WB Vaulties

[chuckamuck43]

CN is running a buncha these today -
Like most of you here, I like my cartoons straight - no chaser (unless the chaser is another cartoon), so I really dislike these "Franken-movies".
I'd like to hear (read) what YOU all think of them.

...and yes, I will admit to KINDA liking the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie 'cause Chuck dood it. I mean, it's better than GAY PUREE, right?

[Jack]

Weeeeeelllllllllllll, I'd say the two "best" ones are Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie because, um, I don't know why I like that one, and the Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Movie because Jones actually uses complete cartoons. After that I'd say Quackbusters because it's sort of creative, I guess. then I'd say those last two.

What I don't get is why the linking segments look so sloppy compared to the classic cartoons. I noticed that Bob Givens and Richard H. Thomas did a lot of the backgrounds for these new segments. What happened? They did some great work for Robert McKimson, and Givens' layouts for "Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries" are quite nice. Was old age getting to Richarad Thomas maybe?

Also, the animation can look kind of poor in some of these movies, and "Quackbusters" seemed to be the only one to try and make the new character designs match the old ones, even if it meant changing the design a little every so often. And the Jones' Bugs in the BB/RR movie is terrible looking with that round head, and those big bug eyes.



Jack :D

[Patrick McCart]

Yeah, I agree that Quackbusters has the best match-up animation. It shows that the directors were aiming to show off the featured cartoons instead of the new animation. 1001 Rabbit Tales, Fantastic Island, RRunner/Bugs movie, and Looney^3 BB Movie tried too hard to show off the new animation instead of the good stuff!

It's a shame that WB isn't putting out any more cartoon compilation movies into theaters. I'd especially like a musical cartoon compilation movie...Imagine "I Love To Singa" in high-tech DTS (Digital Theater Sound) with the sound booming in the theater!

[chuckamuck43]

Originally posted by Jack:
What I don't get is why the linking segments look so sloppy compared to the classic cartoons. Also, the animation can look kind of poor in some of these movies

$$$ of course! Why would WB pay for full animation when they could get off so cheaply with limited? They threw a few bucks at the crew that was doing wraparounds for all their TV specials and VOILA! - Big profits, little expense. It was like printing money to the studio heads!
A word about those old TV specials -
I have tapes of a few of them and they're as bad as the movies. If you've a really strong stomach watch Bugs' Howl-O-Ween special. It's a pre-cursor to Quackbusters and uses some of the same "scare" toons.
All the stuff Jack mentions are there, from the kindergarden animation to the worst character design continuity I think I've ever seen.
What happens Bugs/Witch Hazel in this special "shouldn't happen to a dog"!

A word about "round-headed bug-eyed" Bugs:
That's Chuck's 1970's redesign of BB, and I agree, Jack - it looks awful. I wish he'd stayed with his '50's style Bugs.

Hmmmm...I feel a poll comin' on....

[Jack]

I suppose, but you can still have decent artwork for little money.

My favorite Jones Bugses are the mid 40s (see "Hare Tonic") and the late 40s/early 50s version (like in "Rabbit of Seville").

I especially hate all those character portrates Bugs has in his home in the Jones movie. They all have round heads, it's kind of creepy.


Jack :D

[Pietro]

"Quackbusters" is the best. It's one of my al time favorites. It was given 5-4 stars in movie guides. "Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island" is the WORST!

-Pietro:D

[DR. BELCH]

--about those movies. Fantastic Island was probably the worst and most muddled, and 1001 Rabbit's Tales was just a bare shade over it. Plus I hate to say it, but Blanc's voice was showing its age in the newer material, so certain characters--esp. Sam--sound markedly off.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Jack
Weeeeeelllllllllllll, I'd say the two "best" ones are Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie because, um, I don't know why I like that one, and the Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Movie because Jones actually uses complete cartoons. After that I'd say Quackbusters because it's sort of creative, I guess. then I'd say those last two.

To me, it's "Quackbusters," hands down. I don't really care that "The BB/RR Movie" showed complete cartoons. It's dull, slow, and reeks of Jones trying too hard to be clever. Jones' late-'70s, early-80s stuff is full of botched attempts to be coy and clever, and at the same time play down to the supposed kiddie audience. "Bugs Bunny's Busting-Out All Over" is a perfect example of this; even as a kid, I felt like I was being talked down to, something the Warner cartoons never had made me feel before.

"Quackbusters" is the only one of the compilation movies I've seen that has a good plot. The classic cartoons shown were well-chosen, and the characters behaved like themselves. (Bugs was Bugs, not the collosal bore that he was in "BB/RR Movie.")

I admit, I have a fondness for the Ford/Lennon era of WB animation. Not just for "Quackbusters," but for their TV specials and individual short subjects. "Bugs vs. Daffy" was among the very best of all of the LT TV specials. Plus, it and the subsequent "Wide World of Sports" special did something that the previous specials had never done: make use of the pre-48 shorts that were in the public domain, rather than relying on the post-48 material. As for the shorts, "The Duxorcist" and "Night of the Living Duck" are much better than, say, "Duck Dodgers and the Return of..." and "Daffy Flies North." It was just a very good time for new cartoons with the classic characters.

Mike