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Looney Tunes Home Video Thoughts #7 - Golden Jubilee 24 Karat Collection: The Tribute Cassettes (1985)

October 1985 - Warner Bros. Cartoons Golden Jubilee 24 Karat Collection.

Format: VHS/Betamax

Price: $19.98

Special Thanks to Greg Method for this information:

The year was 1985, there were no compilation films being produced. And it just happened to be 50th birthday of Porky Pig (even the 50th anniversary of Tex Avery joining Termite Terrace). Warner Bros. and Warner Home Video decided to make it a celebration of the free-willing/anarchic spirit that made these shorts famous and beloved.

Introducing the "Warner Bros. Cartoons Golden Jubilee 24 Karat Collection"

This VHS/Betamax series priced at $19.98, a low retail price, consists of nine hour long videocassettes each containing eight uncut cartoons from the post-1948 WB library (three in this collection are in black and white). Warner decided to pick the best of the best.

With liner notes provided by film historian, Leonard Maltin (critic of Entertainment Tonight and the author of "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons), these videos include 4 of Warner’s 5 Oscar winning cartoons, classic fan favorites, and even some rare oddities.

Released on October 7, 1985, it made up a total of 72 cartoons. And it sold well.

"The videos were released ideally with the intent of consumers buying them to take home and share with their families, but they would nevertheless also become popular rental staples for the next two decades. To fulfill retailer pre-orders, Warner Home Video shipped 200,000 units from across the series (almost unheard of for what was considered a "non-theatrical" release), and by mid-October sales climbed to 250,000 copies. To help promote the series and anniversary celebration, Trix cereal had a mail-in offer for a specially packaged version of The Looney Tunes Video Show #1, a film and art exhibition opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a brand new one-hour television special was produced for NBC featuring a slew of celebrities, Warner Bros. arranged to have Bugs awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and--tying it all back to the home video industry--Bugs became the spokesrabbit for Sony's new SuperBeta player." - Greg Method, The Bugs Bunny Video Guide

Also, the Museum of Modern Art in New York put together an exhibit called "That's Not All Folks!": Warner Bros. Cartoons Golden Jubilee" from Sep 13, 1985 to Jan 21, 1986. Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Mel Blanc attended a black tie gala to kick off the event. The exhibit even included weekly screenings of cartoon favorites from 35mm prints. And Six Flags parks throughout America are now welcoming the Looney Tunes as walk-around characters as after the chain acquired Marriott's Great America theme park. They have been a theme park tradition ever since.

Along with a newly animated title sequence by Nancy Beiman, the cartoons featured received brand new 35mm prints straight from the original camera negatives. They were transferred onto 1 inch videotapes. The opening title cards included colored borders in order to fully see the credits. This would eventually be part of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network’s packages of Looney Tunes shorts.

This video series is popular among Looney Tunes video collectors.

For this post, we will be looking at the "Salute To" cassettes. And the first is "A Salute to Mel Blanc". The eight cartoons on this video features some of Mel Blanc's greatest vocal performances. Here are Leonard's liner notes.

"The greatest star of Warner Bros. cartoons was never seen on camera. Talk about unsung heroes: Mel Blanc’s voice has brought life to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Pepe Le Pew, Yosemite Sam, Tweety and Sylvester, and countless others for nearly half a century.

It’s all the more remarkable when you realize that the dialogue for these cartoons is recorded before the animators go to work...which means that Blanc must imagine the action from a series of sketches and create his comic performances on the spot. What imagination and what energy go into such a feat!

Mel has met every challenge hurled into his path by writers and directors—and he never seems to run out of voices. (In fact, Daffy Duck and Sylvester were the same voice at one time but Daffy Duck’s was played back faster in the recording process.) Two highlights in this program are the uncontrollable laughter of Porky Pig in Robin Hood Daffy and the unforgettable aria sung by Bugs Bunny in The Rabbit of Seville.

Many performers are labeled “unique” in show business but Blanc truly fits the bill: he’s one-of-a-kind and cartoon fans everywhere salute him." - Leonard Maltin

"A Salute to Mel Blanc" kicks off with "Robin Hood Daffy", a classic carton where Daffy Duck steps into the shoes of Errol Flynn's Robin Hood but Friar Porky doesn't believe him. Notable examples include Daffy's opening song and Porky Pig's uncontrollable laughter which then Daffy starts laughing along too.

Next is "Bedevilled Rabbit" where he highlight Mel's performance of the Tasmanian Devil, and Bugs Bunny serving Taz a wild turkey surprise.

In, "Bad Ol' Putty Tat" features the earliest Tweety short that WB owned at the time. It highlights Mel's talents voicing Tweety, plus the badminton scene and Sylvester disguises his finger as a female bird are highlights.

Next is "Ballot Box Bunny" where it highlights the back and forth between Mel voicing Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.

Then we got "Past Perfumance" where it highlights calming and suave chops from Mel voicing Pepé Le Pew. And Pepé doing Romeo and Juliet, and Tarzan are memorable spots.

Next is "Little Boy Boo" highlighting Mel's Southern draw voicing Foghorn Leghorn.

Then in "Who's Kitten Who", we highlight Sylvester and Sylvester Jr. Mel voicing Sylvester is just excellent in this one as he gets pummeled by a baby kangaroo who he mistakes as a giant mouse.

Finally, "Rabbit of Seville" closes the video and it does so very well. Here, we have Mel as Bugs singing an aria with Arthur Q. Bryan set to Rossini's Barber of Seville. And the musical and comedic timing from Chuck Jones and his animators make this a fun one to watch.

Final Summary: "A Salute to Mel Blanc" successfully highlights Mel's wide range of vocal and comedic powerhouse talent with nearly every major Looney Tunes character. The selection of shorts were well balanced. And it shows that Mel is a great singer. He can sing a aria with Arthur Q. Bryan.

Next is "A Salute to Friz Freleng". Featured here are some of Friz Freleng's best works with some underrated classics included. This includes 3 of the 5 Academy Awards that Termite Terrace has won. Here are Leonard's liner notes.

Not many people can claim an active role in animation over seven decades, but Friz Freleng can. He learned his craft working for Walt Disney in the 1920s, then worked on the very first Warner Bros. cartoon in 1930—and supervised some of the latest animation to come from the studio in the 1980s!

If you’ve ever enjoyed the escapades of Tweety and Sylvester, the fast-paced Speedy Gonzales cartoons, or the running battle between Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, then you’ve been entertained by the masterful Freleng. Though he’s worked with all the Looney Tunes stars, his longest association was with the aforementioned characters—and they helped him win four Academy Awards. (Three Oscar winners are here: Birds Anonymous, a delightful twist on the Tweety and Sylvester formula; Speedy Gonzales, in which the fastest mouse in all of Mexico comes into his own; and Knighty Knight Bugs, with Yosemite Sam donning armor and shield to become the Black Knight.)

Freleng’s specialty was the musical cartoon (see Show Biz Bugs), but no matter what the subject, he always seemed to hit the right note. Though his given name is Isadore and his screen billing was usually I. Freleng, he’s always been known as Friz—and you can often find products advertising something called “Friz” in the background of his cartoons! Whatever this mystery product might be, it’s certainly been the right ingredient for great cartoon entertainment throughout the history of Warner Bros. - Leonard Maltin.

First is the Oscar-winning "Birds Anonymous" starring Sylvester and Tweety, and they do something different formula but its a clever reference to substance abuse as Sylvester tries to not get in the habit of eating a bird.

"High Diving Hare" is definitely a fun one as Yosemite Sam forces Bugs Bunny to jump off a dive but the opposite happens with great examples of pacing and musical timing.

Next is the Oscar-winning "Speedy Gonzales" as Sylvester is paired up with a redesigned and finished version of the fastest mouse of Mexico. We start with the premise of how Speedy comes to the rescue for a group of mice. The gags build up to a loud conclusion.

Then, in "A Mouse Divided", we see a rare solo outing with Sylvester as he is surprised with a baby mouse at his doorstep thanks to a drunken stork. He has a change of heart leading to a hilarious mishap.

In "Bunker Hill Bunny", Bugs and Yosemite Sam face off during the Revolutionary War.

Then, in the classic "Show Biz Bugs", Freleng puts his own spin on the Bugs and Daffy rivalry as it is focused on building up the gags as well as musical timing.

"Greedy for Tweety" is another fun Tweety and Sylvester short, but the comedic timing and pacing is definitely on Sylvester and Hector the Bulldog. The usual chase starts at the very beginning until they wind up at the hospital providing some very funny gags.

Then closing the tape is the Oscar-winning "Knighty Knight Bugs", Bugs as a court jester races against Black Knight sam to obtain the singing sword. Freleng's comedy excels when Sam is paired up with a sneezing dragon and explosions.

Final Summary: "A Salute to Friz Freleng" highlights how he takes his characters and formulas and put them in different scenarios all while still making them funny. Plus, you can see his knack for musical timing in shorts like "Show Biz Bugs". A mix of classics+favorites make this a great tape.

The last of the "tribute" cassettes is "A Salute to Chuck Jones". This is the finest collection of Chuck Jones' best works. One of them won an Academy Award. One is part of the "hunting trilogy" and two are inducted into the National Film Registry. Here are Leonard's liner notes.

Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote owe a debt of thanks to Charles M. Jones—better known as Chuck. He was one of the unsung heroes who brought these characters to life—and put his special stamp on each cartoon. (Bugs Bunny may have been the same basic character in every short—but only Jones could get a laugh just by having him wriggle his eyebrow!)

Here are eight animated gems, wonderful entertainment from a master of the cartoon medium. Jones and his ace writer Michael Maltese put such old favorites as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck into ingenious new settings—from the outer space of Duck Dodgers to the operatic world of What’s Opera, Doc? He also created such cartoon stars as Pepe Le Pew, the Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote. You’ll see Pepe Le Pew’s (and Chuck’s) Academy Award-winning For Scent-imental Reasons and a prime example of the Road Runner series, in which Jones explored endless variations on a single—hilarious—theme...with a little help from the Acme Company.

Jones’s cartoons are not only funny; they’re clever. These are not just “kiddie entertainment”; they’re films everyone can enjoy. Watch the byplay between Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny in Rabbit Seasoning or the inspired lunacy of that fanciful fable One Froggy Evening and you’ll see why Chuck Jones has earned the accolades of critics, colleagues, and millions of fans around the world. - Leonard Maltin.

Starting off the take is a cartoon that spun off into its only TV series many years later, that is "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century". One of the Daffy and Porky genre parodies takes them on an outer space adventure. Daffy encounters Marvin the Martian and its a battle of wits between the two.

Next is the Oscar-winning "For Scent-imental Reasons" as this cartoon establishes the entire Pepé Le Pew formula. From its French/European setting, to the setup of a black female cat getting a white stripe on her back (either by accident, against her will, or on purpose). If one watches this cartoon, you can see that Le Cat doesn't want to be close to Pepé simply because he stinks. But she does love him back when he doesn't smell after getting dunked in a can of paint, and in this case, Le Cat couldn't smell.

Next is the classic "One Froggy Evening", where a man finds a singing frog that can only perform for him. Hilarity ensues as this man goes through all this trouble to get this frog sing in public. Also a great cautionary tale of greed. Lots of great animation and timing.

Next is the 2nd of Chuck Jones' hunting trilogy, "Rabbit Seasoning". The back and forth between Bugs and Daffy is just amazing. Bugs dressing in drag to fool Elmer. Plus, pronouns are quite valuable to get off of a situation like being hunted.

"High Note", without any dialogue, the comedy is definitely through the animation of these musical notes. A rare and underrated classic.

"Feed the Kitty" is indeed a fan favorite. With barely any dialogue, Marc Anthony trying the hide that adorable kitten he befriended and took home with him. Stuff happens when his owner decides to make cookies just for the heck of it.

"Zoom and Bored" is one of Chuck's best Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Each gag in this one goes to show how the Coyote just fails. Including the 1st gag with Wile E. in a cloud of dust and not realizing he is about to fall. Building a catapult and setting up a harpoon all end in comical pay-offs.

Interested that Chuck Jones' unit doctored their time cards saying they were working on this one but in reality, they were working on what is considered to be one of the greatest cartoons ever made.

Closing the tape is indeed a true Chuck Jones classic, "What's Opera, Doc?" starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. 100+ camera shots, brilliant art direction, perfect performance by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, and Milt Franklyn's Wagner arrangements are spot on. A great closer. Balancing highbrow culture with low brow cartoon comedy works here. Plus, Bugs dressing in drag including the song and dance sequence is a highlight. One has to witness this short as this was the first animated short to be inducted into the National Film Registry and was declared #1 in the 50 Greatest Cartoons by Jerry Beck in 1994.

"A Salute to Chuck Jones" is a terrific look at the works of one of the best/influential animators in addition to Clampett, Avery, Freleng, and McKimson. The cartoons highlight how he and his unit crafted on character, satire, and comedic timing of gags. Definitely a must have!

Conclusion

Overall, the "tribute" tapes in the Golden Jubilee videos are amazing. Showcasing the works of three exceptional man that make the Warner Bros. Cartoons famous and beloved the audiences around the world. Perfect for animation collectors. The Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc tapes are definitely my favorites, the same goes for the Friz Freleng tape if you like to see some underrated favorites. Strongly recommended for Looney Tunes fans.

PREVIOUS: Looney Tunes Home Video Thoughts #6 - The Looney Tunes Video Show No. 14-19

NEXT: Looney Tunes Home Video Thoughts #8 - Golden Jubilee 24 Karat Collection: The Character Cassettes - Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester & Tweety (1985)

#looney tunes #warner bros #warner bros cartoons #bugs bunny #daffy duck #porky pig #tweety #sylvester #yosemite sam #marvin the martian #wile e coyote #road runner #pepe le pew #elmer fudd #michigan j frog

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