DVD Review: Porky Pig 101

Today we take a look at a recent DVD release from Warner Archive looking back at a particular stuttering pig.  This cartoon collection brings together all 99 Porky Pig black and white cartoons plus 2 color cartoons making this Porky Pig 101. 

Looney Tunes got started in 1930, but the Looney Tunes then was much different compared to what we know today.  To compete with Mickey Mouse, Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising, who worked under Walt Disney, created this character named Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid and was the star of the earliest Looney Tunes cartoons.  Other characters like Foxy and Piggy appeared, but Harman and Ising were given a better contract with MGM, and when they left, they took Bosko with them leaving Looney Tunes without a character.  Now, with Leon Schlesinger as full producer of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, they had to come up with a character and fast.  Buddy was the replacement character, but was a failure.  In 1935, Friz Freleng directed I Haven't Got a Hat which introduced a new line of characters such as Beans the Cat and Kitty, Ham and Ex, and a pig named Porky.  Beans was thought to be the star of the series, but folks in the studio like Tex Avery were having too much fun with "this pig character".  Audiences agreed, and Porky became the star, even bigger than the characters previously created for Looney Tunes.

Porky had some changes over the past 8 years covered on this collection.  They gave Porky a diet and made his head much more rounder.  Co-stars changed over the years including Gabby Goat and Daffy Duck.  New directors came in like Bob Clampett who made some of the best Porky cartoons on here.  But the biggest change was the voice.  Originally voiced by Joe Daughtry, he actually stuttered.  Since recording was much complicated back then, they had a hard time working with him.  An up incoming actor named Mel Blanc just got his break voicing some incidental characters, but he immediately got the lead role as Porky.  This would be followed by the many voices of Warner Bros. cartoons.  As you go through this collection, you'll see the progressive changes done to the cartoons.  Once you hit the 40's, that's when things start to change.  A new character named Bugs Bunny appeared and would quickly become the star of Looney Tunes.  The collection ends with Porky Pig's Feat, and the very last scene has Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and the only black and white appearance of Bugs Bunny (save for Porky's Hare Hunt which marked the first appearance of the prototype version of this character).  It pretty much shows the end of the old and the beginning of the future of Looney Tunes.  One year after that cartoon was released, Bugs Bunny was voted the best cartoon character surpassing even Disney's Mickey and Donald.  The rest....well...you know the rest....Bugs starred in the rest of the Looney Tunes cartoons and characters such as Tweety and Sylvester, Daffy Duck, Taz, Marvin the Martian, Road Runner and Coyote, and many others became his co-horts.  Even Porky Pig was reduced to a co-star, but I wouldn't say fully abandoned as Porky still makes appearances in cartoons with some help of current voice of Porky, Bob Bergen, and not to mention his signature phrase at the end of the cartoons, "T-T-That's all Folks!!!"

 DVD sales have not been what they've used to, so collections like this aimed for the collectors' market are hard to find.  To this day, cartoons are considered kids filler, which has been the norm for recent Looney Tunes DVD releases.  Porky Pig 101 is not meant for Mom and Kids.  This is intended for the adult collector who appreciates these cartoons what they are: ALL TIME CLASSICS IN CINEMA HISTORY!  These were originally released in the theaters usually tagged with the biggest feature films like Casablanca.  Over the years starting with Warner Brothers Golden Jubilee in the 80's, followed by Cartoon Moviestars, The Golden Age of the Looney Tunes, Looney Tunes the Collector's Edition, Looney Tunes Golden Collection, and finally Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, they were aimed for the animation fan and not just kids and families, and from Golden Collection up, restored from the original master negatives.  But, as DVD sales decreased, restoration costs increased.  HD, Blu-ray, and even 4K had pressured all major studios to make great HD versions of their library of films, but with 1001 Looney Tunes, there was no way they could afford to restore every single Looney Tune.  And if you think Warner Bros. has that rough, its smaller operation, Warner Archive, hardly has a budget to restore the cartoons in such a pristine condition.  If the cartoon has appeared in the Golden or Platinum Collections (with one exception), they had access to those restored materials.

 As for the other cartoons, they don't look as pristine.  However, George Feltenstein, the man in charge at Warner Archive, has a standard in quality.  Some of these cartoons may be taken just off the shleves, but for the most part, these are brand new superior transfers.  You may notice quality changes here and there, but they look great.  No TV titles, all original titles, no duppy 16mm prints and EVERYTHING as it should be in terms of black and white (kiss those redrawn and computer colorized versions of these cartoons good-bye).  This is a well curated set that is almost perfect.

I say almost perfect because some issues are apparent.  A few cartoons on here are taken from safety prints perhaps made for Sunset Productions in the 50's so that they can easily make a new copy and chop off the WB logo easy without the sound of the shield zooming in.  As a result, the shield zooming in seems to have been snipped off those prints.  After that, however, the cartoons themselves look fresh and beautiful.  No master negatives were used, so some of the prints taken had music issues.  The original music on some of the opening titles were replaced by ones used in other cartoons.  It remains a mystery why that was done on these prints, but it can be irritating to the die hard fans.  One in particular slammed this DVD set to the ground because of that.  This set is more so a testing ground to see if there is a market for these old cartoons, and if so, Warner Archive will do more.  It hasn't made a profit yet, but we're close.  So go out and by this online at Warner Archive.  Because, who knows, That may NOT be All, Folks if this set does really well for us collectors (and if possible, a Blu-ray version of this may come as a result and have these issues fixed, but not now....we have to see if folks are still willing to buy cartoons like these on physical home media).  Highly Recommended.

The Powerpuff Girls....Forever ruined!!!!!

When Craig McKracken first came up with The Whoopass Girls in the early 90's, there were three girls created using sugar, spice, and everything nice plus an accidental dosage of "whoopass".  When Cartoon Network picked it up as a series of shorts, they toned it down for a more kid friendly audience by making them superheros and a new name....The Powerpuff Girls.  With the exception of "whoopass" being replaced by Chemical X, the concept was still the same.  The ingredients, sugar, spice, and everything nice, plus Chemical X created Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.  Therefore, it was always standard that there were three Powerpuff Girls.  Sure there were some exceptions over the course of its history, but each time on the show, it resolves itself back to three because in doing cartoons like this, you want to make sure that each episode flows well so that you can reset your characters for another new episode or an upcoming rerun.

Flash forward to 2017.  Well....that original staff at its creator are gone.  The people behind the new Powerpuff Girls series are people wanting to cash in on cartoons popular today even by their own network.  We are looking at you Teen Titans Go you piece of...well anyways......  Sure the Powerpuff Girls themselves look fine unlike previous reboots, but the writing eventually showed for itself that the episodes were less about being superheros and more about comedy.  Gone were epic stories and clever ideas (remember The Beat Alls?????  Wasn't that a clever idea???).  Gone also are the original voices who were ready, willing, and able to lend their voices again only to get the doors slammed at their faces for a younger voice cast (and I do mean YOUNG).  Then you turn around and you see at least one of the Powerpuff Girls.......TWERKING!!!!!  Excuse me, I thought this was a kids show.  When has twerking become appropriate for kids?

You thought twerking was the biggest insult?  Well here comes one even bigger.....they are adding a fourth Powerpuff Girl.  Wait a minute....you are thinking "didn't you just say there is no way to be a fourth Powerpuff Girl?"  Not only did I say it, I proved it.  Well, that proof doesn't matter.  Cartoon Network just announced a fourth Powerpuff Girl named Bliss is coming.  In fact, in Russia she's already here.  Whether or not this is a permanent change has yet to be determined, but chances are, she's here to stay.

So now the question is, why did this happen?  My first guess is that since there is no black Powerpuff Girl there was a need of one.  And I don't want to turn this into a race issue as that's not my problem.  She could be a Smurf for all I care and I still would have a problem with it.  My next guess would be this.........MONEY!  If we have a fourth Powerpuff Girl, girls will then wanna by more toys with Bliss to help complete the toy collection to play with.  What happens then when all Bliss toys sell?  Will there be a fifth Powerpuff Girl?  Sixth? Tenth even?

Whenever changes like this happen, you alienate the die hard fans and they will never ever watch.  Many will disagree with me about the Chipettes being one of those changes on Alvin.  How about Loonatics Unleashed (which was so horrible you either don't remember or you did but erased from your memory for the sake of humanity)??  Yes, reboots need to have some sort of change in order to compete, but if they are done in a style such as the new Mickey Mouse shorts and what was Wabbit now called New Looney Tunes, you may succeed.  But if the changes are without caring about the property, there's a problem.  If you like the Pink Panther, for example, you don't want him to talk.  If you don't know the Pink Panther....YOU DON'T CARE if he talks.  The Pink Panther is indeed talking in this case (metaphorically speaking of course).

So what can be done?  First, don't watch this show or any episodes featuring Bliss.  Second, support the original series for what it is.  All the episodes of the original series are currently on Hulu.  There's also the complete collection which you can still find on Amazon.  Supporting that may get the message that we don't these new reboots to be corporate but creative.  Once creativity dies, people notice.  Until then, the world of The Powerpuff Girls will never be the same, and I for one do not look forward to this.

Porky Pig 101: Everything you need to know about this DVD collection

Warner Archive is getting ready to release a big cartoon DVD collection that stars Porky Pig.  Here's EVERYTHING you need to know about this set other than it comes out September 19th and only available online through Warner Archive.

1.  It took 5 years to come into reality

This was one of many ideas that Warner Archive had for classic cartoons.  Unfortunately, many fell through to make way for cheaper alternatives (crappy Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 70's and 80's), but this one seems to have survived.  All 99 Porky Pig black and white cartoons (plus two color cartoons) make up Porky Pig 101.  Each cartoon had to be cleared for release.

2. The cartoons are not remastered, but are brand new transfers

While WB has unlimited budgets and showed that in previous collections, Warner Archive has a smaller budget.  Therefore, they could not restore any of the cartoons per say.  However, George Feltenstein who runs Warner Archive really cares about the library, so they went through the vaults of the best prints they have of the cartoons and make new transfers for them (they have the negatives, but they never went to the negatives in this case).  Therefore, they won't be stunning, but they will look very good and well curated as if someone really and truly cared.

3. You will see (and hear)....."Things......"

What are these "things" you may ask?? Well, the cartoons were the product of the times.  On some occasions, they may depict some racial and ethnic stereotypes.  It's not just limited to black people; Native Americans, Arabs, all kinds of groups you can think of.  One cartoon uses a "Black Beauty" gag.  Another has Porky using a word referring to the Indians as a term used in Washington's NFL team (I don't like using that term).  Now these jokes were wrong then and they are certainly wrong today, but removing these scenes and keeping them locked away in the vaults is just the same as saying "they never existed".  This is not for moms and kids; it's for those looking to watch Looney Tunes in an appreciative way (there are a few great cartoons on here that kids may enjoy though).

4.  ALL Public Domain Porkys are on here (the redrawn colorized cartoons are dead)

You may have seen some of these cartoons before on cheap VHS and DVD companies which used these versions of the cartoons:

If you remember them being crappy, it's not the cartoon, it's the version.  They were redrawn colorized in the 60's and the great animation was gone.  Of course when they aired on Nickelodeon they were then computer colorized, but these versions were the norm for specific cartoons like Get Rich Quick Porky.  Well no more!  Original versions will be used.

5.  Expect more to come if this sells

If Warner Archive can make a profit with Porky Pig 101, more collections will come similar.  Not just the Looney Tunes, WB also owns the MGM cartoon library (Tom and Jerry, Droopy, Barney Bear), the theatrical Popeye cartoons, and the HB cartoons (although they have been playing with those already).  The possibilities could be endless, and we need to get a move on in preserving the entire cartoon library. So go online and order Porky Pig 101 at Warner Archive NOW

Everything you need to know about Disney's upcoming Streaming Service

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS OUTDATED!  WE WILL BE DOING A NEW BLOG POST SOON!
The big news hit die hard Disney fans hard.  Articles about a new Disney streaming service (or services) came out of the blue as are articles about Disney pulling their content off of Netflix and millennials are having a field day over it with varying opinions.  Here's what you need to know, and no I don't do my blog to use click bate nor am I going to be like the highly biased but most popular Disney blog, Oh My Disney, where everything is hunky dory exciting about what's going on.  These are honest opinions that you may not like because while I like Disney, I don't live, breathe, or die Disney.  With that, let's get on with it

 1.  Disney will indeed pull their content out of Netflix

This isn't rumors or fake news; the Disney company stated unequivocally THEY WILL NO LONGER DOING THE NETFLIX DEAL ANYMORE.

2.  The Netflix deal was a joke to begin with

Everyone thought ALL your favorite Disney movies will be on there, and while some content was on there, not all the movies made it.  Most of it were mostly B classics that Disney doesn't promote as much like Lilo and Stitch.  I'm not saying they are bad movies (most of them aren't), but this was not what the fans were asking for.  They wanted Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Frozen, and The Lion King.

3.  All Disney content will be pulled by 2018

Good news everyone, you still have time to binge some of the content currently on Netflix as they should not all pull out immediately.  I predict it will be in stages though, so get your binge on NOW before they leave Netflix possibly forever.

4.  The streaming app, whatever it may be, will be a separate app

Yes, you will have to pay for a separate app if you still want Netflix and Disney content

5. Disney will probably pull out of Hulu too

This is not a for sure fact, but knowing Disney, they may want this app to have exclusivity, so expect the movies on their to not stay too long.  Again, these are B movies like Honey I Blew Up a Kid, so no major losses here, but still if you love these movies, binge now.

6.  There will be two separate apps, but one featuring the movies and entertainment and one for ESPN

It's actually a wake up call for the cable companies right now if ESPN makes this app easily available to those who don't need a cable or satellite subscription, and numbers show that cord cutting is rising.  This app launches with no need to have cable, and the sports fans will flock away and the companies will hit rock bottom.  In the meantime, ESPN will launch first in 2018.  The other with the movies will launch in 2019.

  7. Disney is not the first in this game and certainly won't be the last

The picture above shows that WB invested with their content first with Boomerang as well as TCM, HBO, and Warner Archive.  CBS has launched CBS All Access which has the CBS Paramount library in addition to the shows airing on CBS and the upcoming Star Trek reboot (no cartoons though).  More studios may soon follow.  Anyone wanna bet Universal will start as well with movies such as Minions and cartoons such as Casper and Woody Woodpecker?

8.  Song of the South will NOT be on this app

Don't even ask about it.  NO...NOT HAPPENING.  A lot could change between now and 2019, but this movie is still currently banned by Disney.  This is for sure not part of the deal.

But there are still many questions we don't know about this move such as

1.  Will the ESPN app be without a cable subscription?

And if so, will the Watch ESPN app die?  Remember, this will be huge if this were the case and all cable companies must watch carefully.

2.  How vast of the Disney library will be?

Marvel and Star Wars are currently still in question.  In addition to these plus the Disney brands, Disney also owns Pixar, ABC, Freeform, and Muppets.  This creates a broader library and also includes shows such as Schoolhouse Rock (pictured above).

3.  Will ALL the Disney movies be on here or a select few? *

That is a good question as the movies are more than just princess movies.  Will The Three Caballeros be on here?  Will Fantasia be on here?  How about The Reluctant Dragon, The Muppet Movie, Make Music Mine, and Mickey and the Beanstalk?  And, unlike Netflix and Hulu, are they big names (though they already hinted the latest features coming out once its launched such as Frozen 2)?

* This does not include Song of the South due to previously mentioned controversy

 4.  How vast will the Muppet library be?

The Muppet fans are still ticked about no seasons 4 or 5 on DVD yet of The Muppet Show.  The Muppet Babies have yet to surface to DVD due to clearance issues, and there are smaller unusual treasures to behold such as Little Muppet Monsters.  Ok, maybe we won't get the latter, but what about the first two?  Or even ANY Muppet content at all?

5.  Will the Classic Disney shorts be included and if so how will they be presented?

Disney started out making cartoon shorts for theaters, so it's only logic to showcase some of them right?  Will they be full length, or are they Have a Laugh versions?  How well organized will they be?  By character? By era?  By theme?  And how about Oswald and Alice?  How about Steamboat Willie which is a must?  The good news is that 99% of the shorts are restored (some in HD, some not), and some original titles were found including this one pictured above that showed up on Netflix.  That alone would sell me personally being an old cartoon aficionado.

 6.  Finally, how much TV content will be on here?

There's an excellent chance the more recent shows such as The Lion Guard and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse/Mickey and the Roadsters will be on here, as will the new Mickey Mouse shorts which are a hit, but Disney television goes back over 60 years ago.  If I may mention some titles, The Mickey Mouse Club, Disney anthology shows which includes Davy Crockett and Zorro, The Wonderful World of Color, Welcome to Pooh Corner, Mousetracks, and so much more?  Are we going to see variety from Dumbo's Circus to Ducktales or will we be stuck with hours upon end of Waterboarding...oh excuse me...Hannah Montana?  Wouldn't you just love to see these moments again on the app?

But of course, it's way too early to tell what this app or service will be like, so we all just need to wait and see.  I will say this as I said when Boomerang was announced: Disney does a very good job of taking care of its classic iconic properties.  Mickey Mouse is still a household name as are a vast majority of his friends like Donald Duck, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, and others.  That said however, the battle is still not over for old cartoons.  Disney and WB are the best track records thus far, but I really want the other studios such as Universal (who did some work, but not a whole lot) and Paramount (who did slim work.....VERY SLIM) to get on board as they are just as classic as any other movie.  Classic cartoon restoration and preservation needs to happen and needs to happen NOW, and aside from WB and Disney, only Jerry Beck of Cartoon Research and Steve Stanchfield of Thunderbean Animation has assured me of that (Google them for more info). 

One more thing, this blog recommends that if you love something so much and it is available to do so, BUY THE DVD OR BLU-RAY!  This news proves why streaming can be great but not permanent.  Once you buy the physical disc, it's YOURS and NOBODY can take that away from you. 

 Until then, See you real soon.......

......maybe.......

The Sailor Moon 25th Anniversary Timeline

It's Sailor Moon's birthday today, and this year marks her 25th Anniversary.  This timeline covers the major events that happened the past 25 years.

1992

The Sailor Moon Manga and anime are born.  Created by Naoko Takeuchi and animated by Toei Animation, this series became the start of the super heroine in anime.

Cast of characters include Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus along with Tuxedo Mask, Luna, Artemis, and various villains throughout its run

1993
The Sailor Moon anime becomes Sailor Moon R for its second season

Chibiusa and Sailor Pluto are added to the mix

Sales of Sailor Moon merchandise are a hit
The Sailor Moon musicals begin in production
Talks of an English adaptation of Sailor Moon begins
Sailor Moon R the Movie is released in theaters

Sailor Moon begins to be released for laserdiscs and VHS

Saban acquires the license for Sailor Moon

1994
The Sailor Moon anime becomes Sailor Moon S for its third season

Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn are added to the mix

A pilot was made for the Sailor Moon English Adaptation.  The plan was a mix of live action with new 2D animation.
Sailor Moon S the Movie is released in theaters

The project to adapt Sailor Moon into English failed.  It would be cheaper just to dub the original show.
Chibiusa is now Sailor Chibi Moon

Saban loses the license for Sailor Moon

1995
The Sailor Moon anime becomes Sailor Moon Super S for its fourth season

Chibiusa becomes the number 1 character licensed for Sailor Moon merchandise

DIC acquires the license for Sailor Moon.  This deal insures 65 episodes to be run in syndication (although more than those episodes ended up being dubbed).
Sailor Moon Super S the Movie is released in theaters

North America finally gets introduced to Sailor Moon officially.
The Sailor Moon dub begins airing in syndication

1996
The Sailor Moon anime becomes Sailor Moon Sailor Stars for its fifth season

More characters were added to the mix including the Sailor Starlights and Chibi Chibi
Sailor Moon bombs in syndication and was cancelled

1997
After 200 episodes, the Sailor Moon anime comes to an end
Reruns of the Sailor Moon DIC dub runs on the USA Network as part of its Cartoon Express block
Disney begins releasing episodes of the dub on VHS (DIC was owned by Disney at the time)

Disney in talks of fully acquiring the Sailor Moon franchise, but fails to do so

1998
Reruns of Sailor Moon DIC dub runs on Cartoon Network as part of Toonami
Unreleased dubbed episodes begins to be a part of the run showcasing the first two seasons
Disney continues their release of Sailor Moon with the collectible Doom Tree boxed set.  This contains the Doom Tree story arc from season 2

Ratings for Sailor Moon on Cartoon Network prove successful

1999
Cartoon Network orders for more episodes of Sailor Moon to be dubbed
Cloverway acquires the licensing for the three movies and Sailor Moon S and Super S
Pioneer releases the subs for the movies on VHS

2000
The three movies were officially dubbed by Cloverway and were released on VHS (with DIC music) and DVD (with the original music) via Pioneer

Sailor Moon S and Super S receives a dub and begins airing on Cartoon Network only to be available on VHS soon after

Changes were made to Sailors Uranus and Neptune for the English dub.  Instead of being a couple, they were cousins
Changes were also made with a slight change of cast for the next two seasons being dubbed including Sailor Moon

2001
DIC hands the license to Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R to ADV
ADV begins releasing Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R on VHS

2002
Cartoon Network ends its run of Sailor Moon on Toonami
ADV begins releasing Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R on DVD

Pioneer begins releasing Sailor Moon S and Super S on DVD and includes the original subs as well

Toei (the original owner) begins releasing the Sailor Moon series on DVD in Japan

2003
The live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series begins airing in Japan

ADV releases boxed sets of Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R.  These one of a kind collections releases the uncut subs for the first time though using the masters provided by DIC rather than using Toei's original masters

2004
Due to a pre-existing contract issue, the Sailor Moon anime got its license revoked for both Cloverway and ADV

2009
Toei begins releasing the Sailor Moon anime in boxed sets.  Each set contains one half of each season.  The project was completed by 2010

2012
Sailor Moon celebrates 20 years with talks of a new series

2014
Sailor Moon Crystal was revealed
Sailor Moon Crystal begins airing online

Viz Media acquires the license to the Sailor Moon franchise.  This includes all the episodes, specials, movies, and the Sailor Moon Crystal reboot.
A new dub begins production for the Sailor Moon anime and never before dubbed episodes get included
Sailor Moon begins streaming on Hulu
Viz begins releasing Sailor Moon on Blu-ray with the new dub.  These collector editions came out each by half a season.  The first two volumes (vol. 2 came out the next year), had quality issues with ghosting however.

2015
Viz releases Sailor Moon R on Blu-ray

The first series of Sailor Moon Crystal ends.  The show received mixed reviews with criticism on character designs, CGI transformations, story, and bad animation
Viz begins dubbing Sailor Moon Crystal

2016
Viz begins releasing Sailor Moon S on Blu-ray

The next series of Sailor Moon Crystal begins airing with a vast improvement

Viz begins releasing Sailor Moon Crystal on Blu-ray

2017
Viz releases the new dub to Sailor Moon R the Movie in theaters and on Blu-ray

Toei begins releasing Sailor Moon on Blu-ray

The future still shines bright for our super heroine.  Here's to 25 more years!!!!!!!