Details

Samenvatting

Back Alley Oproar (1948) (7:23)
Elmer tries to sleep, but Sylvester decides the time is ripe to practise his singing. Directed by Friz Freleng.

Book Revue (1946) (6:45)
The first of two cartoons in this set in which books come to life, with many puns ensuing. Daffy Duck plays a character apparently based on Danny Kaye impersonating a Russian crooner, if you can imagine such a thing. Directed by Bob Clampett.

A Corny Concerto (1943) (7:39)
This Bob Clampett effort is a Fantasia parody hosted by Elmer, which starts with Porky and Willoughby hunting Bugs and turning Tales From the Vienna Woods into a ballet. A second section has the Blue Danube Waltz with what looks like a miniature Daffy as the ugly duckling trying to join a family of swans. Music is of course by Johann Strauss II.

Have You Got Any Castles? (1938) (7:09)
This "books come alive" cartoon was directed by Frank Tashlin, who later became a celebrated director of fast-paced live action comedies, often with Bob Hope or Lucille Ball. There are many plays on words and appearances by Hollywood stars of the day, notably in The House of Seven Gables.

Hollywood Steps Out (1941) (7:25)
When Hollywood steps out, Tex Avery is there to capture it. Set in a nightclub, this cartoon features caricatures of everyone from Buster Keaton to J. Edgar Hoover. It includes a lot of people who would be unfamiliar to most viewers, like Arthur Treacher, Ned Sparks, Kay Kyser, Jerry Colonna and Mischa Auer, and some who are very familiar, including Cary Grant, Greta Garbo ("ouch"), and Cagney, Raft and Bogart.

I Love To Singa (1936) (7:55)
A Tex Avery effort that seems to be designed just to plug the annoying title song. A small owl (named "Owl Jolson" as we later find out) rebels against the classical music bent of his father and, thrown out of the house for his trouble, decides to audition for the radio show of Jack Bunny.

Katnip Kollege (1938) (7:08)
Johnny the cat doesn't swing, which makes him an outcast amongst his college mates until he learns the rules. Directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton.

The Hep Cat (1942) (6:01)
The Hep Cat fancies himself as a ladies' man, which gives a dog chasing him the idea of using a cat puppet. Not the best cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, though this enters history as the first Looney Tunes cartoon in colour. Looney Tunes was the low budget black and white label, while Merrie Melodies usually were in colour with higher budgets.

Three Little Bops (1957) (6:27)
One of Friz Freleng's finest hours in this bop adaptation of the Three Little Pigs story. The wolf wants to join the the Three Little Bops, but he's not hot enough to be cool. Impeccably timed with the music and Stan Freberg sings very well indeed.

One Froggy Evening (1955) (6:36)
A one-off appearance by a singing frog is one of Chuck Jones' best remembered cartoons. A demolition worker finds a singing frog in an 1892 cornerstone and thinks his fortune is made. But the frog doesn't play ball when an audience is present.

Rhapsody Rabbit (1946) (7:19)
Bugs tries to play Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 but has to deal with a rogue mouse in the piano. This Friz Freleng effort is very cleverly done, with Bugs pulling out every bizarre style of playing the piano except the Chico Marx pistol-style.

Show Biz Bugs (1957) (6:46)
A lesser Friz Freleng cartoon in which Daffy tries to outdo his vaudeville partner Bugs. It features the act that can only be done once. This cartoon was the basis for the Bugs-Daffy show business rivalry that lasted for years.

Stage Door Cartoon (1944) (7:48)
Elmer is after Bugs, but unfortunately for him chases him into a vaudeville theatre, where Elmer is put upon to perform. Directed by Friz Freleng.

What's Opera, Doc? (1957) (6:37)
Chuck Jones' famous take on the operas of Richard Wagner sees Elmer trying to "kill the wabbit". The backgrounds by Maurice Noble are remarkable. I note that some reviewers describe this as a 7 minute summary of the Ring cycle, which it certainly is not. Apart from the "kill the wabbit" music, which is the Walkürenritt from Die Walküre, and Siegfried's horn theme, the rest of the music is not from the Ring at all. The storm music is from the overture to The Flying Dutchman, and virtually all of the other music is the Pilgrim's Chorus from Tannhäuser, including the music for the duet "Return, My Love" which has lyrics by Michael Maltese.

Although unnoticed at the time of release, this is generally regarded as one of the best Warners' cartoons, though it is more clever and impressive than amusing and probably plays better when you know the music. This cartoon is also probably a bit too intense for the very young.

You Ought To Be In Pictures (1940) (9:21)
A strange black and white mixture of animation and live action by Friz Freleng. The backgrounds are all live action or photographs with Porky and Daffy being the only cartoon characters. Leon Schlesinger plays himself and the studio guard is Michael Maltese. Daffy persuades Porky to break his contract and try to get into features, but Porky has trouble just getting in the gate.

All of the cartoons are in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The original aspect ratio was 1.37:1. Most of the opening titles are shown in this aspect ratio, slightly window-boxed.

Like the other releases in this series the transfers are excellent. Each cartoon is sharp and clear, looking much better than it ever has on television. Colours are bright, rich and vibrant. Contrast levels are very good and there is of course no problem with shadow detail.

I did not see any film to video artefacts, though as mentioned in my review of the previous title some interlacing issues were noticed in the Region 1 set. Film artefacts are mainly limited to problems caused in the original filming, such as dust between the cels. There are also some minor instances of damage which probably occurred in the original filming process and some of the older cartoons show small amounts of grain. One of the cartoons (Katnip Kollege) has a reel change marking at the end.

Optional English subtitles are provided. The subtitles usually accurately represent the dialogue, and are well-timed and easy to read. There are also Hard of Hearing subtitles which describe the sound effects and music.