Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection, Vol. 1

I'm not very good at reviewing products, because I don't like expressing my opinion to the general public, but I'll tell you a little bit about this DVD.You might be wondering what the difference is between the regular platinum collection, and the ultimate collectors' edition is. I'll tell you. With the regular one, you get all the cartoons, and all the bonus footage, most if not all of which was probably released in the Goldens. You will get nothing more, and nothing less.The ultimate edition does not have any more cartoons or bonus materials than does the regular edition. All of the viewing content is EXACTLY the same. The other little things that come with it are just collector perks, in the way of souvenirs. That is, you get a little 2.5 ounce glass, which is slightly larger than a standard shot. It has Bugs Bunny text by Warner Bros, and on the opposite side is a photo (actually a drawing because he's a cartoon) of Bugs in his rabbit hole, and smiling in a presentative fashion. You will also get a tin souvenir sign about 4 or 5 inches square with Bugs and Daffy hanging out of the Looney Tunes circle. It has a magnet on the back of it as well. Last, a framed litho cel of the main LT characters marching down the street parade style, and a certificate of authenticity. Also, your ultimate (special limited) set will be numbered, to mark the fact that this is a limited production. Only 36,000 units will be produced. And that's it!So, I think you are all aware of the new cartoons vs cartoons previously released, and I will not go into detail with that. It's up to you whether you want to pay the extra five bucks to get extra junk that you probably won't care about, unless you just like nicknacks. If all you care about is the viewing content, which is really the whole point, then go with the regular one and save 5 bucks. But if for some reason you do want it, 5 bucks isn't unreasonable for what you get. The price might change anyway, who really knows?If you do not own ANY of the prior collections, and you have a taste for blu-ray, then I'd highly suggest this product. It's a great stand-alone small collection of toons (50 of them) and a couple extra ones in the bonus footage. If however you have been collecting all the DVDs that are worth buying, then there are only about 8 new toons here, with more post-jones cartoons in the bonus featurettes. Unfortunately, this is enough to stop a lot of people from buying this who have given up hope on restoration for new cartoons. They might say you're paying 50 bucks for 8 new cartoons, which for the collector, you can't really argue with.I am not going to discuss video quality/playback/transfer or any of the sort either. I really don't know what I'm looking at to tell you. To me, a cartoon is a cartoon.I really like this product. That's the only opinion I'll give, and the only way I'll give it. Thank you.

Forget all the complaints that this set contains too many "double-dips" of cartoons already released on DVD. These are not double dips. These versions of these classic cartoons, which now probably look as good as the day they were released, have never been available on home video before. Plus, even if you do own all the previous DVD releases several new cartoons and special features make this set worth a purchase.But I want to get to my main reason for this set being better than any Looney Tunes Golden Collections: a better set list. Yes, the individual cartoons are like songs and any collection is like an album. This Blu-Ray set hits exactly the right balance of variety and cohesion. In the Golden Collections entire discs would be dedicated to one series or theme or director, and to all but the most dedicated fans this is detrimental. I love Bob Clampett, but his frequent repetition of gags and storytelling devices means that after an hour or so of his cartoons my eyes begin to glaze over and everything runs together. On the 50 cartoons over these two discs the individual "chunks" in the set list (Bugs cartoons, Daffy cartoons, every Marvin the Martian short, ect.) average at five cartoons, which are perfect digestible chunks.Disc one starts with a chunk of Bugs Bunny cartoons, followed by Daffy, then Porky, and rounding out the disc is one or two cartoons from other main stars (Tweety, Road Runner, ect.). There's a nice balance within these chunks, too. They aren't skewed towards one era of a particular character. You get a nice sample of that character through the years and various permutations: earlier, heckling Bugs and later, more heroic Bugs; screwball Daffy and conceited Daffy; Clampett's wild Tweety and the more reserved (by Looney Tunes standards) Tweety of the Sylvester cartoons; ect.Disc two starts with a sampling of some of the best one-shot characters in Looney Tunes history. These are some of my favorites: The Three Little Bops, I Love to Singa, and The Dover Boys! The bulk of this disc is dedicated to the complete runs of characters who served as villains to Bugs and Daffy, and who only appeared in a few cartoons despite their popularity: Marvin the Martian, The Tazmanian Devil, and Witch Hazel. Rounding out the set are three of the wonderful Marc Antony and Pussyfoot cartoons (there are actually five of these. I wonder why the other two aren't here?) and both of the Ralph Phillips cartoons.Disc three contains several documentaries on director Chuck Jones and about 20 bonus cartoons split into two groups: cartoons by Jones made for either the US government or MGM, and several of the newer Looney Tunes cartoons which have been made in a scatter shot fashion for TV and theatrical presentation in the years following the end of the original series. Most of these cartoons are in standard definition and a little worse for wear, but a few are in HD.In short, this is a must-buy for a Looney Tunes fan, and if you've never collected them on home video before this is the perfect first set to get.