Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection (May 15)
Given Warner's track record with previous releases of MGM cartoons, this raises more questions than it answers, like:
1. Will they be presenting the cut-for-content TV prints of cartoons like "Droopy's Good Deed?"
2. Have they remastered these cartoons from good prints or are they using the same faded versions we see on TV?
3. What's going to happen with Avery's non-Droopy cartoons?
Tentatively, this sounds like good news, but I've been burned once too often on these cartoon releases to be very enthusiastic -- at least until I actually see what condition these cartoons are in.
4 comments:
Problem is, the folks at Warner Home Video who do such a terrific job with the studio's library of classics don't control the company's animated theatrical shorts. Those are controlled by WHV's "family" division. Unfortunately, they don't know the cartoons that well and aren't the least bit inclined to spend the money needed to properly restore them. That George Feltenstein was able to get the Warner Bros. cartoons was a minor miracle, and a blessing for us.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the news. The most recent Golden Collection features some cartoons with politically incorrect humor left intact. Ideally, WB would slap the disclaimer they put on the fourth Golden Collection on the Droopy DVD set and keep them uncut. However, after Tom & Jerry, it's hard to trust any classic cartoon release that isn't a Looney Tunes release. Once Jerry Beck says something about the set, I'll feel better.
I suppose it depends on whether or not the title "Tex Avery's Droopy" is possesive -- i.e. meaning Avery's creation -- or if they're being absolutely specific, as in you're only going to get Tex's cartoons, and not the six from Michael Lah or the one from Dick Lundy.
Since there really weren't all that many Droopys made over the years, the latter seems a bit limiting -- an Avery-only collection could just about fit on a single DVD, which in turn would mean a lower retail price would likely be charged by Warner Home Video -- so I would guess all the Droopy shorts will be on this set in a two-DVD package.
There's also the Case of Millionare Droopy (1956), which was a Cinemascope remake of Wags to Riches (1949) but was supervised by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera after Tex Avery left the studio (Avery still got screen credit).
The 16 Avery Droopys, The 6 Lah Droopys (which except for Blackboard Jumble are among the rarest Cinemascope cartoons to find in their OAR), Millionaire Droopy, and Caballero Droopy make for a total of 24 cartoons, which would make for a decent two-disc set.
However, A Tex Avery DVD set has been hinted at being on WHV's backburner for some time (The 2006 Animated HTF Chat suggested that WHV is trying to drum up the $$$ necessary for their restoration), but a source close to WHV on another forum says that only this Droopy set was forthcoming and that an Avery set is not even a gleam in Warner's eye. That's troubling to say the least.
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