This fourth volume in Warner Archive’s Collectors Choice series continues raiding the vaults for more Looney Tunes obscurities from the golden years (and a few which aren’t). Like the previous volumes, it showcases 27 shorts, some of which haven’t been available on home video for years…if ever.
This one goes way back to 1937 with an absolute charmer. “Streamlined Greta Green,” a Friz Freleng-directed one-off featuring a world of personified automobiles and a defiant little car named Junior who cuts class to visit the bustling city. From the same era - and perhaps even more obscure - is “Dangerous Dan McFoo,” directed by Tex Avery.
At the opposite end of the timeline are shorts from the 1960s, generally considered the nadir of the studio’s output, when budgets were slashed and creativity was on the wane. This is best/worst exemplified by the dreadful “Devil’s Feud Cake,” which is a cheaply cobbled collection of scenes from previous Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam shorts to assemble a “new” story. Why it was chosen to represent the studio is a complete mystery. Also from this era is “Road to Andalay” with perpetually obnoxious Speedy Gonzalez. Conversely, “Hopalong Casualty” is another Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote classic (the one with earthquake pills!), as is “D’Fightin’ Ones,” Freleng’s clever take on The Defiant Ones.
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| Kitty Krueger. |
In between, shorts range from interesting curiosities to resurrected gems. Sylvester and Tweety show up in “Muzzle Tough” and the hilarious “Hyde and Go Tweet,” but there are also a couple of earlier ones with similar characters who predate them (“The Cagey Canary” & “Double Chaser”). Since we all need more Foghorn Leghorn in our lives, this disc offers “Henhouse Henry” and “Leghorn Swoggled.” Sam the Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf punch the clock for another wild workday in “Double or Mutton.” Daffy Duck is extensively represented by “Along Came Daffy,” “Holiday for Drumsticks,” “Stork Naked,” “Muscle Tussle” and “Quack Shot.”
A couple of one-offs pop up here and there, the best being Chuck Jones’ “Fox Pop.” As for Looney Tunes’ biggest star, aside from the aforementioned “Devil’s Feud Cake,” Bugs Bunny only shows up in one other cartoon, “Lighter Than Hare,” which (along with “Stork Naked”) appears as a bonus feature. But despite his comparative lack of screen time, Looney Tunes Collectors Choice Vol. 4 is another revealing collection of lesser-known shorts. Few would rank among the studio’s best, but collectors and completists will find a lot to like.
EXTRA KIBBLES
BONUS CARTOONS - Lighter Than Hare, with Bugs Bunny; Stork Naked, with Daffy Duck.
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