As you likely have heard, the Warner Archive Collection will release Tex Avery Screwball Classics Vol. 3 on Blu-ray and DVD on October 5th. All three volumes of Avery had a long circuitous route to being produced. Volume 3 had a few more and different bumps than usual, and I think we need to give you some additional information in advance of its street date. (The “we” in this case refers to George Feltenstein and myself who put this baby together).
First things first – the thing you really want to know – the contents of the collection:
BLITZ WOLF
THE EARLY BIRD DOOD IT
ONE HAM’S FAMILY
HAPPY GO NUTTY
JERKY TURKEY
THE SHOOTING OF DAN McGOO
SWING SHIFT CINDERELLA
WILD AND WOLFY
NORTHWEST HOUNDED POLICE
SLAP HAPPY LION
KING SIZE CANARY
WHAT PRICE FLEADOM
LITTLE TINKER
SENOR DROOPY
COCK-A-DOODLE DOG
ROCK-A-BYE BEAR
LITTLE JOHNNY JET
BILLY BOY
DEPUTY DROOPY
CELLBOUND
and a bonus cartoon not from Tex’s MGM tenure, but from his days prior at Warner Bros., THE CRACKPOT QUAIL (with its original 1941 soundtrack).
We began assembling the elements for this collection late last year, engaging artist Stephen DeStefano to render cover illustrations, writing package text, and scouring Warner vaults (worldwide), and several external film archives including the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Library of Congress in order to find the best possible film elements to work from, all of which would be scanned in 4K. Virtually all the MGM cartoons and short films which had Nitrate negatives were sadly destroyed in a well-known archive vault fire over 40 years ago. Before the tragic fire, MGM had prepared 2 35mm CRIs of each cartoon in the early 1970s for “preservation”, but further excavation of the Warner vaults yielded (in certain fortunate circumstances) separation masters made from the nitrate originals which yield superior results.
In the 1980s, while assembling information for my book Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies (1989), I was able to screen an original nitrate print of The Crackpot Quail (1941) – and noted then, in print, that the original track featured a continued – and hilarious – “raspberry” sound from the quail, emitting during the entire film. As we all know, an annoying “whistle” is used to blow the quails topknot on all prints ever seen since (for reference, listen to the version posted on HBO-Max). I assume the raspberry was replaced after its initial release due to the fact that the offensive “raspberry” sound (aka ‘passing gas’) was a Hays Code no-no. (As Cats-tello says in Clampett’ 1942 A Tale Of Two Kitties: “If the Hays office would only let me, I’d give him the bird, all right!”). I also wonder if Avery’s use of the raspberry was another straw that broke Leon’s back, leading to Avery’s suspension in the summer of 1941.
I’d always hoped to get around to restoring that track for one of the Looney Tunes Golden Collections but it just never happened – However, now was the perfect time. We began the process – meticulously instructing the staff to pull the nitrate print specifically – as the original soundtrack element only contained the (annoying) whistle. I’m delighted to report The Crackpot Quail is now restored to its original sound. And my personal evaluation of this cartoon has gone way up – the original track is better, and quite hilarious, as Avery intended. You’ll now be able to own this cartoon, exclusively on this collection, and nowhere else. I think you will agree with my reassessment.
We had hoped to add an informational title card to introduce that cartoon; We had also hoped to add a transfer of a rare nitrate release print (courtesy of animator Mark Kausler) of The Shooting of Dan McGoo, that contained gags later removed from the subsequent rerelease; We had ideas for a bonus documentary about the differences of the original titles and gags from the original 1940s release versions and the 1950s re-releases… but the whole Avery 3 project was off limits due to changes within WarnerMedia during 2021. George Feltenstein was impacted by massive company layoffs which led to his departure from the company earlier in the year. George did not know if the release would be completed and prepared as we had set forth – or not. Fortunately, George was able to return to the company last month, and amidst his other duties, has resumed his oversight of the Warner Archive Collection.
One of the first things on his plate upon his return was reviewing work done while he was away. Tex Avery vol. 3 was prepared for an October release during that time. Despite leaving intricate notes, there was a six month period without his oversight. One of the shorts we were most concerned about was Blitz Wolf. There is only one surviving 35mm element on this cartoon in the company’s vault. It is a 2nd generation CRI (color reversal internegative), but the first almost-two minutes of this “best element” must have been damaged in prior years somehow, and was replaced by an inferior dupe internegative that (while properly cleaned of film dirt and scratches without harming the animation) is by nature soft and lacking in the vibrant color that was originally there. A thorough search via archives both in the U.S. and abroad turned up nothing better to work from.
Consumers may notice an unusual bump up in quality in the print used here for Blitz Wolf – after the first minute and 52 seconds (1:52). In fact, I don’t think I’d ever seen this film look so good. Razor sharp focus, crystal clear sound and great color. However – and we would have caught this – the master CRI material pulled from the MGM vault uses a dupe element for that first minute and fifty-two seconds not up to WAC standards. This is indeed the same element used on the 2008 Academy Award Winners and Nominees set – where that DVD, being standard definition, didn’t reveal the degree of difference between the dupe footage and the improved quality in the balance of the cartoon. We would have added a card to explain this unfortunate set of circumstances, had we been there to supervise.
All this said, the collection is pretty great as is. Will there be a volume 4? All I can say is: Hang onto your blu-ray players. George is back, and we are already compiling and restoring some things you’ll want to own – and they won’t be available from any other source.
Below, a gallery of screenshots taken from the blu-ray, as well as Stephen DeStefano’s ink drawings for the box art – and me, holding finished set. (click to enlarge):
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of Cal Arts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [
That bonus cartoon is worth the price alone! One of the “Graals” I was looking for from a long time!
Will this have any kind of DVD release too?
Yes -it will be released on both DVD and blu ray.
Can’t Wait!
Pardon my ignorance, Jerry, but does this mean “The Shooting of Dan McGoo” on this set will not include Mark’s version with the original war references deleted in later releases?
What about “The Blitz Wolf”? Is the version on this set the one with the sinking of Japan, or the one released after the war with that scene deleted?
There’s an excellent selection of shorts here. The cynic in me is not surprised to see “Uncle Tom’s Cabaña” not among them.
Perhaps some sort of extra of Keith Scott discussing the voice actors, as he’s done on this web site, would be welcomed by fans on subsequent releases.
Keith has already written a post about the voice actors for this set which I will be posting on either September 27 or October 4th.
Yes, the Blitz Wolf on this set includes the sinking of Tokyo gag.
And yes, we borrowed Mark’s McGoo print and planned it for this set. It is not included – a casualty of George’s 6 month removal from company. All I can say is: It’s appearance on another set in the future is not out of the question.
regarding the Mark Kausler found print of The Shooting of Dan McGoo:
“It’s appearance on another set in the future is not out of the question.”
that’s awesome, please get that sucker on blu-ray 🙂
Glad to hear there may be another set coming. Hopefully all of Avery’s Warner films will get the Blu-ray treatment. Ditto Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones and Robert McKimson. All are right up there with Mark Twain as humorists. I hope George Feltenstein got a substantial raise. He deserves it.
Jerry, if another Avery set were to appear, what are the chances of including a few more of the Warner Bros. cartoons, in particular “Of Fox and Hounds”? I grew up on that one, with its OF MICE AND MEN parody (“Which way did he go, George, which way did he go?”)
Either way, all of you guys do great work. Thanks!
Rick – It’s difficult for me to speak freely because everything I say (or imply) is taken and exaggerated upon, and blown up way out of proportion. So for now, I apologize for the non-answer — let me just say: anything is possible.
Hey Jerry, If they’re going to be making a Avery Screwball Collection vol 4 on Blu-ray – please let me know!
I’ll be sure to do that.
Hey Jerry are they going to be making a Tex Avery screwball collection vol 4 blu_ray hopefully they include uncle tom Cabana, half-pint pygmy, henpecked hoboes,lucky ducky,droopy good deed, million dollar droopy, and cat’s meow and and other Warner Brothers cartoons thank you please let me know.
Can you let me know the status of Half Pint Pygmy and Uncle Tom’s Cabana if possible. You have no idea how badly I want Warner Bros to release those, especially Half Pint Pygmy.
Was really hoping for “Henpecked Hoboes, but I can wait for Vol. 4. I will continue to hold out hope for “Uncle Tom’s Cabana,” one of the greatest in Avery’s catalogue.
Honestly, I don’t think they’re going to put it on, while the other blackface gags last a few seconds. that short is literally riddled with outdated stereotypes.
Of course i am referring to Uncle Tom Cabaña.
I work in the equity space and completely understand the concerns with putting out racially problematic material. However, I think we need to do so with the appropriate explanatory information about the time and context. I don’t believe we can act as if this material never existed. Haven’t we learned from history that banning material ALWAYS backfires? To me, there is something odd about refusing to face the racism of the past, while apparently having no issues with the blatant sexism in many of these cartoons (make no mistake, I still love them). I feel the same way about Disney refusing to reissue “Song of the South” (even with explanatory material) while “Gone With The Wind” is repeatedly shown on television. We do not promote learning from the past by censoring it.
I agree with you – banning our history is wrong. Our cartoons should not be just left to decay. They should be put out and enjoyed by very many fans.
Everybody’s worried about the one person that may be offended. I love the older cartoons – and I’m a cartoon junkie. Thanks!
Same here. All I want to see is Henpecked Hoboes in its entirety in a better quality than the Turner print.
Fingers crossed…
The rehiring of George Feltenstein by Warner Brothers appears by all accounts to be a positive sign for both the company and its customers..
The Flintstones complete series release (not overseen by Feltenstein) replacement disc debacle due to a routine company failure in the checking process would not have helped.
Maybe without him staff were overworked and took short cuts –
perhaps people were in over their heads with things they did not understand.
The positive feedback on the internet from the first Tex Averys (as opposed to The Flintstones) in part due to the extra efforts similar to what was described in this article, must boost the egos of the Warner Brothers executives –
studio executives adore praise for anything that happens under their watch..
The Hanna Barbera Sci Fi/Action Hero shows are clearly selling, and will hopefully continue.
Blu Ray movie upgrades are also clearly selling.
And we all have our own personal wish list – whether it be “John Nesbitt’s Passing Parade”, “77 Sunset Strip” more Monogram or “Cattanooga Cats” (even without the musical elements)
I hope the Warner Brothers/Feltenstein relationship continues in a fruitful way that benefits both parties, as it can only be good to not only the consumer, but also more importantly (to ensure its existence) – Warner Brothers bank account.
I too would like to see 77 Sunset Strip on DVD as well as the other Warners private eye shows Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6.
Not gonna happen. I asked George about this years ago, and he said relicensing the music rights (not just on the soundtrack but also the on-camera performance at Dino’s) would be so astronomical that they’d never come close to making their costs back. He regrets it as well.
77 Sunset Strip will continue to be one of the most bootlegged television shows of all time. Are any episodes in public domain? How well did the respective casts of 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eye really get along?
What replacement disc debacle? Was there an issue with the replacement discs or just the fact that replacements were required at all? I received my replacement disc but haven’t watched it yet, so if it has an issue I’d like to know.
At least someone else wants Cattanooga Cats restored…
Im guessing that the last 5 shorts weren’t omitted due to content. Aside from that, though, I can’t wait to finally have Slap Happy Lion on DvD.
Oh my goodness! Not only did I enjoy this article, but I found the proper fully realized links to pre-order both formats of the set and I’ve done the deed! I cannot wait to check this out, especially for the bonus cartoon.
You never cease to surprise us, and you’ve done well this time. I am certainly hoping for a fourth volume as well as possibly another crack at that print from Mark Kausler and, maybe, even more additions from the Warner Brothers vault regarding Avery’s work there. As you hinted, perhaps soon?
I notice that the cartoons listed here are in order of their chronological appearance instead of mixing them up as is apparent on the previous two volumes. Now, I hope you can get around to restoring a good deal of the 1930’s cartoons from both studios in their own specific collections!
Congratulate yourselves on another job well done!
I’m glad that Warner Archive is continuing to put out classic animation and that George and you are on top of it.
These screenshots are awesome! It’s great we’ll have Vol. 3! I specially look forward to King-size Canary!
Do you think we’ll have someday fully restored HD versions of the few remaining Tex Avery MGM cartoons, like Lucky Ducky? And also restorations fixing the problems of Vol. 2? Maybe even an Avery set with all the cartoons in chronological order?
About future projects, is there gonna be a HD release of all the MGM cartoons that aren’t either Tex Avery or Tom & Jerry? And a release of all Tom & Jerry cartoons by WAC? And Fleischer’s Superman too? And the 1930s Popeye Fleischer cartoons?
Cheers!
I keep hoping an official DVD/Blu-ray release of all of the Harman-Ising MGM “Happy Harmonies” will be released someday. *sigh*
Already ordered! This volume contains some of my favourite Avery titles — “King Size Canary”, “Slap Happy Lion” — and I know I’ll enjoy examining the wild takes in “Northwest Hounded Police” frame by frame. Even if the package isn’t everything you’d hoped it would be, I know I’ll love every second of it. (Maybe a comparison of 1940s vs. 1950s versions would be a good subject for a Cartoon Research post?) Congratulations to you and George for putting it together. October can’t come soon enough for me!
I hope The Early Bird Dood it has it;s original “Tiger Rag” opening restored. BTW Cellbound is one of my favorites. It’s a good way to close out the main program.
Well….I did not expect to see what we’re not seeing which is HALF PINT PYGMY and UNCLE TOM’S CABANA. While others may carp I’m happy, more than happy, with this. Did not know about CRACKPOT QUAIL raspberry until now. Neat. Perhaps volumes following will focus on the Warner Tex Avery material.
If and when Warners comes out with a BANNED & CENSORED CARTOON COLLECTION it will be the biggest seller in their history. It can include these, those terrific Boskos, the censored 11, the two Tom and Jerry titles and whatever else is too grown-up for regular release.
Right now I’m happy to get this.
I agree to that.
We also need a couple of documentaries to go with it including one showing the evolution of different races in animation.
Hoping for Volume 4 that original print of McGoo is included.
Already pre-ordered my 2 Blu-ray copies (one for my bud up in the Great White North)!!
Fabulous! But the dethpicable Amazon sweatshop overseer/tax cheat Jeff Bezos gets not a penny of my money. I imagine Deep Discount will offer the set for preorder at a similar price soon.
This looks fantastic and am very much looking forward to viewing it. As an aside, with the likelihood of a resumption in physical blu-ray/DVD’s, will the restored Warner shorts that are currently only available on HBO Max be part of any future releases?
It’s great to hear Feltenstein is back on the wheel. Warner Archive lost its human element the day the podcast went down and their social media pages went radio silent.
It’s also great to see the WAC team doing the restorations again. Beautiful color and sharp image. Rock-A-Bye Bear was one of my favorites watching it on Boomerang as a kid, where it aired from a lousy 60s TV element.
I understand why a certain batch of shorts was not included. I’m not a fan of those, and yet I also want completion for completion’s sake when it comes to collections like these. Your confidence in a Volume 4 potentially happening is telling, though what would that set be composed of besides said shorts, the two Cinemascope remakes, and the nitrate Dan McGoo?
Hopefully, WAC picks up again and the market for cartoons on Blu-ray, no matter the generation, grows and gets the love it deserves.
I’m so excited for this and Volume 4!
Was Dixieland Droopy shot in Cinemascope or was that just a myth? Was hoping it was an extra on one volume but never knew it it even existed.
Will this have the rest of Tex Avery’s Cartoons?
Also, when will you continue with the Tom and Jerry Restorations?
At this point, 60 out of the 67 cartoons Avery produced at MGM have been restored. It probably won’t be long until the guys at Warner Archive restore the rest.
(Homer) “Mmmmmmm… Lina Romay… drrooooollll…”
Welcome home George!
In a months-long torrent of bad news everywhere, the reveal of Volume 3 is a ray of sunshine.
Thanks, Jerry!
Is there a chance that a Vol. 4 will fix all the restorations from Vol. 2? Is there a chance of going back to Vol. 2 cartoons?
What a great selection of cartoons and I love the bonus WB cartoon included! I am totally adding this to my Christmas list this year!
A great bonus for a future volume would be the live action stripper footage for Cross Country Detours
This is great news! Now that George is back at WAC (never should had left in the first place) teaming with Jerry…maybe..(fingers crossed) that the 1950’s Popeye’s will see the light of day on Blu-ray/DVD. Am curious to see how the ending of “Riot In Rhythm” originally looked and sounded. Thanks!
I’m looking forward to this! It’s a good thing this comes out around my birthday, cause it’d be a fantastic way to begin my Blu-ray collection! The Early Bird Dood It (which has always been my favorite MGM Avery) AND the “razzberry” version of The Crackpot Quail? That alone will justify my purchase.
Jerry; I still have the old MGM’s LD Box Set “The Compleat Tex Avery” which I transferred to DVD’s -R… Great set thanks to you!
This looks really great! Thank you for your work on this.
Subtle revisionism done in pure silence… the case with THE CRACKPOT QUAIL is astounding! Are there any more examples, other than HARE-UM SCARE-UM and the Paul Terry-Toon CLUB SANDWICH?
There was also the Mahatma Gandhi line in “Bugs Bunny Rides Again.”
Some dialog referencing WWII was removed in the reissues of FIFTH COLUMN MOUSE and FRESH AIREDALE. These can be found on YouTube.
Ordering now!
At the risk of being ridiculously greedy, any chance of getting the 1962 compilation “Tom and Jerry Festival of Fun”?
Thanks for all the work and the details Jerry….Looking forward!!
Wow that’s impressive what about the the Droopy Kids and that Southern wolf character and it’s take on the blackboard jungle or is that one banned along with so many cartoons with Southern themes?
“Blackboard Jumble” (1957) wasn’t directed by Tex Avery, who at that point was long gone from MGM. It was a Michael Lah cartoon.
Do any of the cartoons on this set appear with their title sequences “photoshopped” (as has been the case with several on the last collection, as well as the majority of the recently-remastered Warner shorts on HBO Max)?
Also, will those that have been affected by this treatment eventually be corrected? The cartoons, themselves, look flawless — but the opening/closing credits should be preserved, not digitally altered to be “widescreen safe”.
I was hoping not, but look at that title card for “Crackpot Quail.” The leaves are copied and pasted around the frame.
Granted, I’m taking the plunge on this regardless.
FYI – That Crackpot Quail title card is the ONLY framegrab in this post that ISN’T from the Avery 3 set.
Hooray! Thank you for that clarification, Mr. Beck. I greatly appreciate it!
Hey, thanks so much for your tireless work, Jerry. Believe me, it’s appreciated and I’m positive that future generations will benefit from your attention to detail (as well as George Feltenstein). Really looking forward to the new release.
I was wondering about Happy-Go-Nutty since it’s exclusion from Volume 1. Hopefully, it’s got the Blackface gag where Meathead gets blown up in his face and says “Oh-oh, He done it again!”
Happy-Go-Nutty on this set is uncut.
Far as THE CRACKPOT QUAIL goes it will be intresting to finally hear/see the diffrences between the “raspberry” sound from the quail, compared to the more common “whistle” sound found on most prints of this cartoon. As I have only seen the “whistle” version.
Btw look forward to Vol 4 happening and beyond. In the mean time I will order vol 3.
That’s a shame to hear about Blitz Wolf and, yes, the difference on the 2008 set is really obvious. A similar situation happened with Old Rockin’ Chair Tom. The last 45 seconds of the cartoon (starting after Mammy’s “Good boy, Thomas!” reply) came from a much inferior element on the print usually in circulation. It looks okay on the Golden Collection master, so I don’t know if they found a better print or was the one I mentioned restorable to a good degree.
Sounds good. I hope the hint at the end isn’t just a marketing strategy to make us engaged hoping for a volume 4 that would include problematic un-PC shorts. Unfortunately there are 5 problematic cartoons left, a number too high to feature in any conceiveable Warner release. Moreover, I bet $1,000 the 2 most problematic will never see the light of day – not through any major distributor.
Despite the good news agout George Feltenstein being back and raising quality standards to the previous levels, and knowing that neither him nor Jerry Beck have the final word regarding what can be released, at this point I think the best you could do for classic animation would be to facilitate licensing them to external boutique label distributors!
I don’t have reasons to praise Warner. If you guys love classic animation, do your lobby to make licensing cheaper to boutique distributors, that’s the real and only solution, not waiting for Warner. That’s the only way we can possobly ever get decent AND full classic animation bluray collections. I’m aware that the interest from boutique labels for animation is relatively low, but I remember for sure that the WAC classic animation releases are as profitable as they can be for the genre. That seems enough for a boutique label to release things like “Half-Pint Pigmy”, it would sell well. No one, absolutely no one, forces Warner to put their logo on the back cover of such a release. Folks at Warner aren’t concerned about people being able to watch such cartoons, they are concerned about people getting the cartoons from them. So I guess it’s time to make it possible to get the cartoons legally from someone else.
Last week I read in a post of a forum, that there were too many animation fans asking for disgusting racist cartoons to be released, implying racism coming from the fanbase. It’s not about praising racist cartoons, it’s about preserving the integrity of evidences of the past and allowing access to such evidences.
Personally I think backface jokes after TNT explosions are disgusting, much more disgusting than the presence of an ethnic caricature like Uncle Tom in “Uncle Tom’s Cabana”. But it’s not like I am asking for disgusting racist jokes. What pisses me is the patronizing attitude of the corporations trying to wash out ugly things from History and from the present time. Actually they aim to literally program the present-time way of thinking, and in order to do so, they more or less reprogram and soften the past accordingly. Such revisionism isn’t healthy for any society. If we have free access to disgusting things from the 17th century, it’s because such things are part of the long gone past. If some stupid corporations deny access to disgusting things from the relatively recent past, it’s because such things are still part of the present – and aren’t they contributing to not letting the past go? The corporations are part of the racism problem perpetuating it, and no historical revisionism or ethnic quotas (just another form of segregation) will solve it.
Why so negative?
We have zero evidence that those 5 cartoons were left out due to its material. That doesn’t even make sense either in the case of Henpecked Hoboes or Lucky Ducky
otherwise they would have also never released Garden Gopher in UNCUT form. Not to mention they would have STILL left out Happy-Go-Nutty for this release, as well. Which they did not.
And Droopy’s Good Deed was already released on DVD before UNCUT, a RETAIL dvd, even. So leaving that out for blackface content, makes no sense to me either.
And sure, a blackface gag after a TNT explosion is bad to today’s standards, but it was accepted in 1950 when that cartoon came out. I mean, it WAS shown in movie theaters back then, right?
These Tex Avery Blu-rays LITERALLY have a text message at the start about how you need to see these shorts “as a product of its time’ and that pretending they don’t exist, is just as bad. Problematic material of not, there are a lot of folks (like me) who just want to see these cartoons restored to original as much as possible, because we either love them and or just like to have things as original as possible for preservation.
Originally, the ending scene of “The Heckling Hare” had Bugs and Willoughby fall off three cliffs. After the second tumble, Bugs then told the audience, “Hold on to your hats, folks. Here we go again!” during the third trip down. Schlesinger interfered with the production of this scene; the most popular story is that the “Hold on to your hats” line referred to a sexual euphemism (or punchline to a dirty joke) that was then in circulation (though a similar line had been allowed in “Daffy Duck & Egghead”: “Hold your seats, folks, here we go again!”). Another possible story was that Leon Schlesinger objected to the end because he didn’t like the idea that Avery possibly killed off Bugs Bunny, since the cartoon ended with Bugs and Willoughby falling off a cliff.
According to Martha Sigall, Schlesinger objected to how repetitive and overly-long the second fall was. He instructed Avery to cut it. Avery insisted that it should remain, but, as the boss, Schlesinger insisted it be removed. From Schlesinger’s point of view, the dispute was over his right to do as he pleased with the films he was funding. From Avery’s point of view, the dispute was over artistic interference.
Avery was suspended for four weeks for the dispute with his boss. The quarrel was reported in an article for The Hollywood Reporter on 2 July 1941. From Schlesinger’s point of view the dispute was over his right to do as he pleased with the films he was paying for. From Avery’s point of view, the dispute was over artistic interference. During his suspension, Avery was hired by Paramount, where he worked on the first three Speaking of Animals shorts and later MGM where he stayed for most of the 1940s and 1950s, creating such classic cartoons as “Red Hot Riding Hood” (and all the cartoons that feature the Wolf and Red the showgirl, such as “Swing Shift Cinderella”, “Little Rural Riding Hood”, and the now-controversial “Uncle Tom’s Cabana”), “Blitz Wolf”, “One Cab’s Family”, and cartoons featuring characters such as Droopy Dog and Screwy Squirrel.
How many Blu Rays would it take for you to release ALL the MGM Avery toons?
Any news on Tom & Jerry Golden Collections 2 & 3 and rereleases of the Planinum Collections of Looney Tunes along with finishing the Planinum Collections through Warner Archive Mr. Jerry Beck?
I grew up watching all those great Cartoons in their hey day & I fell in love with all the Tex Avery cartoons.
The number one reason why I love the Tex Avery cartoons Sooo much is because they make me laugh so hard I can not stop laughing. To me this is the number one reason why these cartoons need to be preserved, uncensored. For anyone who is a fan and a collector of the Great Classic Cartoons. I can not wait to get my copy of Tex Avery Screwball Classics Vol 3 … and hope the series continues on!
Wow, thank you for creating this! I am beyond excited. I did not know about this website until yesterday (when I was searching for a list of cartoons to be included on this upcoming release). It looks as though you have helped to create many of the classic cartoon compilations I have snapped up over the years. I might recommend having Amazon provide a list of the cartoons to be included on the upcoming Tex Avery release. That would be helpful for people to see.
CRIs never worked. Prints made off of them had slightly increased grain and you could never control the color. Everyone in the archive world knew it at the time and yet CRIs were still being used. They were cheaper.
But now today these archived CRIs cause all this unnecessary expense in trying to find ways to work around their deficiencies.
If a Vol. 4 does come about, perhaps we will see the lost CinemaScope version of “Dixieland Droopy”, which we have all seen for decades in the 1.33:1 version.
Seems that no cinemascope version of a Tex Avery anime was ever made under his direction or supervision according to
https://www.intanibase.com/forum/posts/t70-MGM-Cartoons-on-DVD-Blu-ray-Filmography/page3
On the wikipedia page, the mention of a cinemascope version has also diseappeared so there is actually no evidence of it anymore.
This is great news! Just pre ordered.
With George back and all this hope at Warner Archive, is there any word of more Popeye sets being produced? Would really like to see POPEYE THE ACE OF SPACE in 3-D!
It’s nice to hear some GOOD NEWS about anything, these days!
I’ve been wondering, who directed the remakes MILLIONAIRE DROOPY and THE CAT’S MEOW? I’ve also wondered how Avery got screen credit.
On the bright side of the CinemaScope remakes, they DID prevent the original cartoons from getting reissued.
IMO, there is no need for anoter director because they only changed the background in order to fit the cinemascope (background credited to Don Driscoll). All other credits remained unchanged except the production from Hanna & Barbera instead of Fred Quimby. May I say that cinemascope add nothing here but we loose the original backgrounds who were way more rich and detailled.
It’s getting to the point where there is very little to complain about in this series, at least in the total contents. One question I had: What is the difference in the investment in restoring these for the Warner Archive series as compared to the golden age of DVD reissues? Is it comparable?
Now, “Half-Pint Pigmy” — one must face that the title character is an African native with a bone through his nose, and he will be a native with a bone through his nose at the crack of doom, and the window for people taking the broad liberal view of that kind of thing is closed until further notice. Nevertheless, the Pigmy absolutely takes the Bugs Bunny role in the picture, and clearly all audience sympathy is directed towards him, and the hunters (not Caucasian being animals but that’s the way they talk) are absolutely the stooges, and the Pigmy literally runs circles around them. And on top of that, the animation of the Pigmy is absolute classic Avery. Quite frankly, aside from the Clampett ones, the notorious Censored 11 are not really prime Looney Tunes, but Pint-Sized Pigmy stands up with the best of Avery, and its relegation to the samizdat is a big loss.
I’m not so sure, the way it’s drawn is stereotypical and there’s even a watermelon joke. Uncle Tom cabaña is also another one of those. Its more probably to see Droopy Good deed, Lucky Ducky and Henpecked Hoboes.
When I said the character was an African native with a bone through his nose I was under the impression that I was saying the character was stereotypical. The Warner policy on these matter as I infer it is they will consider letting a cartoon with a racial joke in passing circulate, but will not circulate a cartoon that is comprised from beginning to end of racial humor, and under this standard “Pint Size Pygmy” would be barred. Still, one wishes an exception could be made given the overall tenor of the cartoon. I don’t quite understand the implication that circulating “Pint Size Pygmy” would preclude the circulation of these other three cartoons. You can see the cartoon online, and it will no doubt find its way onto a decent enough bootleg collection, as the “Censored 11” have.
I hope you’re right, although Big Heel Watha did appear in volume 1, and it features Native American stereotypes, so who knows,
I have the first edition of Jerry’s LT & MM book (tattered and taped together by now!) but I never noticed that note on The Crackpot Quail! With so much else from the 40s not surviving (evidently), it’s amazing the original audio still exists.
Has anyone else besides me noticed the Road Runner makes a fart like noise a few times in “Beep Beep?”
You know, after this, there’s at least 7 MGM Tex cartoons left to release. If Volume 4 were to be a good seller, maybe throw in a Complete Collection of Egghead, unless not all of them were done by Tex Avery. Or at the very least a mix of WB cartoons he did.
Now That George has returned, is there any hope of the 50s Popeye shorts being released in the future on Blu Ray? I’m ready to continue my Popeye collection. And if you’re planning to create a volume 4 of the Tex Avery collection, would you add some Tex Avery directed WB shorts?
I agree! These are my hopes as well. I’d really love to see them finish the theatrical Popeye shorts. Those BD’s look amazing.
Oh, boy, this is EXCITING!
Honestly, I just hope that they’ll eventually have the uncut version of ‘Henpecked Hoboes” restored. The Turner print I’ve seen has an abrupt cut in the middle, where a blackface gag once was (the cut scene, however, still exists, but unfortunately in very low quality).
I remember when I was a kid watching some of those great classic cartoons from Tex Avery & I remember laughing so hard I would be so sore all over for days! They should release all of Tex Avery cartoons A.S.A.P uncensored & shown in their true form like he want to be because they are very important for preserving history of cartoon cinema.
yes…. Yes… YESSSSSS!
I am very grateful that the guys at Warner Archive have restored these legendary cartoons. If it weren’t for the obvious film grain (which is, to be honest, not a bad thing at all), these would look like they were done digitally, they’re just so great.
Honestly, though, Happy-Go-Nutty will probably look 100 times better than the other version I found…
Does anybody know how I can get hold of this in the UK? Can’t find it anywhere. Even Amazon is letting me down, where I got the other volumes. Perhaps it’s something to do with Brexit…
A few short years ago, it was said that Tex Avery on dvd would never happen. So glad it did! All 3 volumes have been stupendous additions to my personal cartoon collection.
Got all three volumes on my personal collection. They are among the best cartoons and Vol. 3 is my favorite! So, Jerry you hinted at a “Volume 4”. I really hope it’s true with (hopefully), the two controversial cartoons included.
Not going to ever be complete without the red title card droopy’s good deed uncut. Any version missing that cabin fire scene with the larger dog carrying out a lovely although heavy-set black lady who was dressed quite attractively like a lady of the night in his arms… will be for not. I always remember that version of that old cartoon. Stood out to me for some reason, maybe because it was subsequently changed to a white blonde lady instead. First time I ever saw a scene change in the same cartoon. Never knew they would do such a thing until I saw the two types.
Could it be you remember it wrong ?
The uncensored cartoon found in a russian dvd and on youtube shows the blond girl anyway but after the house burning, Spike is standing inside as a black person and Droopy open the door asking :
“Hey, Blackie, anymore babes in here ?”
Blackie seems very offensive to black person but it may be a nickname for irish people working in coal mines.
If anybody have other intel about this, let us know.
No Olivier I know what I watched and saw it clear as day. I even jotted down the details on paper the same day I watched it broadcast on TV. It stunned me to see it actually because it was unexpected. Watched the same cartoon hundreds of times prior and that time was a totally different sequence of events taking place. You don’t forget something like that. Someone has the film. It must be the red title card version only whether on 35mm or 16mm film. James
Thank you Jerry & George. These BD’s are absolutely beautifully done. And amazing. And I’m ready to buy more… more… more. But mostly thank you for your hard work and your tireless efforts to get us these things in the best possible quality.
Is there a chance we’ll ever see a restoration of Northwest Hounded Police fixing the mistake of erasing most of the wolf’s progress through the map early in the cartoon? It bothers me a lot that such a masterpiece has such a glaring mistake.
It’s my only complaint about this set.
When will there be a volume 4? It’s been 10 months, and hopefully Warner Bros. Discovery (*shudders*) didn’t cancel the project.
Volume 4. Is it close to a release date ?
As of today, October 14, 2022: No.
There is no Vol. 4 in the works as of today.
I came to this site specifically to check in on volume 4. I’ve got the first three blu-ray sets and I absolutely love them. What I wouldn’t give to see both this set of shorts continue, along with resurrecting the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection volume 2 forward. I’ve been trying to find more of these shorts and loved all the work on the Looney Platinum collections. Was so sad when these stopped being released. Guess for now, I can only dream.
Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done with these sets and other animated sets in general (Pink Panther, etc).
Hi Jerry Beck could you please add more shorts for vol 2 Re-Released like Henpecked Hoboes, Lucky Ducky or Droopy’s Good Deed.
Any idea WHY the cartoons on Vol 1 & Vol 2 have the “black bars” hardcoded on to them to make them 4:3 ratio, but the ones in Vol 3 do not?? Vol 3 relies on you to change the TV aspect ratio controls to add the black bars yourself to get 4:3…
Related, if these were all originally intended to be shown in movie theaters, what WAS the ORIGINAL aspect ratio of the shorts?
Hi Jerry Beck! Here is my fantasy wishlist for a Volume 4 release in Q1 2023 or Q2 2023
1. Gold Diggers of 49
2. Henpecked Hoboes
3. I Only Have Eyes for You
4. Egghead Rides Again
5. The Blow Out
6. Detouring America
7. I’d Love To Take Orders From You
8. Lucky Ducky
9. Fresh Fish
10. Aloha Hooey
11. Don’t Look Now
12. Cinderella Meets Fella
13. Droopy’s Good Deed
14. Hamateur Night
15. The Cagey Canary
16. Dangerous Dan McFoo
17. Screwball Football
MOD Extra Cartoons (With Introduction by Whoopi Goldberg)
18. Half-Pint Pygmy (Commentary by Jerry Beck)
19. Uncle Tom’s Cabana (Commentary by Jerry Beck)
20. All This And Rabbit Stew (Commentary by Jerry Beck)
How’s this sound?
I would love a Volume 4. Hopefully something is in the works.