12. Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1 & 2

The name Tex Avery is one of the most iconic in the medium of classic cartoons. The man is responsible for some of the greatest characters of all time. He co-created many a kids favorite characters, from Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, The Big Bad Wolf and Droopy Dog.

These two volumes contain some of Tex’s zaniest and screwiest ‘toons ever. And each one is a winner. If you combine the two sets you get 40 uncut, classic cartoons. They are not technically in chronological order but the fine folks at Warner Archive of sort of picked the best of the best. And that is what is truly remarkable about these two sets. Is there is really no drop off in the quality of the cartoons. Each one is funny (at times offensive, but hey they are over the top cartoons), violent and maybe the best way to describe them is out of control in the best possible way.

The cartoons themselves are so iconic that they have been the inspiration for cartoon makers for generations. You might not have seen “Red Hot Riding Hood” but your sure as hell know the Big Bad Wolf’s reaction to her, trust me you’ve seen it somewhere else, perhaps Jim Carrey’s film The Mask.

These are must buys for cartoon fans. Warner Archive is the go to place for high quality classic cartoons.

Here’s what cartoons you get with each volume;

Volume 1

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

“Screwy Squirrel Shorts”:

Screwball Squirrel

The Screwy Truant

Big Heel-watha

Lonesome Lenny

“George and Junior Shorts”:

Hound Hunters

Red Hot Rangers

“Droopy Dog Shorts”:

Dumb Hounded

Wags to Riches

The Chump Champ

Daredevil Droopy

Volume 2:

“Screwball Classics”:

Little Rural Riding Hood

The Cuckoo Clock

Magical Maestro

One Cab’s Family

The Cat That Hated People

Doggone Tired

The Flea Circus

Field and Scream

The First Bad Man

“Droopy Dog Shorts”:

Out Foxed

Droopy’s Double Trouble

Three Little Pups

Dragalong Droopy

Homesteader Droopy

Dixieland Droopy

“Spike Shorts”:

Counterfeit Cat

Ventriloquist Cat

“Cartoons of Tomorrow”:

House of Tomorrow

Car of Tomorrow

TV of Tomorrow

Farm of Tomorrow

Whew! That’s a lot of greatness.

The video presentation of Tex Avery’s Screwball Classics is nothing short of spectacular. Warner Archive has painstakingly remastered all the shorts and delivered two stunning packages. I love hand drawn animation in HD. I love seeing the brush strokes in the backgrounds, I love seeing the colors pop. Volume 1 is a tad sharper, but that doesn’t mean Volume 2 is a slouch. All the cartoons look phenomenal and that alone is worth the purchase price.

The slaps, the whistles the mayhem come through crystal clear on Tex Avery’s Screwball Classics. The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio on both volumes are amazing. No hiss, no pops, no cracks. Truly a master class in sound design.

As far as extras go, Volume 1 does not contain any. Although I would argue just getting these cartoons in HD is a treat by itself.

Volume 2 does come with one extra:

Tex Avery: King of Cartoons: A truly great nearly hour long documentary about the legendary director. With contributions from many friends including Chuck Jones, this a delightful watch. What’s even more amazing is the clips of the shorts on this documentary show exactly how much work went into restoring these films, it is truly unbelievable.

You can own 40 classic cartoons brilliantly restored for less then $40. It’s a no brainer purchase.

Film: Volume 1: A+ Volume 2: A

Video: Volume 1: A+ Volume 2: A

Audio: Volume 1: A Volume 2: A

Extras: Volume 1: N/A Volume 2: A

Overall: Volume 1: A Volume 2: A