Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (June 15, 2025)
After four volumes in a series called Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice, the Warner Archive Collection starts a new set here in 2025. This leads to the new appellation of Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault with June 2025’s two-disc “Volume 1”.
V1 provides a collection of 50 cartoons “intended for the adult collector and may not be suitable for children”. I previously assumed that meant “shorts with content we now find objectionable” but I saw so many reels without any obvious problems that I abandoned exploration of that potential theme.
That said, V1 of Vault does come with occasional elements that seem less than palatable circa 2025. These all reflect the eras in which the shorts were made and vary in terms of possible offensiveness.
I’ll look at the cartoons in the alphabetical order presented here. I’ll provide plot synopses from IMDB as well as quick thoughts and ratings on a 1-10 scale.
DISC ONE:
Bars and Stripes Forever (1939): “Some canine prisoners attempt to make a break from prison.”
Looney Tunes fans recognize the directors of the shorts the vast majority of the time, but Bars comes from Cal Dalton and Ben Hardaway, a pair whose names I never heard until today. Both directed a couple dozen reels but they didn’t crank out the cartoons by the boatload ala their better-known peers.
In any case, Bars offers a largely plot-free series of shenanigans that manages reasonable cleverness. Nothing about it dazzles, but it brings amusement. 7/10.
Beauty and the Beast (1934): “A little girl falls asleep and dreams she is in Toyland, where she and a toy soldier contend with the Beast.”
With Friz Freleng at the helm, Beast provides a famous director. However, it also comes with a terminal case of the cutes.
This wasn’t unusual for WB cartoons through much of the 1930s, as they leaned closer to Disney-style adorable antics rather than the insanity that would dominate the 1940s. This makes Beast fun to see as a historical curiosity but it seems far too pedestrian and juvenile to offer any laughs. 3/10.
A Day at the Zoo (1939): “A wacky tour of the zoo.”
Another famous filmmaker arrives here, as Zoo brings our first taste of Tex Avery in this set. It also features an early version of Elmer Fudd who bears little resemblance to the character we know and love.
Indeed, in these 1930s shorts, it becomes tough to differentiate Elmer from a similar character named “Egghead”. Whether or not Zoo intends to feature Elmer or Egghead, the character really doesn’t offer much connection to the classic Fudd.
Anyway, Zoo lacks a plot, as it just shows different animals and goofiness. Still, it packs a lot of cleverness into its running time. 7/10.
The Dixie Fryer (1960): “Foghorn Leghorn travels to the deep south to enjoy the sun, but must contend with two yokelish chicken hawks who want to roast him for dinner.”
Foghorn never has – and never will be – a favorite character of mine, so Fryer starts with a strike against it. The short’s era doesn’t help either, as I feel WB cartoons peaked in the 1940s and steadily declined through the 1950s and 1960s.
Still, Fryer comes with some quality moments, and the presence of Daws Butler offers an unusual vocal vibe since he didn’t do a lot of WB shorts. Fryer feels like a Bugs Bunny reel that subbed Foghorn instead, but it nonetheless offers reasonable entertainment. 6/10.
Double or Mutton (1955): “Ralph Wolf wants to steal sheep. Sam Sheepdog wants to stop him.”
As mentioned in my Collector’s Choice reviews when Ralph and Sam appeared, these two always offered a pretty clear riff on the Road Runner themes. Some of that comes from the fact that Ralph literally looks just like Wile E. Coyote, but the manner in which he tries to stage his thefts also gives off that vibe.
I never much cared for Road Runner, so one should assume a short that emulates Road Runner concepts would leave me cold. One would assume correctly. 3/10.
Each Dawn I Crow (1949): “John Rooster thinks Elmer Fudd is going to slaughter him with an axe for Sunday dinner and is willing to do anything to prevent his hour of doom.”
Though the title alludes to the 1939 prison drama Each Dawn I Die, no other similarities ensue. We do get an unusually sadistic short, though.
Much of this stems from a narrator who gleefully taunts John and urges him to engage in risky behaviors. This leads to a darker than usual reel with some cruel laughs. 7/10.
Easy Peckin’s (1953): “A mild-mannered security guard must save the day when robbers hold up his bank using unconventional methods.”
WB gave us zillions of shorts in which one animal tried to eat another and a separate critter tried to foil these attempts. Does “Easy” bring anything fresh to the table?
Not really, but it also manages to give us a decent little cartoon. Just enough weirdness emerges to make it fun despite the tired theme. 6/10.
Feather Dusted (1955): “Foghorn Leghorn decides to teach Widow Hen's egghead genius son how to have fun by playing various games. The little genius turns out be a better, slyer player at each of these than the overconfident, loudmouthed Foghorn.”
At the start, Foghorn denigrates Egghead Jr. as a “pantywaist”, and that made me fear the short would just lampoon brains over brawn characters. Instead – as the summary implies – Egghead Jr. gets the best of all these circumstances.
And he does so without malice, as it’s just Foghorn’s idiocy that causes harm. This makes Egghead look even better and helps turn this into a solid short. 7/10.
A Fox in a Fix (1951): “A bulldog guards a chicken coop that a hungry fox wants to raid. To gain the friendship and trust of the bulldog, the fox shaves his tail and pretends to be a hard-luck terrier looking for a place to live.”
That theme offers a little cleverness… but not a lot. We get a mix of largely predictable gags in this average cartoon. 5/10.
Good Night Elmer (1940): “Elmer Fudd spends an endless night trying to fall asleep amid myriad frustrations, especially due to a candle that won't go out.”
No confusion about this Elmer, as he resembles the “classic” version of the role and not the “emerging” one from Zoo. That said, as depicted in this dialogue-free short, Elmer lacks his typical speech impediment.
It also feels a little weird to see Elmer go against a “foe” other than Daffy Duck or Bugs Bunny. Honestly, this cartoon feels more like a fit for Porky Pig, but Good Night brings reasonable cleverness. 6/10.
The Goofy Gophers (1947): “Two polite twin gophers raid a vegetable patch guarded by a rather smug dog.”
As I suspect I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the “Goofy Gophers” always struck me as a prissier version of Disney’s Chip ‘n Dale. Did WB intend the Gophers as a more overtly gay version of the Disney chipmunks? I don’t know, but it seems easy to read them that way.
The nature of the guard dog adds some spice, as he seems more literate than the usual dumb pooch one expects. Goofy takes some weird twists that make it work, and it earns an extra point due to a fun cameo at the end. 8/10.
I’d Love to Take Orders From You (1936): “A scarecrow teaches his son the basics of the job.”
Even before I looked up the vintage and subject of Orders, I said “man, that sounds like a 1930s cutesy musical cartoon!” And I assumed correctly.
The weirdness of the theme adds a little charge – but not much. That makes this an adorable short that lacks bite. 4/10.
A Kiddies Kitty (1955): “A little girl who always breaks her toys wants a real cat to play with her. Sylvester runs into her yard after being chased by a bulldog so she adopts him.”
Since we usually see Sylvester as the aggressor, it feels refreshing to witness a short in which he becomes the sympathetic character. Poor Sylvester endures much amusing agony in this quality short. 7/10.
Let It Be Me (1936): “A hen abandons her boyfriend when a popular crooner woos her and regrets it.”
Like Orders, the title of Me implies that we’ll get a cutesy musical short. That doesn’t really occur, happily, as the cartoon veers more toward a morality tale.
The crooner offers an obvious riff on Bing Crosby, and a surprisingly venomous one given what a jerk the reel’s singer turns out to be. This gives it more edge than anticipated. 7/10.
Of Fox and Hounds (1940): “George the fox repeatedly tricks Willoughby the hound into self-injurious activities.”
George tends to remind me a lot of Bugs Bunny, and Mel Blanc’s vocal style for the role seems more than a little similar. Nonetheless, the cartoon manages some reasonably fun moments. 6/10.
Quackodile Tears (1962): “Daffy Duck is ordered by his loud-mouthed wife to sit on their egg in a nest. When Daffy adjusts the nest to make it more comfortable, the egg rolls away from him and into a crocodile hatchery.”
I think we know where this will head, as inevitably, Daffy ends up with a croc egg instead of Baby Daffy. The short takes a different path to get where it needs to go, though, as much of it follows the croc’s attempts to retrieve the egg. This offers some good bits but doesn’t quite zing. 5/10.
Ready, Woolen and Able (1960): “A hungry Ralph Wolf wants to swipe and eat some of the sheep in Sam Sheepdog's flock.”
Boy, that synopsis sure does make Able sound like every other Ralph/Sam short, doesn’t it? Probably because Able resembles every other Ralph/Sam short, so we end up with another meh reel. 3/10.
Robin Hood Makes Good (1939): “Three little squirrels act out the story of Robin Hood. Thinking he can make a meal out of them, a fox joins in.”
The short starts in such a cutesy manner that its opening made my teeth hurt. However, it gets darker as it goes and produces enough good moments to make it mostly positive. 6/10.
The Squawkin’ Hawk (1942): “Sick of worms, a pugilistic young chicken hawk sneaks out of the house to catch and eat his first chicken.”
Henery Hawk made his debut here via a less combative version of the character versus the angry bird we’d know in the Foghorn Leghorn shorts. The reel offers a good intro to the role and finds plenty of humor. 8/10.
Terrier-Stricken (1952): “Frisky Puppy's sudden barking and playful antics send Claude Cat on wild rides.”
I figured Frisky would be ultra-cute, but the short makes him more obnoxious than adorable. I guess that makes sense given the cartoon’s theme, but the end result doesn’t go anywhere especially compelling. 5/10.
Tweet and Lovely (1959): “Sylvester uses a myriad of new inventions in his eternal quest to catch and devour Tweety.”
“Sylvester tries to capture and consume Tweety” doesn’t offer a novel theme, but the technological innovations the feline uses mean we find some fun elements. Though these don’t turn Lovely into a classic, they make it more inventive than the typical Sylvester/Tweety reel. 7/10.
Tweety’s Circus (1955): “Sylvester Cat pays a visit to a closed-to-business circus and finds Tweety Bird in one of the cages. He then tries to catch and devour the tiny avian.”
I admit I wish Vault didn’t package its shorts alphabetically, as that inevitably leads to cartoons from the same roles back to back when titles involve character names like these last two. A little variety would be nice, and I remain unclear why the discs don’t just run the films in chronological order.
Anyway, even though I don’t love two straight Sylvester/Tweety shorts, the circus setting and the presence of a lion as an antagonist toward Sylvester add some zing. These make it a pretty inventive effort. 7/10.
Two’s a Crowd (1950): “Claude Cat is perfectly content with his life until his owner brings home a new puppy for his wife. Now, any time Frisky Puppy barks, it sends a nervous Claude jumping to the ceiling.”
Another look at Claude and Frisky? Thanks to that alphabetical and not chronological approach, this one arrives after Stricken even though it hit screens two years earlier.
That makes it feel odd in the “watching the whole set in order” scheme, but Crowd does fare better than Stricken, if just because its Frisky offers a more lovable pooch. I can’t claim the short excels but it manages a few laughs. 5/10.
Wild About Hurry (1959): “Wile E. Coyote tries to catch the Road Runner by enclosing himself inside an ‘Indestructo Steel Ball’ over which he has no directional control.”
While the technology Wile E. uses improves, the comedy does not. I know many love Road Runner shorts, but I do not, and Hurry fails to change that attitude. 3/10.
Zip ‘n Snort (1961): “Wile E. Coyote tries to catch the Road Runner.”
I can’t blame this set’s alphabetical nature for the presence of two consecutive Road Runner shorts since unlike the earlier pair of Tweety cartoons, neither uses the character’s name. Still, more doesn’t equal better, and Snort just brings us more of the franchise’s predictable – and not especially amusing – antics. 3/10.
DISC TWO:
Ain’t She Tweet (1952): “Sylvester makes several unsuccessful attempts to pass guard dogs and reach Tweety inside Granny's house.”
“Tweet” feels a bit like a Road Runner short, mainly thanks to the ways that Sylvester uses technology in his pursuit of Tweety. Nonetheless, it offers more cleverness than the Road Runner reels. 7/10.
Banty Raids (1963): “Attracted to the hens in Foghorn Leghorn's barnyard, a hipster rooster disguises himself as a baby foundling on Foghorn's doorstep.”
Directed by a then-53-year-old Robert McKimson, Raids demonstrates a generation gap that means the “hipster rooster” becomes a superficial spoof of that era’s youth culture. Still, that character’s presence adds a spin on the usual Foghorn antics and works despite the filmmakers’ lack of connection to the youthful character. 7/10.
Birth of a Notion (1947): “Daffy Duck cons a dog named Leopold into offering him a stay in his house, but he has to hide Daffy from his master, a mad scientist who needs a duck's wishbone.”
This delivers only Daffy’s second appearance in V1 of Vault, and he proves much more effective than with the meh Quackodile, as the short presents the role in his “classic” way, not as a beaten-down husband. This isn’t the ultra-zany Daffy of his early years but he still presents room for plenty of laughs. 8/10.
Bye, Bye Bluebeard (1949): “Bluebeard the killer is at large. A crafty mouse disguises himself as Bluebeard to scare Porky into providing him with a generous serving of food.”
Expect Bye to follow some predictable paths. Still, it comes with enough humor to make it mostly enjoyable. 6/10.
Cat-Tails for Two (1953): “Two cats decide to hunt mice on a Mexican ship and meet Speedy Gonzales, the fastest mouse in all Mexico.”
The felines here come inspired by the leads from Of Mice and Men. Looney Tunes loved to exploit those roles, and they work fine here.
I guess. Two becomes notable mainly because it represented Speedy’s debut, albeit without his usual sombrero – and with a gold tooth that would soon vanish. The sight of a proto-Speedy makes the short interesting for historic value but it doesn’t quite click otherwise. 5/10.
Daffy Dilly (1948): “Tired of selling gag novelties on the street, Daffy tries for the million-dollar reward offered by JP Cubish for the first person to make him laugh.”
Our third Daffy short so far in V1, Dilly features the character in an incarnation similar to what we viewed via Notion. That makes the Duck more of a semi-hapless schemer than the maniac of his earlier days.
Dilly disappoints because it becomes a battle between Daffy and a canine butler instead of the emphasis on the Duck’s attempts to amuse Cubish. This feels like a lost opportunity that ends up in an okay short but not a great one. 5/10.
Daffy Duck & Egghead (1938): “Egghead attempts to murder Daffy and fails.”
As implied by the short’s vintage, this one’s Egghead offers the Elmer-predecessor mentioned earlier. It also boasts an early take on Daffy who seems considerably more manic than the “classic” version.
That last factor makes the short a delight, as it’s always a treat to view the borderline insane Daffy. I like the more “normal” version of later years as well, but bonkers Daffy remains my favorite. 8/10.
Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956): “Wile E. Coyote unsuccessfully chases the Road Runner.”
Will I ever find a Road Runner short that alters my general disdain for that franchise? Maybe, but this one doesn’t do the trick, as it provides the same old same old. 3/10.
Gonzales’s Tamales (1957): “Jealous of Speedy Gonzales for taking their girl-friends, male mice set Sylvester Cat after Speedy by issuing a challenge to Sylvester in Speedy's name.”
Given we usually see Sylvester up against Tweety, the sight of him versus Speedy offers a twist. This curveball allows Tamales to become an entertaining affair, even if I admit Speedy never really developed into a terribly strong character. 7/10.
Hare Conditioned (1945): “Bugs works as part of an outdoor display in a department store window when the store manager decides to have him stuffed as part of the taxidermy department.”
35 shorts into V1 of Vault and we get our first starring glimpse of the most famous Looney Tunes character. Nothing about Conditioned seems revolutionary but Bugs shorts don’t need to reinvent that wheel, so this becomes a good battle between our favorite rabbit and the man who wants to slaughter him. 7/10.
Footnote: decades before The Simpsons, Conditioned features a human with firmly yellow skin. I wondered if this might’ve been a racist take on Asian characters but the store manager shows no signs of that form of ethnicity, so I guess it was just a strange creative choice to make him that flesh tone.
Hare Trigger (1945): “Yosemite Sam means to hold up the Superchief and Bugs aims to stop him.”
Though Elmer Fudd remains Bugs’ primary antagonist, Sam comes in second, and Trigger pairs the two in a positive manner. It comes with more than enough clever antics to amuse. 8/10.
Hare Trimmed (1953): “Yosemite Sam hears that Granny inherited fifty million dollars so Bugs tries to save Granny from Sam's clutches.”
After so much time without Bugs, V1 makes up for lost time via three straight shorts. Of course, if the folks who organized this package didn’t go for alphabetical order, Bugs wouldn’t have gotten stacked up over LaGuardia like this, but what’re ya gonna do?
We will take a break from Bugs until later in this set, but he will return. In the meantime, Trimmed brings a less violent than usual Bugs/Sam confrontation, as they mostly compete for Granny’s affection.
Of course, this doesn’t mean no brutal conflict, but the mayhem seems less bloodthirsty than usual. I like this spin on the standard Bugs/Sam rivalry. 8/10.
Horton Hatches the Egg (1942): “Horton the elephant agrees to watch over lazy Maisie bird's egg while she vacations.”
When we think of Dr. Seuss works adapted into cartoons, we attach Chuck Jones to the projects. However, this early take on Seuss features Bob Clampett as director.
Clampett brings a saucy vibe to the short that works for it. While sweeter than the typical Looney Tunes effort, Egg fits the brand and becomes a nice change of pace as well.
Little Boy Boo (1954): “Foghorn Leghorn agrees to mentor Egghead Jr. if his mother lets him stay in her warm house for the winter.”
Expect a short that seems reminiscent of Feather Dusted, as Boo follows the same themes. Foghorn acts cocky, Egghead Jr. beats him. Still, the concept comes with enough charm to make it work. 7/10.
Much Ado About Nutting (1953): “A squirrel in a downtown park lugs a giant coconut back home, but nothing he does can seem to crack it open.”
Given how heavily Looney Tunes tended to depend on its usual cast of characters – especially in its “later years” of the 1950s – it feels refreshing to get a short that doesn’t rely on those roles. Not that I don’t love most of them, but I still appreciate something that deviates from the formula.
Of course, Nutting comes with the usual slapstick, but it seems more innocent than most, as it just focuses on the squirrel’s frustrations. It balances cute and funny well. 8/10.
Odor-able Kitty (1945): “Tired of being abused by everyone in his neighborhood, disguises himself as a skunk and inadvertently attracts the romantic advances of a real skunk.”
Sex pest Pepé Le Pew made his debut here, and it becomes a fairly memorable launch. I know Pepé isn’t the most PC character these days, but I think his charm comes from his semi-cluelessness.
Of course, Kitty makes Pepé out to be a fraud, as its ending reveals that he’s not a French loverman after all. That’d get forgotten in subsequent reels, though.
I assume Kitty was a hit so WB decided to ignore the reveal at its end. Whatever the case, it becomes a fun twist for a clever short. 8/10.
Past Perfumance (1955): “In Paris circa 1913, passionate, odiferous Pepé Le Pew pursues the latest love of his life, a cat made up to look like a skunk.”
Of course, Kitty featured a “phony skunk” as well, so the basic plot to Past feels a bit redundant. Nonetheless, it investigates its theme in a different manner so it works fine. 7/10.
Porky’s Duck Hunt (1937): “Daffy taunts new duck hunter Porky.”
One of the older shorts in this collection, Hunt brings the only black and white product we find. It earns notice as Daffy’s debut.
Though like many of his Looney Tunes peers, Hunt shows a “proto Daffy” who needed ripening. While he offers some of his classic zaniness, the short doesn’t make him quite as aggressive and dynamic as he’d become.
This leads to a cartoon that can feel a bit aimless at times but also one with a decent number of laughs. Daffy would see better days but he gave us some amusement right off the bat. 7/10.
Rabbit Punch (1948): “Heckling the Champ gets Bugs into the world championship fight as the challenger.”
Expect pretty standard issue Bugs here, as he overcomes the odds to best his more powerful foe via his wits. We’ve seen better Bugs but this one still comes with some value. 6/10.
Red Riding Hoodwinked (1955): “Red takes Tweety to visit her sick Grandmother but Sylvester and the Big Bad Wolf try to capture Red and Tweety.”
While Hoodwinked follows a pretty standard “Sylvester tries to catch Tweety” theme, the involvement of the BBW adds spark. That makes this a better than expected riff on those concepts as well as the Little Red Riding Hood story.
Rhapsody Rabbit (1946): “When Bugs attempts to perform Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, he is troubled by a mouse.”
This short puts Bugs in an unusual position. He usually taunts others, whereas here he ends up on the receiving end of a pest.
Rhapsody works fine for what it wants to do, but I don’t especially love this role reversal, as Bugs simply functions best when he controls the action. Still, enough laughs result to make it pretty good. 6/10.
Snow Business (1953): “Sylvester and Tweety wind up snowbound in a mountain cabin and though Tweety has lots of bird seed, Sylvester will starve unless he can cook the unsuspecting Tweety.”
After the unusual twist from the last Sylvester/Tweety short, Snow feels more conventional, even if a hungry mouse offers some complications. This makes it a decent short but nothing special. 5/10.
Tom Turk and Daffy (1944): “Daffy agrees to hide Tom Turk from Porky until he learns that Porky plans to serve the turkey for dinner.”
The Daffy of Tom brings a good compromise between the insane early version and the oddly domesticated character we'd see later. He comes with some nuttiness but isn’t quite the same loose cannon.
That helps turn Tom into a solid short. That said, I don’t get why they called him “Tom Turk” instead of “Tom Turkey” – maybe that was some weird 1940s thing. 8/10.
Two Crows from Tacos (1956): “Two none-too-bright Mexicali crows chase a grasshopper who outwits them at every turn.”
Remember at the start when I mentioned that the “adult collector” concept listed as part of Vault might be code for “content that seems objectionable in 2025”? Tacos exemplifies that notion, as it brings easily the most racist short in this set.
Not that I think its creators intended it to come across that way, as the mindset of nearly 70 years ago simply viewed depictions like this differently. Nothing about Tacos likely would’ve seemed “out there” in 1956.
If I ignore the racism, does Tacos flourish as a cartoon? Not really, as it uses the usual “one party tries to catch/eat the other” notion without a ton of cleverness. It’s not bad but it’s not memorable either. 4/10.
Zoom and Bored
V1 of Vault ends with a thud due to the ever-monotonous nature of the Road Runner shorts. Maybe someday I’ll find one I really like, but the predictable Zoom ain’t it. 3/10.
Footnote: I don’t know why V1 doesn’t present all the shorts in an alphabetical manner across the two discs. It makes little sense that they “restart the alphabet” on the second platter.
That said, I suspect WB originally intended to put out two separate releases but eventually decided to combine them into one double-disc package. Otherwise, the formatting doesn’t make much sense.
