Month: January 2021

‘Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2’ Blu-Ray Review

Post author By Ben Daniels
Post date January 22, 2021
1 Comment on ‘Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2’ Blu-Ray Review

The following review is dedicated to my beloved Grandmother, Corinne Hurwitz, who sadly passed away recently. Her and I shared a particular adoration for the MGM musicals, the same company which produced the cartoons I am going to be talking about today.

Oh boy… Here it is! My review of what is perhaps one of the most divisive Blu-Ray releases I have ever seen. The Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2 collection is one that has been anticipated by many in the animation and collecting communities. I will of course go over the so-called “controversy” this Blu-Ray has garnered, but I will also say that I adore this collection about as much as I adored the first one. The cartoons selected are all consistently gut-bustingly funny, and I’ve seen some that are now new favourites of mine. And yes, they also look great.

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‘Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1’ Blu-Ray Review

Post author By Ben Daniels
Post date January 18, 2021
2 Comments on ‘Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1’ Blu-Ray Review

An upsetting reality is in the fact that when you look at all the different cartoons produced during the golden era, you have your Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, Silly Symphonies and other Disney cartoons featuring Mickey, Donald, Goofy, etc. You also have Tom and Jerry, Popeye, and so forth. What appear to have not been given the kind of praise they deserve are a treasure trove of Tex Avery-directed MGM cartoons from the 40’s and 50’s that sadly appear to have been overshadowed by the aforementioned cartoon brands. Avery directed, along with countless Looney Tunes cartoons, numerous one-shot shorts for MGM and even created his own characters that have their own series of shorts such as Screwy Squirrel, George and Junior, and, most notably, Droopy the Dog. This first volume of Tex Avery MGM cartoons is a phenomenal start to what will hopefully become an expansive collection of Blu-Ray sets.

animation Blu-Ray film Reviews

‘Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection’ Blu-Ray Review

Post author By Ben Daniels
Post date January 17, 2021
1 Comment on ‘Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection’ Blu-Ray Review

Happy birthday, Bugsy boy! I was quite surprised to see that last year marked Bugs Bunny’s 80th birthday, but I was even more pleasantly surprised by this more-than-adequate retrospective of his life thus far. While this collection certainly takes no risks in its content, there are 40 cartoons on this set out of the 60 overall that have either never been released on home media before or that never got a proper home media restoration. Cartoons that were given an improper home media restoration in the past were presented with either a lot of quirks, cut content, or even the wrong aspect ratio. Yes, these cartoons are fully restored to their original glory, in stunning HD, and I was very pleased with the results.