I Will Kiss Bugs Bunny's Ass

Consider this the companion piece to my post/rant on Mickey Mouse. This is more than just about Bugs Bunny, but the whole Looney Tunes family. Looney Tunes was it as far as cartoons were concerned when I was a kid, and it still is today. I’d watch my MGM cartoons if they were on like Tom and Jerry, but nothing compared to Looney Tunes. It’s a cornerstone of my childhood, and part of what makes me who I am today.

I had T-shirts and hats. I bought up all the glasses with the characters. I even wrote a letter complaining that there was no Elmer Fudd glass. How could they not make an Elmer Fudd glass? Elmer Fudd! I remember as a kid watching Chuck Jones on some talk show showing how to draw Bugs Bunny and Road Runner. I couldn’t find a pencil and paper fast enough. I practiced and practiced those techniques for weeks. They never really turned out very good. I did come close on drawing a passable likeness of Road Runner. I still dream of being able to afford cells from the cartoons. Being such a fan I was disappointed that the availability of the cartoons for retail was rather limited. That is till about two years ago when Warner Bros. began releasing their 4 disc DVD Golden Collections. There are three out currently, and I can’t rave enough about them. They are in the truest sense: genius. Some have complained about there not being a set that just has all of the most popular cartoons (What’s Opera Doc? Rabbit of Seville, Duck Amuck, Rabbit Seasoning, One Froggy Evening, etc.). Honestly, they are spreading them out in order to sell the sets, and there are some misfires of cartoons included. Warner has done an outstanding job on these discs. They not only did a great job of remastering them. The cartoons look and sound great. They have also dug up some great shorts and docs on the history of Looney Tunes. From they documentary about the beginning of Warner Bros. cartoon division to a Tex Avery interview to the Bugs Bunny 50th Anniversary special. I still haven’t even included the numerous commentaries and the fact that they are all uncut. There is no PC editing like when they air on TV. The one major downside of this is the third set has Whoopi making a statement about the non-PC elements in the cartoons. Whoopi? Why not just have the Aunt Jemima bottle make the statement?

Finally, let me say that adding up all the cartoons on the three sets comes out to 160 cartoons. That’s a crap load of comedy gold. And still there are cartoons that I’m hoping will be on the 4th set. One of those being the Ralph Phillips cartoons: “A to Zzzz” and “Boyhood Daze.” If you don’t remember, Ralph is the boy who daydreams about being a pilot, George Washington, and other historical figures. He’s a definite precursor to Calvin and Hobbs, and onemy all time favorites.

So if you’ve got the blues, or are stuck in rut do yourself a favor and at least Netflix some of these discs. It will do you some good.