In May 2023, Warner Bros. released a collection of classic cartoons on Blu-ray through their boutique Warner Archive Label that was directly aimed at serious enthusiasts. That set, ”Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice: Volume 1, “Be pure gold for animation fans, with 25 cartoons that had never been released on DVD or Blu-ray in remastered form.
The positive response from lovers of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig led to another three volumes, each of the total 25 new shorts that were carefully restored and presented in exquisite transfers.
Now Warner Archive continues his mission with ”Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault: Volume 1, “A set that continues the previous work of the label and expands it.” I decided to release a volume 5 with the same curative criteria, we would expand to 2 discs, ” film historian George Fieldsteinwho monitors the Warner Archive label, told IndieWire.
“The idea was to expand the various classic cartoon films offered by letting the first record continue the assignment of what we had established with the collector’s election publishing-25 cartoons that were not previously available on DVD or Blu-ray in Remastered form as part of a WB-Classical collection,” he said. “However, the addition of the second record would contain 25 cartoons that have been in the standard definition on DVD, but which had not yet been included remaster in high definition on a Blu-ray disc.”
Among the recently included cartoons are several fan favorites and rarities, including the choice of choice of legendary director Chuck Jones. Feltenstein said it is difficult to choose favorites because, in collaboration with animation historian Jerry Beck, he chose all cartoons, but he has a special preference for Jones short “Hare conditioned in 1945.” In this funny cartoon, Bugs Bunny faces a threat from a department store manager who wants to get bugs filled in the taxi department.
“Most of Warner Bros. Animation directors had their hold of bugs, but Jones work with the character just seemed to get better and better over the years,” Feltenstein said. “This is a relatively early Jones/Bugs drawn film, but it has been a favorite since childhood.” Feltenstein also points to Jones’ 1948 Daffy Duck Short “Daffy Dilly” as a treasure showing Daffy’s development under Jones’s direction.
“I had the pleasure of meeting Chuck Jones late in his life, and we talked a long way about his work at Warner Bros.,” Feltenstein said. “He once told me – and I guess he told many – that Bugs Bunny, to him, represented the kind of individual we strive to be, and that Daffy Duck was the individual we are afraid that we are really more like. I thought his statement was quite brilliant.”
Feltenstein and Beck – who have collaborated on programming of classic animation lines, asked themselves what fans would like, which is not difficult because fans would like, which is not difficult because fans would, which is not difficult because fans would, which is not difficult because the fans would not, which is difficult because the fans would not be difficult because the fans themselves, which is not difficult to do, which is not difficult for the fans. It is not difficult because the fans themselves have collaborated on programming of classic animation releases. In addition to Jones shorts, other highlights in the Vault collection Friz Freleng’s “Each Dawn in Crow” (1949) with Elmer Fudd from 1949, and “The Goofy Gophers”, which were released in 1947.
“‘The Goofy Gophers’ has the screen debut of the characters ‘Mac and Tosh’, which appeared in several consecutive cartoons, but this was their introduction to the big screen,” said Feltenstein. “It is alleged to be alleged by the legendary animator Bob Clampett, but the balance of the work was taken over by Arthur Davis after Clampett’s sudden departure from the studio.”
In addition to his work with the Warner Animation Collections, Feltenstein monitors a wide range of editions from the studio’s live-action directory, often outsource editions of classics as well as cult favorites and idiosyncratic oddities. In recent months, new Blu-beams of titles have been as varied as the criminally underestimated Ryan Reynolds/Amy Smart Comedy “Just Friends”, Vincente Minnelli’s visually amazing melodrama “The Cobweb”, and BlaxPloitation Gem “Melinda,” to name some.
“We usually work with several dozen editions at each given time, in different stages of production,” Feltenstein. “This requires very close coordination with other departments, so we can ensure that our efforts are synchronized with the company’s commitment to conservation efforts.” Right now Warner Archive Collection is the only studio -based label “boutique”, dedicated to what Physical media Collectors want most, and Feltenstein takes his role as a curator seriously.
“There are many factors that go into what can be released and what is still waiting,” Feltenstein said. “We also have different groups of tough enthusiast consumers who each want to get their voices to hear highly about what they want to see released. We listen, and our goal is to try to please all the different fan fractions.”
In the end, Feltenstein’s work is complicated but his mission is easy: getting so much of the Warners library released from vault and on the shelves for home witnesses. It is an assignment he has been on for over 16 years that has now given several thousand editions; Given how strong the company’s latest editions have been, it hopes that there are thousands more to come.
