Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault: Volume 2 (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, Abe Levitow, Arthur Davis
STARRING: Mel Blanc, Bill Roberts, June Foray, Arthur Q. Bryan
RATED: UR/Region: A/1:37/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 2
AVAILABLE FROM Warner Archive Collection
There’s something deeply funny about Warner Bros. finally cracking open the vault for Looney Tunes and acting like they’re doing us a favor—as if these cartoons haven’t been living rent-free in pop culture for the last 80 years.
Enter Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault: Volume 2, a release that basically says, “Hey, remember how good animation used to be? Yeah, we found more of that.”
And to be fair…they did.
The cartoons themselves? Untouchable. This is peak-era insanity featuring the usual chaos agents—Bugs Bunny being smug as ever, Daffy Duck spiraling into unhinged ego meltdowns, and a supporting cast that treats physics like a polite suggestion. The timing is razor-sharp, the gags still land, and it’s honestly a little embarrassing how well this stuff holds up compared to modern animation that costs a small country’s GDP.
Visually, the Blu-ray upgrade is where things get interesting. A lot of these shorts look fantastic—colors pop, lines are crisp, and you can actually see details that were probably last visible when Chuck Jones was still arguing over storyboards. But then, every now and then, you’ll hit a transfer that looks like it took a quick nap in 1997 and never fully woke up. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it does keep you on your toes.
As for special features…well, let’s just say this isn’t exactly the Criterion Collection. You’re mostly here for the cartoons, not a three-hour documentary on the existential symbolism of anvils. It would’ve been nice to get more context or extras, especially given how historically important this material is, but apparently the “vault” doesn’t include bonus features.
Still, the biggest win here is that these cartoons are accessible again in a legit, good-looking format. For years, Looney Tunes releases have felt weirdly piecemeal, like someone at Warner Bros. was just tossing darts at a board labeled “random shorts people might remember.” This at least feels a little more intentional…or at least slightly less chaotic.
Bottom line: Collector’s Vault: Volume 2 is another solid excuse to watch some of the greatest animated shorts ever made, even if the package itself doesn’t go all-in. It’s not perfect, it’s not comprehensive, but it’s still Bugs Bunny outsmarting everyone in high definition—and honestly, that’s a pretty hard thing to complain about.
Extras
- “Bowery Bugs” with animation historian, author, and critic Michael Barrier
- “The Heckling Hare” with animator, director (Quackbusters), historian and WB consultant Greg Ford
- “Mexican Boarders” with Greg Ford
- “Stop! Look! And Hasten” with Greg Ford
- “You Were Never Duckier” with animator and director (Pocahontas) Eric Golberg
