Looney Tunes Collector's Choice is a series of Blu-ray discs from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Warner Archive division collecting various Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical animated short subjects from Warner Bros. Cartoons. According to Jerry Beck, the aim of this series is to release Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts that have been previously unavailable in restored form to animation fans and collectors on the various DVD and Blu-ray sets, such as the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Looney Tunes Super Stars, and Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection sets. Roughly 400 shorts had yet to be released in said DVD or Blu-ray format before the release of this series, but the series also includes shorts that were previously released as bonus features on various Warner Bros. DVDs. However those shorts included as bonus features were usually presented in unrestored form, whereas the Collector’s Choice series uses newly restored versions.
This is the first Looney Tunes Blu-ray to be released through Warner Archive, as opposed to the main home video division (second overall home media release after the Porky Pig 101 DVD set in 2017). Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 was announced on March 28, 2023[1] and released on May 30.[2] Keeping with tradition with other Golden Age of Animation releases by Warner Archive (such as Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s and Tex Avery Screwball Classics), Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 is a single-disc set with no bonus material. The set contains 20 cartoons that were previously unavailable on DVD or Blu-ray, presented uncut and digitally restored.
Animation historian and curator, Jerry Beck and Warner Archive President George Feltenstein indicated that strong sales of Volume 1 could result in future volumes, with more cartoons and multiple discs.[3] On September 18, due to strong sales of Volume 1, Warner Archive announced Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 2 — which included 25 cartoons and was released on December 12, 2023.[4] On January 23, 2024, Warner Archive announced Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 3, which was released on March 12.[5]
On July 30, 2024, Warner Archive announced they are working on Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 4 with an intended release date of November 26.[6] A four-disc set, Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volumes 1–4, containing the four volumes in the series will also be released on the same date.[7]
| Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 | |
| Director: | Chuck Jones Friz Freleng Arthur Davis Robert McKimson Frank Tashlin |
| Producer: | Leon Schlesinger Eddie Selzer John W. Burton |
| Starring: | Mel Blanc |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 was released on May 30, 2023. The set includes 20 cartoons- none of which have previously been released on DVD or Blu-ray before. They are all presented uncut and digitally restored.
Beanstalk Bunny and Catch as Cats Can were sourced from new 4K scans from the original camera negatives.[8] According to Jerry Beck, the set was delayed for almost a full year because the Library of Congress had difficulty shipping the camera negatives for Catch as Cats Can to the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank. The other cartoons on this set had previously been restored for HBO Max streaming service in 2020[9] - with HBO removing many of them earlier that same year.[10] However, for this release Warner Archive corrected many of the errors initially made by HBO Max, such as Photoshopped titles.
| Title | Characters | Year | Director | Series | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beanstalk Bunny | Bugs, Daffy, Elmer | 1955 | Chuck Jones | MM | |
| 2 | Catch as Cats Can | Sylvester | 1947 | Arthur Davis | MM | |
| 3 | The Unruly Hare | Bugs, Elmer | 1945 | Frank Tashlin | MM | |
| 4 | His Bitter Half | Daffy | 1950 | Friz Freleng | MM | |
| 5 | Daffy Doodles | Daffy, Porky | 1946 | Robert McKimson | LT | |
| 6 | Cracked Quack | Daffy, Porky | 1952 | Friz Freleng | MM | |
| 7 | Little Orphan Airedale | Charlie, Porky | 1947 | Chuck Jones | LT | |
| 8 | Hip Hip-Hurry! | Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner | 1958 | Chuck Jones | MM | |
| 9 | Hot-Rod and Reel! | Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner | 1959 | Chuck Jones | LT | |
| 10 | Greedy for Tweety | Sylvester, Tweety, Granny, Hector | 1957 | Friz Freleng | LT | |
| 11 | Stooge for a Mouse | Sylvester, Hector | 1950 | Friz Freleng | MM | |
| 12 | A Mouse Divided | Sylvester | 1953 | Friz Freleng | MM | |
| 13 | A Fractured Leghorn | Foghorn | 1950 | Robert McKimson | MM | |
| 14 | Plop Goes the Weasel | Foghorn, Barnyard | 1953 | Robert McKimson | LT | |
| 15 | Tale of Two Mice | Babbit and Catstello | 1945 | Frank Tashlin | LT | |
| 16 | The Foxy Duckling | 1947 | Arthur Davis | MM | ||
| 17 | Two Gophers from Texas | Goofy Gophers | 1948 | Arthur Davis | MM | |
| 18 | Doggone Cats | Sylvester | 1947 | Arthur Davis | MM | |
| 19 | What's Brewin', Bruin? | The Three Bears | 1948 | Chuck Jones | LT | |
| 20 | The Bee-Deviled Bruin | The Three Bears | 1949 | Chuck Jones | MM |
| Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 2 | |
| Director: | Chuck Jones Friz Freleng Tex Avery Robert McKimson Frank Tashlin Arthur Davis Abe Levitow Norman McCabe Maurice Noble |
| Producer: | Leon Schlesinger Eddie Selzer John W. Burton David H. DePatie |
| Starring: | Mel Blanc |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 2 was released on December 12, 2023. This set included 25 cartoons never before released on DVD or Blu-Ray - five more than on Volume 1.[11] In contrast to the previous volume, Volume 2 focuses more on miscellaneous "one-shot" cartoons and characters.
Like the previous volume, only two cartoons (Brother Brat and Ghost Wanted) were specifically restored for this release, while the other cartoons were previously restored for HBO Max and Me-TV, with Warner Archive correcting the Photoshopped titles (most notably on A Hound for Trouble).[12] In addition Cross Country Detours had its original opening title sequence restored, as opposed to the Blue Ribbon re-issue titles featured on previous releases.[13]
Volume 2 includes the following cartoons:
| Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 3 | |
| Director: | Chuck Jones Robert McKimson Friz Freleng Tex Avery Arthur Davis Gerry Chiniquy Earl Duvall Maurice Noble |
| Producer: | Leon Schlesinger Eddie Selzer John W. Burton David H. DePatie |
| Starring: | Mel Blanc |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 3 was released on March 12, 2024.
Like the previous volumes only two cartoons were specifically restored for this release - Mexican Joyride and Riff Raffy Daffy - while all the other cartoons were previously restored for HBO Max and MeTV, with Warner Archive fixing most of the Photoshopped title cards. Riff Raffy Daffy was originally released on the DVD set but in an unrestored form. For this release Riff Raffy Daffy was given a brand-new transfer. Since the original separation exposure negatives are missing, critics noted that while Riff Raffy Daffy doesn't look as pristine as the other cartoons on the set, it still looks far superior than on previous releases.[14] Hobo Bobo also had its original opening titles restored.
Volume 3 contains the following cartoons:[15]
| Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 4 | |
| Director: | Friz Freleng Robert McKimson Chuck Jones Tex Avery Bob Clampett Arthur Davis Norman McCabe Hawley Pratt |
| Producer: | Leon Schlesinger Eddie Selzer John W. Burton David H. DePatie Friz Freleng |
| Starring: | Mel Blanc |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 4 will be released on November 26, 2024. The set will contain 25 cartoons - including a newly restored version of Peck Up Your Troubles (1945) - as well as two bonus cartoons: Stork Naked (1955) and Lighter Than Hare (1960) presented in their original 4:3 aspect ratios (both cartoons were previously released on the Looney Tunes Super Stars' DVD sets, however were cropped to 16:9).[16]
The set will include the following cartoons:[17]
| Title | Characters | Year | Director | Series | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Lighter Than Hare | Bugs, Sam | 1960 | Friz Freleng | MM |
| B2 | Stork Naked | Daffy | 1955 | Friz Freleng | MM |