Description

They're the clown princes of animation. They're the international ambassadors of cartoon comedy. They're the fabulously funny friends you grew up with! And now, 28 of the very best animated shorts starring the very wackiest Warner Bros. cartoon characters have been rounded up on DVD for the first time ever in The Looney Tunes Premiere Collection! Just barely contained in two special edition discs, each specially selected short has been brilliantly restored and re-mastered to its original anvil-dropping, laughter-inducing glory! Featuring some of the very earliest, ground-breaking on-screen appearances of many all-time Looney Tunes favorites, it's an unprecedented animation celebration for cartoon-lovers eager to re-live the heady, hilarious, golden age of Warner Bros. animation! Sparkling with one unforgettable, landmark cartoon classic after another, there's Bugs Bunny's monstrously merry encounter with the tennis-shoe clad creature of Hair-Raising Hare. Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner racing to cartoon immortality in Fast and Furryous. Oscar?-winning animated gems, scenery-chewing Tazmanian Devils and much more! Plus, a dazzling array of totally Looney DVD bonus features! ... Read more

Reviews (36)

This is pointless...
Except for the fact that it is considerably cheaper then the Golden Collection, this Premiere Collection is completely pointless. Especially since there is a "buy both now!" option to buy this as well as the Golden Collection. Any person that is a fan of Looney Tunes enough to buy this Permiere Collection might as well spring the little extra money and get the AWESOME Golden Collection. But then again, if you only want HALF of a good thing, by all means get this one!

Skip this---go for the gold!!!
I can think of only one reason to buy the premiere collection, and that is if you are looking for a little something to entertain the kids with. If this was based on content alone I would give 5 stars, but I can't do that knowing there is something better out there. If you buy the Golden collection, you get everything included here along with 28 more classics and a boatload of extras. I highly recommend that set--it was my best purchase of 2003 as far as dvd goes.
Something else I would like to address; the reviewer "Kulana" who says cartoons are not for adults.He/she claims that you should get this and not the one with "all the bells and whistles" because they are for kids and not for people who want to be children their whole lives. Thats an ignorant thing to say, because so many people grew up with these shorts and they are forever an important part of our pop culture.
So in my opinion, if you are a true collector then buy the gold collection version. If you are just looking for good family entertainment, then the gold collection is a better investment that will be enjoyable for the whole family. If you dont like cartoons, don't buy this or the gold collection. And if you want the gold collection and don't have the money, save your money until you can get this version---you'll be glad you did! The better the Gold collection sells, the more likely we will get more and more sets in the future with even more of the classics.

a huge disappointment
You would think that something titled the Premiere collection would include at least one of the classics. I was very upset. As for the comment that these are for children, no they were not. They were originally designed for adults. Don't bother buying this.

The GOLDEN COLLECTION is a better family investment
The introductory DVD release of vintage Warner Bros. animated shorts is now available in two forms: the highly recommended 4-Disc GOLDEN COLLECTION, and the present alternate 2-Disc PREMIERE COLLECTION, a spare and stingy serving of twenty-eight cartoons with no frills.

The majority of the classic cartoons included on the PREMIERE COLLECTION are artistically valuable. The cartoons are uncut, unedited, uncompressed and beautifully restored to their full original Technicolor glory. All the films included, even the weakest, deserve preservation, restoration and DVD availability.

But although the basic material is excellent, the PREMIERE COLLECTION is a poor presentation which I cannot recommend. This is why I have rated it only three stars out of five. (My rating for the GOLDEN COLLECTION, found elsewhere on Amazon.com, is a solid five stars.)

The selection spans two decades (1940-59) and includes the initial films of the Road Runner ("Fast and Furry-ous"), Marvin the Martian, the Tasmanian Devil and the Academy Award-winning debut of "Speedy Gonzales". Key films of such popular characters as Seymour & Tweety, Pepé Le Pew, and Foghorn Leghorn are duly included, along with a few one-shots and curios.

Buyers expecting a cavalcade of favorites need to be aware that the PREMIERE COLLECTION features a mere handful of appearances of the true stars of the Looney Tunes galaxy. You will look here in vain for an adequate selection of classic Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoons. Such masterpieces as "Duck Dodgers in the 24-1/2 Century", "Long-Haired Hare", "Rabbit of Seville", "Rabbit Fire", "Rabbit Seasoning", "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" and "Wabbit Twouble" are to be found only on the GOLDEN COLLECTION.

The so-called PREMIERE COLLECTION is simply a partial reprint of Discs Three and Four of the vastly preferable GOLDEN COLLECTION, with the many extras removed. The first two discs of the GOLDEN COLLECTION are not included with the PREMIERE COLLECTION.

The 4-Disc GOLDEN COLLECTION, with its fifty-six cartoons and hours of supplemental extras, which are both entertaining and educational (hint to parents), is worth more than its cost in dollars and is an infinitely better investment for families than this cheapjack alternate. The PREMIERE COLLECTION is kiddie fodder for the undiscerning bargain-store shopper and ought to please thoughtless families who want to add a touch of class to their video library. Obviously, small children will be unaware that they are being cheated but then they will be unable to appreciate the artistry and sophistocated humor of these films anyway. Otherwise, THE LOONEY TUNES PREMIERE COLLECTION is to be avoided by anyone concerned with popular art and culture. High sales of the superior GOLDEN COLLECTION will determine future releases, so fans and students of classic animation are strongly urged to buy that instead. Parents desiring that the heritage of Bugs Bunny and friends continue to be made available to their children and grandchildren might also keep this in mind when choosing between the lesser and the greater.

And, by the way:

CARTOONS ARE FOR
E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E!

Doctor_Mabuse

A Few Good Laughs
While looking for the 4 disc Golden Collection, I stumbled across this premiere set.
The 2 disc collection as a whole I was disappointed in, there were many worthy shorts besides the one that were included on this "budget" set that would have made buying the Golden Collection even more attractive in my opinion.
There are a few good ones on this, such as Bunker Hill Bunny, Sam the Sheepdog vs Ralph Wolf (funny stuff!)
Marvin the Martian was not even the right voice :o(
Save your money and buy the Golden Collection for you die hard Looney Tunes fans like I am. ... Read more

Reviews (99)

A Christmas classic...
Over the past few days, I've gotten into the Christmas spirit (already; as of this review, it's only mid-November), so I figured I'd review one of my favorite holiday memories now available on DVD.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is undeniably my favorite animated Christmas special. A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph and Frosty are great, of course, but the Grinch is the cream of the crop. Wonderful narration by Boris Karloff, immaculate animation and that special "Christmas vibe" you get when you're watching or listening to something really special; what's not to like? This is an essential piece of holiday history for your collection.

There's nothing I can really say to make you buy this disc; you've seen it by now and chances are, unless you're the Grinch himself, you absolutely adore it. What I can say is that this particular DVD makes an already perfect Christmas special even better. Not only do you get a few wonderful features that deal with the making of the the Grinch and a few fun games for the kids, but also "Horton Hears a Who," another wonderful cartoon made by animation genius, Chuck Jones.

The review written by Amazon.com summed it up perfectly with just one sentence - this is one of the best Christmas gifts you can get for YOURSELF.

You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch !
Since I was 12 years old I have looked forward to seeing the annual telecast of How the Grinch Stole Christmas on tv. Now that I own the video I have watched this ageless animated classic so many times I've had to replace the video twice ! The main character is the Grinch - he's lean and green and OH SO MEAN ! But he has a charm all his own and he decides to steal Christmas away from the sweet little folks in Whoville so he won't have to tolerate their singing and happiness. He steals their trees and toys and decorations -- even their Who Roast Beast and the last can of Who Hash ! But still the spunky little Who folk celebrate Christmas by holding hands and singing joyfully. I get a lump in my throat EVERY time the moment comes where the Grinch realizes he HASN'T stolen Christmas after all. Christmas is a season of the heart -- you can't buy it in a store or hang it on a tree. Buy the video and share this wonderful classic with anyone from age 2 to 92 ! I guarantee they will love it. I am 43 years old and I plan to watch it again when I go home from work today. Just writing this review makes me want to enjoy the video all over again !

And all the viewers cried "boo who who who"....
Everything you read is true! This Grinch is yellow and drab. The disk lacks the wonderful bright colors that everyone has a right to expect when buying the DVD version of a TV special they could see every year for free. Not that there is anything wrong with original--it's fabulous, 5-stars as far as Christmas specials go. But this version is thoroughly ruined by bad mastering. Wait for the re-release. Don't get caught! The correction is probably on its way and you can be sure they won't sneak it out--it will have new packaging, probably some new extras, and be clearly marked "remastered".

If you own the DVD and have your doubts (some reviewers seem to), try this: Take a look at the documentary extra hosted by Troy McClure. Throughout the documentary, they run clips of the Grinch in the background where the color is RIGHT! A beautiful bright-green Grinch--just like you remember. Compare that to the main feature (the thing you actually paid for), where he is washed out and nearly yellow.

After living 15 years in Denmark I really came to miss some of the Christmas specials from my youth in the USA. I suppose anybody in the US with cable gets quite sick of these, but for me, the Grinch and Charlie Brown's Christmas were always an important part of building the Christmas spirit. Well, the spirit here seems to be all about greed and incompetence; sell the defective version this year, then sell the corrected version to the same people next year.

A CLASSIC CLASSIC!
This is just one of the great holiday classics from the sixties. A true holiday treat that never goes out of style. Also a true classic treat from the seventies "Horton hears a who". A must for any collector. The air dates for the Grinch from the sixties are as follow.
CBS 7:00 - 7:30 Sunday 12/18/66
CBS 7:00 - 7:30 Sunday 12/17/67
CBS 7:00 - 7:30 Sunday 12/22/68
CBS 7:30 - 8:00 Sunday 12/21/69
Buy it, a Christmas treat for always.

As Dour as You Want to Be
One of Christmas specials' enduring images is Max the dog, done up like a reindeer trudging up the mountain hauling the enormous bag of presents and trees. After not having seen this in quite some time, and not since Jim Carrey's version, it was great to return to one of Chuck Jones' masterpieces. As the marvelous Boris Karloff narrates, the Grinch comes to life reminding us that he was considerably more dour initially than the wild barely contained slapstick Carrey brought to the table. The famous Grinch song moves us slowly along like a black sludge as the Grinch endeavors to steal the commercial trappings of Christmas from the Who village. In the end, of course, good triumphs and the Grinch repents his ways and gets the picture of the holidays as a 'feeling' rather than material things. Still holds up well after all these years as it gets introduced to every new generation. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The 28 cartoons in this collection were made by the Warner Bros. artists forthe Army-Navy Screen Magazine during World War II, and were rarely--ifever--seen by the general public. The title character's name is an acronymfor "Situation Normal: All Fouled Up" (substitute another "F-word" if you must), and most of his adventures aremildly didactic: Snafu ignores an Army regulation and/or common sense, andpays the price. In "Snafu vs. Malaria Mike" and "It's Murder She Says..."(1945), he goes without insect repellent in the tropics and ignores insectnetting--and catches malaria. The stories were written by Ted "Dr. Seuss"Geisel, and the meters and rhymes echo his children's books. In "Gripes"(1943), Snafu begins, "If I ran this army...." The shots of Snafu's bareposterior and the occasional "damn" or "hell" were considered risquéduring the '40s, but the depictions of buck-toothed Japanese soldiers are morelikely to raise eyebrows today. Although obviously made quickly andcheaply--Snafu's appearance varies from film to film and Mel Blancessentially reused Bugs Bunny's voice for the character--many of these cartoonsare still funny. Unfortunately, Bosko Video disfigures these historicallysignificant films by periodically inserting its logo into the frame. What were they thinking? --Charles Solomon ... Read more