For fans of Looney Tunes who aren’t concerned with all the history and trivia but instead are just in it for the laughs alone, Warner Brothers provides The Spotlight Collection series of DVDs. These sets provide less-discerning collectors with enough popular (read: Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng-dominated) material to keep them satisfied, while saving the full stock of the famous and obscure for those willing to shell out the cash for the much more thorough Golden Collections.
A Bright Selection
Volume 6 of the Spotlight Collection contains cartoons mostly from volume 6 of the Golden Collection, though a couple of others from volume 2 have found their way onto this set as well. The selections are mostly very good as usual, and unlike the Golden Collection, they’re also suitable for all ages. And considering that Golden Collection Volume 6 contains two entire discs of obsolete and obscure cartoons (Bosko and Buddy and World War II shorts specifically), most viewers will probably be perfectly satisfied with the Spotlight Collection this time.
Of course, you do miss out on all the insightful commentary tracks, the music-only tracks, and the featurettes, all of which are pretty engaging on Golden volume 6. But there’s no denying the fact that the collections of shorts here is mostly fantastic regardless. The first disc contains nineteen classic Looney Tunes shorts (four of which are considered “bonus” shorts… though there’s really nothing different about them), most of which feature the usual all-star cast. Some of these are great, though it is obvious that they aren’t quite up to the quality of those on the first few DVD collections Warner released. The second disc, on the other hand, is a bunch of “assorted nuts”, and some of these are truly classic. Among them, we find The Hole Idea, where a scientist invents a portable hole, and Now Hear This!, which is Chuck Jones’ abstract journey through a short tale about a man who attempts to make use of a curiously sinister hearing trumpet.
In totality, this is yet another great set of Spotlight shorts from Warner. In the past, these sets have been chastised as too thin on content to warrant a selection over the Golden Collection releases. The same still holds true in terms of special features, but if you’re all right without all of that stuff, you can’t go wrong with this assortment of cartoons. Here’s a list of what you get:
Disc 1 – Cartoon Superstars (including bonus cartoons in italics)
- Baby Buggy Bunny
- Broom-stick Bunny
- To Duck… or Not to Duck
- Birth of a Notion
- Crowing Pains
- Raw! Raw! Rooster
- My Favorite Duck
- Jumpin’ Jupiter
- Satan’s Waitin’
- Hook, Line and Stinker
- A Ham in a Role
- Heaven Scent
- Often an Orphan
- Dog Gone South
- By Word of Mouse
- Heir-Conditioned
- Rabbit Rampage
- Sniffles Takes a Trip
- Yankee Dood It
As you read previously, for the most part, these shorts are entertaining, though they honestly aren’t up to snuff with most of the material on the earlier collections. Nevertheless, there’s still some great stuff here. Highlights from this disc include:
Baby Buggy Bunny – A bank robber (nicknamed “Babyface” Finster) clumsily loses his cash down Bugs’ rabbit hole, prompting him to pose as an abandoned baby, whom Bugs warmheartedly takes under his wing.
Broom-stick Bunny – Chuck Jones’ beloved character Witch Hazel is reveling in her hideousness when, to her horror, a disguised Bugs Bunny comes knocking at her door. Up until that point, she had been proclaimed (by the magic mirror on the wall—who else?) to be the ugliest witch of them all. However, with the advent of Bugs’ (apparently very convincing) disguise, this title has now shifted to him. And we can’t have that, now can we?
Satan’s Waitin’ – Sylvester gets himself into a nasty situation while—you guessed it—chasing Tweety Bird, and miraculously, this time it ends up actually killing him. Fortunately for him, cats actually do have nine lives, and so he’s sent back to try again by none other than Satan. You might be able to predict how well things work out for him subsequently.
Rabbit Rampage – Bugs Bunny is introduced to a new artist at the WB studio, but this one isn’t quite as cooperative (he’s got a sadistic side to him). Directed by Chuck Jones and very similar in theme to the famous Duck Amuck, this cartoon isn’t quite as satisfying (and tends to get a little repetitive), but it’s still plenty of fun.
Disc 2 – One-Hit Wonders (including bonus cartoons in italics)
- Rocket-Bye Baby
- Fresh Airedale
- It’s Hummer Time
- Much Ado About Nutting
- Goo Goo Goliath
- The Draft Horse
- Lights Fantastic
- Rookie Revue
- The Weekly Reporter
- Wild Wife
- The Hole Idea
- Page Miss Glory
- Now Hear This
- Norman Normal
- A Cartoonist’s Nightmare
- Bartholomew Versus the Wheel
- Punch Trunk
- Sleepy Time Possum
- Wild Wild World
This disc is just jam-packed with classic one-shots, most of which are taken from the Golden Collection Volume 6. Standouts are hard to choose, but here are my picks:
Fresh Airedale – Some people are really going to dislike this short (just check out the reviews on IMDB for an idea of the polarization over this one), but you have to catch the underlying message to appreciate it. The gist of the cartoon is that a no-good, two-faced dog always manages to receive neverending praise and recognition (from his owner and in fact all of society) for good deeds for which he is not responsible. On the contrary, the dog is always out to commit some sort of crime against either his owner or humanity when he sees an opportunity to instead take credit for someone else’s work. This is usually at the expense of the owner’s housecat, who is a loving and selfless being that saves him from a burglary and all manner of other misfortunes. There is no resolution to the cartoon. However, there are some pretty heavy allusions to politics and the general injustice found in our world; the bad guy in these venues frequently ends up being the one in the spotlight with so many singing their praises. This terrible quality of American life is exemplified by Chuck Jones’ short here, though many people just won’t enjoy the way it’s portrayed.
Wild Wife – A poor woman’s chauvinistic husband returns home from a day at work just as she finishes a grueling series of errands and chores which leave her positively exhausted. Unmoved, he demands that she begin her work in the kitchen as he’s starving. When she explains to him that she’s been working all day, he asks that she go into detail about she’s done all day long. This cartoon follows her story of the errands she’s run and the things she’s accomplished, and it’s lots of fun and very amusing.
The Hole Idea – A scientist manages to invent a breakthrough phenomenon: a portable hole! Needless to say, the idea is a hit with the media, and the scientist spends a great amount of time demonstrating its potential uses and benefits. But no sooner than had his invention been publicized, it is, of course, stolen. The thief proceeds to use it to break into bank vaults, steal jewelry, etc… and it’s remarkably difficult for the authorities to catch up to someone with such a unique tool on their hands.
Now Hear This – Quite possibly the most abstract cartoon in all Looney Tunes history, this Chuck Jones short is a brilliantly creative tale of a man who runs across an odd hearing trumpet. Replacing his old, battered original, he immediately notices some strange side effects. This isn’t just a hearing trumpet; it’s some sort of bizarre magical device with wholly unpredictable powers! The soundtrack and effects are wonderful and work perfectly in conjunction with the animation. It’s a really cool, late-blooming Looney Tunes short that easily stands among the best of the one-hit wonders.
Norman Normal – The story of a man who is, well, absolutely unimpressively normal. Follow his daily activities through such fascinating endeavors as cocktail parties and business encounters in this short. Sure, it sounds boring, but that’s part of the humor.
For the most part, this entire disc is pretty entertaining. There actually is one short from Disc 3 of the Golden Collection Volume 6 (the Bosko and Buddy one)—A Cartoonist’s Nightmare. This is a pretty historic cartoon that is amusing in its own right, so it’s actually a good addition in spite of its relative age.