Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection

The gray and white-haired rascally rabbit known as Bugs Bunny has been an iconic staple in television and pop culture icon for many decades as he's entertained people of all ages from the big screen to Saturday morning cartoons. Bugs played hoops with Michael Jordan in Space Jam and fought the forces of evil with Brendan Fraser in the Looney Toons Back In Action, not to mention a myriad of other productions he's popped up in. His quick-witted jokes and ability to one-up his co-stars are what makes him so charming and funny all the years later, but Bugs had to get his start somewhere.

Bugs Bunny first popped up in 1940 in A Wild Hare and was made as a spinoff character off the already popular Daffy Duck. Bugs immediately became extremely popular and began to take over the animated world. Bugs went on to lead 160 Looney Tunes cartoons and a few animated feature films, including 1001 Rabbit Tales. He was voiced by the impressive Mel Blanc and created by Tex Avery. Bugs became one of the patriotic poster children for WWII, a friend to all kids, and a pure form of entertainment for everyone across the globe.

Warner Bros. now has released an 80th Anniversary Collection that collects 60 of those famous cartoons from the vintage Bugs Bunny era (1940-1964), which are mostly in chronological order across three Blu-ray Discs. There are 20 animated shorts that have been included in previous Blu-ray releases related to Looney Tunes. But there are 40 cartoons included here that have NEVER been released on Blu-ray or DVD before until this set, which is quite amazing. Each episode has been given a great new HD transfer and is easy to navigate around. Below are the episodes in the order they appear.

DISC ONE

• Elmer’s Candid Camera (1940 – with commentary by Jerry Beck)
• A Wild Hare (1940 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• Hold the Lion, Please (1942 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942 – with commentary by Michael Barrier and Bob Clampett)
• Super-Rabbit (1943 – with commentary by Paul Dini)
• Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943)
• What’s Cookin’ Doc? (1944 – with commentary by Jerry Beck)
• Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (1944 – with commentary by Stan Freberg)
• Hair Ribbin’ (1944 – with commentary by Constantine Nasr)
• The Old Grey Hare (1944 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• Baseball Bugs (1946 – with commentary by Eric Goldberg)
• Hair-Raising Hare (1946 – with commentary by Greg Ford, Michael Barrier, and Lloyd Turner)
• Racketeer Rabbit (1946)
• Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• Haredevil Hare (1948 – with commentary by Michael Barrier and Pete Alvarado)
• Hot Cross Bunny (1948)
• Hare Splitter (1948)
• Knights Must Fall (1949)
• What’s Up Doc? (1950 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• 8 Ball Bunny (1950 – with commentary by Jerry Beck)

DISC TWO

• The Rabbit of Seville (1950 – with commentary by Eric Goldberg)
• Rabbit Every Monday (1951 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• The Fair-Haired Hare (1951 – with commentary by Constantine Nasr)
• Rabbit Fire (1951 – with commentary by Greg Ford and Chuck Jones)
• His Hair-Raising Tale (1951)
• Hare Lift (1952)
• Upswept Hare (1953)
• Robot Rabbit (1953)
• Captain Hareblower (1954)
• No Parking Hare (1954)
• Yankee Doodle Bugs (1954)
• Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953 – with commentary by Jerry Beck)
• Baby Buggy Bunny (1954 – with commentary by Constantine Nasr)
• Hare Brush (1955)
• This Is a Life? (1955)
• Rabbitson Crusoe (1956)
• Napoleon Bunny-Part (1956)
• Half-Fare Hare (1956)
• Piker’s Peak (1957)
• What’s Opera, Doc? (1957 – with commentary by Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese, and Maurice Noble, as well as a second commentary by Daniel Goldmark)

DISC THREE

• Bugsy and Mugsy (1957)
• Show Biz Bugs (1957 – with commentary by Greg Ford and Pre-Score Music)
• Hare-Less Wolf (1958)
• Now Hare This (1958)
• Knighty Knight Bugs (1958 – with commentary by Jerry Beck)
• Hare-Arabian Nights (1959)
• Backwoods Bunny (1959)
• Wild and Woolly Hare (1959)
• Bonanza Bunny (1959)
• People Are Bunny (1959)
• Person to Bunny (1960)
• Rabbit’s Feat (1960 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• From Hare to Heir (1960 – with commentary by Greg Ford)
• Compressed Hare (1961)
• Prince Violent (1961)
• Shishkabugs (1962)
• The Million Hare (1963)
• The Unmentionables (1963)
• False Hare (1964 – with commentary by Jerry Beck)

The Vital Stats: The Blu-ray

Bugs Bunny: 80th Anniversary Collection comes in a 3-disc Blu-ray set inside a hard, blue plastic case with an insert for a digital code for every episode. Additionally, there is a full-size Glitter Diamond Bugs Bunny Funko Pop figure, an episode guide, and an intro letter from animation expert Jerry Beck. 

The Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection comes with a brand new 1080p HD transfer in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. For this collection, Warner Bros. went and took all of the original 35mm camera negatives and transferred them over to this new digital print, using the original artwork, which has resulted in a truly magnificent image with no damage or problems. Each animated short still encapsulates the vintage filmic quality of depth and hand-drawn animation and never the overly-digitized look.

None of the animations is soft or blurry, but rather sharp and vivid, showcasing brush strokes, illustrated lines, and a few textures of pen and pencil marks. Colors are bright and bold, well-balanced and nuanced, bringing new life to these old cartoons. This wide array of colors simply pop right off screen rather it be Bugs' gray fur, a red stick of dynamite, or Daffy's jet black feather suit. It all looks perfect and perhaps the best it has ever been thus far to the naked eye.

This release comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track that captures the soundscape perfectly. This isn't a $100 million blockbuster action movie so the dynamic range of surround speakers is not here, but the wacky sound effects are robust and loud from explosions to horse gallops and crash into the ground - all of which sound wonderful.

Each effect is clearly presented with the right amount of levels both high and low. Dialogue is crystal clear and easy to follow along with and never sounds like the inside of a tin can. This is a great sound audio mix for sure within its limits.

There are over 248 minutes of bonus material included on this three-disc set. Additionally, there are 29 different commentary tracks, bonus episodes, documentaries, and music-only tracks. These are all worth watching. 

• Audio Commentary - There are 29 different commentary tracks on 29 of the episodes included here from animation historians and experts, discussing the titular hare and how his image changed over the years. These are well worth the listen. 
• Bugs Bunny's 80th What's Up Doc-umentary! (HD, 61 Mins.) - A wonderful set of new and old interviews with creators, historians, and more that focus on Bugs Bunny. 
• Behind The Tunes (HD, 81 Mins.) - Some behind the scenes footage of the animation process and work that went into nine of the episodes. 
• Alternate Audio Programs - Three different animated shorts have music only or music and effects only tracks. One of them has a dialogue only track too, which gives you a sense of how important the music and effects were. 
• Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary (HD, 48 Mins.) - An older featurette from 1990 that discusses the Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny with some notable A-list celebrities chiming in. 
• Bonus Looney Tunes Cartoons (HD, 58 Mins.) - There are ten bonus cartoons included as well.

This Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Blu-ray set is really something special. Every single one of the sixty episodes looks fantastic in their new 1080p HD transfer. The audio track is good too, along with some extraordinary bonus features totaling more than four hours. This gift set comes with a Bugs Bunny Funko Pop action figure too. This is the perfect gift for anyone. Highly Recommended