Boys from Termite Terrace, a documentary from 1975 hosted by John Canemaker and features interview clips with Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Bob Clampett. Termite Terrace, is the affectionate nickname of the rundown building in which the Warner Brothers animation department was situated, and while the information isn’t new to people who’ve studied the history of Warner animation, it’s a thrill to see these masters talk about their craft.
Topping it all off is another documentary from the Cartoon Network about the “lost cartoons” of Warner Brothers, a posthumous introduction by Chuck Jones, still galleries, pencil tests, trailers, Mel Blanc recording session outtakes, and even more (seriously, these DVDs are oozing with added material). It will take a while for me to get through everything, but it’s going to be fun.... Even just browsing the discs last night made me giddy.
Now, I just have to wait for Warner to release more sets, because there are clearly some important shorts missing from this batch.
Fink says:
I bought it too! Absolutely incredible stuff. I applaud them for not editing the material too.
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kartooner says:
I remember reading about Termite Terrace in Chuck Jones’ Chuck Amuck, his semi-autobiographical (Looney Tunes) book.
I remember wanted to get a signed copy shortly before his death. When I had the means to do so they sold out on his web site.
This proving celebrity death ups the ante on memorabilia.
Robot Johnny says:
I bought a copy of Chuck Amuck when it came out. I remember I was still in grade school, because I’d read it at recess! I still have the book, although it’s seen some wear and tear.
Before his death Jones wrote a ‘sequel’ called Chuck Reducks, but I haven’t read it yet.
kartooner says:
I’ve actually read them both. I found them hidden amongst the other cartoon/design books at my local community college library.
I remember thinking how much of an influence Chuck Jones and Looney Tunes in general had on me. The impact simply cannot be conveyed with words alone.
In short, I need to get that DVD and just added it to my Amazon list. Which is funny, I only created one in the first place to track things I want. This way when Christmas rolls in I won’t sit there with a dumfounded look when someone asks me what I want.
Zombie Claire says:
Hm now that your nerdliness shows itself with the purchase of Looney Tunes DVDs I ask of you: COME SEE ‘LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION’ WITH ME. It has Brendan Fraser BEING GOOFY, you KNOW YOU WANT TO SEE IT.