It seems that there are a wide range of animation questions that people wanted to ask Warners (related to classic animation, old HB TV shows, and newer WB shows).

As I mentioned in the hometheaterforum thread, I'd like to put forth the notion that one of these sites (animationshow.com or toonzone.com) host a chat with someone from Warners Animation. It would be great if it could be arranged (maybe Jerry could be the host, etc). It doesn't have to be a 3-hour session like last night, even an hour would be better than nothing, since I feel a little slighted from last night.

Regards,
Jeff

I doubt it's anything to do with shareholders -- the price of Time Warner stock is not likely to see a sudden surge of interest just because of an upcoming Warner Home Video DVD release. By coincidence, Mark Evanier made a comment today that applies to this question...

"At most companies, there is a "wishful thinking" kind of master plan to keep putting stuff out until the vaults are empty. I've seen some pretty long lists of planned releases...but it would be wrong to say that any particular show or film is definitely coming out on DVD in the near future until it's formally announced. Up to that point, and occasionally even after, it's always subject to changes and postponements, usually based on the way the market seems to be skewing at any given moment."

I think one reason that companies prefer to keep quiet about future release information is because projects can be in the works for a year or more, and it would be premature to discuss details (not the least of which is the release date) when they may still be subject to change. (It probably also helps to narrow the PR focus, enabling them to promote current and soon-to-be-released titles.)

Seems quite reasonable to me.

I was in attendance at that chat last night (Unfortunately, i wasn't able to get a question in Edgewise), and i just wanted to Congradulate them for doing a stupendous cop out.







Uhhh, They Didn't. All of the non-Cinemascope cartoon on the Spotlight Collection are the same CN prints you are undoubtedly sick of by now. (The Orignal negs to the Pre-1952 T&J's are lost, but does that mean they couldn't find any uncut dupes without Colored windowboxing? And what about the Non-Cinemascope cartoons WITH existing NEgs? Why Didn't Warner Restore them? Blatant Laziness.

This is why DVD Companies like Shout Factory are for. They buy, license and obtain rights to TV Shows and Films that their owners don't care about or screw up a DVD release of, and release a DVD that does the show or Film justice. (Example's include Shout's Freaks and Geeks box set, which no major Studio cared about or wanted to clear the music rights of, and the Rhino's release of the Trasnsformers movie, which was rleeased Uncut on DVD after being censored on Video.)

I really wonder what makes the Disney Treasures so special in your opinion ?

Personally I'm perfectly satisfied with Warner animation releases. Sure there's a few screw-ups now and then ... but then again it's not like Disney hasn't screwed up ... I think WB would have some serious catching up to do to make as many screw-ups.

So why no Tex Avery cartoons ? Happy Harmonies ? Time and money are probably the issues. That and the fact the WB vaults aren't the Disney vaults as far as I know. I can imagine it takes WB a lot longer to locate the best prints or negs for all cartoons they'd ever wanna release... not to mention restoring them.

But then again I guess your overal opinion has been seriously tainted by a big disappointment in the T&J set ... one I share by the way. But apart from those 3 shorts it really still is a great set. That being said, if and when a 2nd set arrives and if and when it contains Mammy shorts I no doubt would wanna know if they are uncut / undubbed first.

"I really wonder what makes the Disney Treasures so special in your opinion ?"

The Treasures Contain cartoons like :

Teachers are People (Goofy, 1952): Which has been banned since Columbine (As the short ends with a kid Bombing the school, yet Disney didn't get cold feet about releasing it on the Complete Goofy))
Mickey's Mellerdrammer (MM, 1933): Mickey and pals reenacting Uncle Tom's Cabin. Enough Said.
No Smoking (Goofy, 1952): Revolves around Goofy trying to quit Smoking. Once Agian enough Said
Dear Fuehrer's Face (DD, 1943): The one Disney cartoon Animation Buffs everywhere traded bootlegs of because they were so surethat Disney would never reissue it.

and the list goes on and on. Pretty obvious, isn't it? (The Treasures also represent the most major turnaround of any Studio, by the way)

"Blatant Laziness," as you put it, is more often attributable to an unwillingness to spend the money on research or restoration if a company doesn't think the effort is going to be rewarded in sales. One could easily argue that it's the additional effort put in that leads to additional sales (and I would disagree with the decision that was made in this case) but it seems silly to attribute it to "laziness."

I really believe their choice to use the edited shorts was a deliberate last-minute decision.
Look at the promo for T&J on the Top Cat box. It advertises 46 shorts (not 40), and by the
clips they show you get the impression that some Mammy cartoons would be included.

^^The problem with that theory is why would they ONLY edit 3 shorts? No I believe them that it was a mistake but waiting for this "replacement" is now a joke. Warner should definiely adress this issue one way or another and NOW.

That's all ? a few controversial cartoons ? Pretty weak argument IMO.

Disney has released 8 cartoon treasures so far ... WB still has to release their 3rd Looney Tunes set ... aren't we a bit quick to pass judgement on them ? (Not to mention the Warner Animated Library is quite extensive, given they also "have" to release the MGM animated shorts)

Don't get me wrong, the Disney Treasures are fine DVD releases, but seriously overrated IMO. They are, just to give you an example, seriously lacking in special features, something I can't say about the Looney Tunes Golden Collections.

But then again I guess it's all a matter of personal opinions and tastes. I for one am confident Warner tries to do the best they can, sometimes "sith" just happens.

BTW: It was about time Disney released some decent DVD sets, they had been screwing up on their classics more then enough before that ....

While they are lacking in special features, what makes the treasures series so great IMO is the way they are presented. Not only in those tin cases mind you, but the fact that you have each character's cartoons in chronological order (except the b/w mickeys and silly symphonies).
As mentioned, Disney have also released the more controversial shorts (and goodies such as 'Victory Through Air Power') without edits (with the exception of two cartoons and one Disneyland TV episode, all in the first wave).
But then again, it is a little early to judge the two DVD series side by side as the Looney Tunes one really has only begun.

Exactly, you are not just buying the content but the package.

With WB, it's their properties which make the product so great. Who wants to argue that the Warner Bros. cartoons are not among the greatest ever made? Not many studios can hold their films up to the quality of those in Warners classic animation library... But that's all you're getting with these sets (well, I shouldn't overlook many of the great extras and insightful documentaries which I can only assume and attribute responsibility to Jerry) but really it's a simple packaging of films, and that's fine. However, to date the majority of the films collected have been very calculated in aim. The studio does not want to include black & white cartoons because they don't want to bore the children and they don't want to include cartoons with any potentially racy content of any degree so as not to offend mr. and mrs. right wing psycho conservative smith. etc. But than these are said to marketed as collector's items, so what gives?

With the Disney Treasures series, the studio showed no apprehension whatsoever.

They offered a truly elegant and thoughtful collector's package of cartoons presented in a comprehensive chronological order with care put into every detail of the product. You would not see menu screens with ridiculous clip art stills nor would you encounter problems with a discs mastering (i.e. interlacing) etc. I won't argue that these GC's are wonderful collections and I very much anticipate future releases, but as far as DVD sets, they are mediocre at best. It's the content that makes them great. With Disney, they go to every length to ensure that quality is prevalent in every area of their product. The presentation, the content, the extras, the packaging, the subtelties. WB doesn't seem to care. Moreover however, is the fact that they can't seem to find a venue to release their less obvious and more obscure older films which despite what some might argue, there IS a market for. 100%. This is what is most bothersome. So in retrospect to all of these issue, there really is no comparisson between the Disney Treasures line and the Looney Tunes Golden Collections, they aren't even in the same category. Just look at last year's Frontlines release alone. These DVD's are among my most prized posessions in my home video library, but let's face it... if we turned on Cartoon Network, Boomerang or even dare I say Teletoon, we'd pretty much have the contents of the first GC in broadcast available right there. Again, that's not to say I don't love those cartoons nor appreciate the oppurtunity to own them, along with some really great extras (on the first GC especially!)... but they could be offering so much more and it's obvious that they are still apprehensive after all these years about approaching many films in their catalogue. Just the fact that they didn't have an animation representative at the chat the other night shows a lack of concernment and distinction towards the genre, because afterall, Warner Bros. Studios owns one of, if not THE greatest animation libraries in the world. and possiby have more classic cartoons in their vaults than their entire classic film catalgoue...

There is no question when you factor in all the cartoons from M-G-M, Hanna-Barbera, and the Fleischer Popeye's that W-B controls THE greatest library of cartoon "shorts."

The lack of a Tex Avery set is the most disturbing because Avery's name has become something of a "known" quantity in the marketplace. There were, what, 4 volumes of VHS Tex Avery collections and a complete collection of the Avery MGM library on LD.

With Avery's W-B catalog now owned by the same studio that has his M-G-M work, the possibility for a nearly definitive Avery collection exists. And I, like most of you, believe there is a solid market for this work.

The Disney "tins" are still the standard by which other compilations should be judged. While the b&w Mickeys were not in strict chronological order - each individual set was presented in chronological order. I, for one, never dreamed they'd ever release all the black and white Mickeys - so I'm happy to own them. I'm hoping they eventually release that second volume of Silly Symphonies (with - hopefully - an uncut print of "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" which contains some non-PC jokes).

As for the extras - they are nice, but really after I've seen them once, I seldom watch them again whereas the cartoons will be screened many, many times.

I'm glad you agree with me on that !

Also thx for the lengthy reply Am01ne. I guess I don't really care as much about packaging as I do about contents. Chronological or not ? Doesn't really bother me either since I like a little variety when watching them anyway. It would have been nice ... but it doesn't bother me that they went for the random method

And then there's the controversial ones ... I have no clue what percentage of the toons could be considered controversial ... but even if it were half of them, wouldn't that still leave enough material to fill quite a few Golden Collections.

Another thing is that over here (Belgium) we're not overexposed to the cartoons the way for example Americans are: no LD's, no 1$ a piece DVD's, no videotapes ... and hardly any WB cartoons on DVD. So can you honestly blame me for liking the GC releases more then the Treasures ? After all I am kind off a wacky guy ... and the closest thing to that in the Disney library is Donald Duck ...

In regards to the recent WB "chat". It would be nice if one could reproduce that Chat in this forum - IF THAT is not allowed on that forum - then give a relatively accurate summary what happened.

Also WB should do what Disney seems to do now - put all the "controversial or sensative" cartoons into a special Title. The Tom & Jerry "Blackface" jokes may upset blacks just like in the 1st Disney Silly Symphonies box - the "Jewish Brush peddler" obviously upset some members of this forum. I must also assume that this was one of the first Disney "sensitive" cartoons and realized the problem and corrected it - such as putting the "Fuehrer's Face" into a separate title. I belive something similar is done in the recent Pluto box. WB should not be so conservative and do something similer as Disney. I believe on US TV - the networks are so afraid of insulating someone - that the TV is very bland. Way back in the 50's, NBC created the NBC Symphony with Arturo Toscanini. Today people don't want to take chances.

Having lived in Germany for sometime, TV is more "liberal". It was once said that McHales Navy would never be seen on German TV. Not true! I may even show "the Fuehrer's Face" to a german and see what his recation is.

The general problem - not just cartoons - but 2 people can see something and have 180 degree opinions. On should not eliminate or censure everything that might upset someone - we would end up with nothing!

Chat transcript is here