Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 (2006)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Box Set Bunny

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Warner Home Video has only reached Vol. 4 of their extraordinary cartoon sets, and they've already hit the dregs. As always, there are four discs and 60 cartoons. Disc One comes with more Bugs Bunny cartoons, which are always fun, but only one bona-fide classic, the Chuck Jones-directed Rabbit Hood (1949). It also contains the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win an Oscar, Friz Freleng's Knighty Knight Bugs (1958), but -- as usual -- the Academy chose the wrong film.

Disc two is an interesting tribute to early cartoons by Frank Tashlin, who famously went on to direct live-action feature films -- essentially living cartoons -- with Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and Jayne Mansfield, including his masterpiece Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). Tashlin's cartoon work was never as inspired as Tex Avery's, and his work extends to a few amusing Porky Pig films. The third disc will thrill all those Speedy Gonzales fans out there (I'm not one of them). And the fourth disc contains all cat cartoons -- mostly cats fighting dogs and chasing mice.

However, this set comes with some fascinating extras, notably featurettes on Tashlin and poor, underrated Friz Freleng, as well as the complete feature documentary Bugs Bunny Superstar (1975), although it's spread out over two discs and the transfer is horrible. Narrated by Orson Welles, this was a presentation of eight cartoons, linked by behind-the-scenes footage of the studio. Other extras include bridging sequences from the "Bugs Bunny" TV show and selections from the Warner vaults, including a clip from the wartime propaganda cartoon "Private Snafu." And, as always, certain cartoons come with audio commentary tracks, or music and/or effects tracks.

Warner Home Video has also released a cheaper, two-disc set, Looney Tunes: Spotlight Collection 4, which contains 28 cartoons, selected from the larger set.