Lots of Rare Video Finds!!

[Jon Cooke]

:D What a great day!! Not only did I have the day off... but I found a bunch of very rare (used) cartoon videos for only $5 each. The used video store that opened last year is now permanent, in fact, it is expanding into the area formerly occupied by a laundromat. Anyway, here is what I found today:

-- Disney Gold: SILLY SYMPHONIES (with UNCUT "Woodland Cafe"!!)

-- Disney Gold: DONALD'S BEE PICTURES

-- Disney Gold: PLUTO

-- Disney Cartoon Classics: PLUTO

-- TOP CAT'S LOVES AND FORTUNES (WorldVision, 1986)

-- POGO FOR PRESIDENT "I GO POGO". I've never seen this before, but for $5 I decided to get it.

-- WOODY WOODPECKER & HIS FRIENDS (MCA, 1982). This is a GREAT collection of Lantz cartoons which includes a documentary hosted by Lantz and Woody. Cartoons include "Crazy Mixed-Up Pup", "Legend of Rock-a-bye Point", "Knock Knock".

I love the cover of this tape, with Woody and gang watching the show on their 1982 home entertainment system!

http://looney.toonzone.net/picts/woodyvideo.jpg



-Jon

[David Gerstein]

Hey, Jon!

I'm under the belief that WOODLAND CAFÉ is actually *cut* on that 1984 Gold Edition videotape. If it matches the European edition of the same tape (and more recent European editions of WOODLAND CAFÉ), it indeed *is* cut.
Here's what I'd like you to look for.
Late in the cartoon, as the dancing gets started, there's a cute little girl bug sitting at the table with a big, fat, hook-nosed lug of a boy (or old man?) bug. As the "black" grasshopper band starts playing music, she clearly wants to get up and dance. She convinces her heavy beau to try a few gentle starting steps.
Then, in the sequence that's always been (seamlessly!) edited out on video here in Europe, the "black" grasshoppers sing, on-screen, a verse of their song: it is about the origins of "truckin'", and Harlem is mentioned. During this sequence, we cut back to the little girl and big, fat boy. The girl is now going nuts on the dance floor, wearing out the boy.
Now we move into the sequence right afterwards, which is on the tapes I've seen: in it, the band still sings a little and we see them playing a lot, but Harlem is not mentioned again. The boy bug, exhausted from the dancing, is carried away on a stretcher (and only if you see the usually cut sequence do you know what got him so tired!).
What version is on the Gold Edition videotape?

Best, David

[Jon Cooke]

What version is on the Gold Edition videotape?


I re-watched the tape, the scene where the hook-nosed bug starts to clumsily do some dance moves is there. Then the grasshoppers start to play. I heard lots of singing about "truckin'" and a mention of "Harlem". There was a cut back to the hook-nosed bug and his girl dancing on a tabletop. There was smoke coming off the big bug's feet as the two were dancing.


-Jon

[Popeye]

: D

Jon,

I guess you don't need a copy of "Crazy Mixed-Up Pup" from me now!

I recently got "Woody Woodpecker & his Friends" volumes II and III from Videoflicks.com last week. They have cartoons such as "The Barber of Seville", "Woody Woodpecker", "I'm Cold, and "Sh-h-h-h-h"! One of the tapes even has a Swing Symphony!

I wish would release more tapes with Walter Lantz cartoons on them! I pretty much have all the tapes they put out...except Volume I of this series.

[Larry T]

Those Lantz tapes were three of the luckiest finds for you guys. That's the ONLY place I've ever seen the complete version of "Wet Blanket Policy" where Buzz mutters something about Woody coming into view (during the song)... that has always been cut out of any print I've ever seen.

I also wish Universal would release more of their cartoons. There's SO MUCH that we are not being able to appreciate because those great Swing Symphonies are so hard to find. However, luckily Unversal HAS released those three compilation tapes, the later Collection tapes, and whatever exists on the Abbott and Costello tapes.

I, personally, would be more than glad to fork out a couple hundred bucks for a DVD compilation of Universal cartoons!!!

[Jon Cooke]

The 10 cartoons on the tape that I found are: "Knock Knock", "The Bandmaster", "Ski For Two" (Woody), "Hot Noon", "The Legend of Rock-a-Bye Point", "Wet Blanket Policy", "To Catch a Woodpecker", "Musical Moments From Chopin" (only called "Musical Moments" on the back cover), "Bats in the Belfry", and "Crazy Mixed-Up Pup".

There is also a short documentary called "Walter, Woody, and the World of Animation" (called "The Walter Lantz Story" on the back cover). It was made in 1982 according to IMDB (which I figured --- there was a mention of Lantz's 1979 Academy Award). It features some nice looking clips featuring Oswald the Rabbit.

I must have all three of these 1982 Lantz collections now. I own one (with no original box) with "Barber of Seville", "I'm Cold", "Dog Tax Dodgers", "Swing Your Partner", "Plywood Panic", "Woody Woodpecker", "Smoked Hams", and "Sleep Happy".

I also have the 2-tape Woody set from Goodtimes which I found at Wal-Mart a couple years ago (which I was told was a re-issue of an old Universal tape): "Wacky Bye Baby", "The Screw-Driver", "Fish Fry", "Sh-h-h-h", "Woody Dines Out", "The Poet and the Peasant", "Convict Concerto", "Loose Nut" (there were 4 cartoons per tape).



-Jon

[Inkspot]

speaking of rare Disney cartoons, does anybody remember this one particular Humphrey Bear cartoon. He was fighting another male bear over a female. The one he was fighting kept playing pranks on him

[PlopKat]

I own one (with no original box) with "Barber of Seville", "I'm Cold", "Dog Tax Dodgers", "Swing Your Partner", "Plywood Panic", "Woody Woodpecker", "Smoked Hams", and "Sleep Happy".


I have this tape also. It's Woody Woodpecker & His Friends Vol. II. The box cover shows Woody, holding a remote, sitting in a director's chair (with Woody's name on it) and watching a TV with the video's title on it. The faces of Andy Panda, Wally Walrus, Buzz Buzzard, and Chilly Willy are also on screen. (Times like this I wish I could scan things.)


I also have the 2-tape Woody set from Goodtimes which I found at Wal-Mart a couple years ago (which I was told was a re-issue of an old Universal tape): "Wacky Bye Baby", "The Screw-Driver", "Fish Fry", "Sh-h-h-h", "Woody Dines Out", "The Poet and the Peasant", "Convict Concerto", "Loose Nut" (there were 4 cartoons per tape).


These cartoons were on Woody Woodpecker & His Friends Vol. III. The cover of this one has Woody, Andy, and Chilly Willy marching in a parade. Woody is playing a drum, Andy a trombone, and Chilly Willy a triangle.

I won all three of these tapes from eBay auctions. With the exception of Bosko Video's second volume of Pvt. Snafu cartoons, these were the hardest animation tapes to find.

The only other Lantz compilations released by MCA/Universal that I know of are:

-- Woody Woodpecker Collector's Edition Volume One
-- Woody Woodpecker Collector's Edition Volume Two
-- Wild & Woody
-- The World Of Andy Panda
-- Man's Best Friend

I know I'm not alone in wishing that some Oswald cartoons would be released on home video. The clip from Confidence in the Lantz documentary on Volume I was intriguing and makes me want to see the whole cartoon. One thing I found interesting was that the clip showed FDR walking about & singing; no wheelchair in sight. Imagine a secret like that about a president being kept from the public today!

-PlopKat

[YPSmitGimmick]

Here the covers from the german edition of this tapes:
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004RNNM.03.LZZZZZZZ http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004RZ3J.03.LZZZZZZZ

More covers (Volumes 3-7 includes only 4 cartoons):
Woody Woodpecker und seine Freunde 4 (http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004S0M8.03.LZZZZZZZ)
Woody Woodpecker und seine Freunde 5 (http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004S0M9.03.LZZZZZZZ)
Woody Woodpecker und seine Freunde 6 (http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004S0MA.03.LZZZZZZZ)
Woody Woodpecker und seine Freunde 7 (http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004S0MB.03.LZZZZZZZ)

BTW: All cartoons are dubbed in german language. The geman edition of volume 1 includes other cartoons than your edition.

[Patrick McCart]

Those tapes have the old covers, but the new Universal video logo...