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
DISC TWO
DISC THREE
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.
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
