One of the greatest pioneers of animation’s Golden Age of the ’30s through the ’50s was the one and only Tex Avery. Where Disney cartoons were safe wholesome fun for the whole family, and Looney Tunes were wild but not too wild, Tex Avery’s animated shorts were just flat out bonkers. And more than just a little bit horny.
Now, according to a report over at Animation Scoop, it looks like Warner Brothers is bringing those classic cartoons to Blu-ray in glorious high definition at long last.
Warner Brothers Archive
Warner Archive Collection has restored several of Avery’s classic MGM cartoons of the 1940s and early 50s, from brand new 1080p HD masters made from 4K scans of archival elements. And you won’t have to wait long to see them either, as they’ll be available to purchase on Blu-ray starting on February 18th. These were created using brand new 1080p HD Masters from 4K scans of archival elements.
This release is called Tex Avery Screwball Classics Vol. 1, which suggests we are going to be getting a volume 2 at some point in the near future. You can check out the new Blu-ray cover art above, and you can pre-order your copy by clicking here.
Warner Brothers
For those of you possibly too young to know, Tex Avery was a legendary animator was an instrumental factor in the creation of animation icons such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other Warner Brothers Looney Tunes characters. But he left Warner Brothers for rival studio MGM in the forties, where he created some of the most memorable animated shorts of all time. He never felt quite appreciated at Warners, and MGM let him cut loose and go nuts. Of course, now Warner Brothers own the old MGM library, so it all came full circle anyway. You’ve seen that GIF of wolf with his eyes poppin’ out on social media? That’s a Tex Avery creation.
This first volume of Tex Avery Screwball Classics contains 19 cartoon shorts, including the following:
Red Hot Riding Hood
Who Killed Who?
What’s Buzzin’ Buzzard?
Batty Baseball
The Hick Chick
Bad Luck Blackie
Garden Gopher
The Peachy Cobbler
Symphony in Slang
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Featuring Screwy Squirrel:
Screwball Squirrel
The Screwy Truant
Big-Heel Watha
Lonesome Lenny
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Featuring George & Junior
Hound Hunters
Red Hot Rangers
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Featuring Droopy Dog:
Dumb Hounded
Wags to Riches
The Chump Champ
Daredevil Droopy
This seems like a lot, and it is over two hours long in total. But there are still tons of other Tex Avery animated shorts that could fill up a second and third volume easily. Among them are his brilliant spoofs like The House of Tomorrow and The TV of Tomorrow, a series of animated shorts that threw more than a little shade at Walt Disney’s futurist toons. Those old Disney cartoons were made to glorify the modern luxuries of the Atomic Age, and were more than a little hokey. We fully expect to see this in a future Blu-ray compilation down the road.
Featured Image: Warner Brothers