To help celebrate 10 years of the WB Archive DVD collection, here are my top picks for animated titles. This list is based off of what was most requested, and also how well they were curated on such releases, rated in no particular order. And yeah, spoiler alert (my least favorite phrase), Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch and Speed Buggy did NOT make the list. We're also skipping past DVDs that were put back in print, so Droopy and some of Popeye will have to be skipped. Finally, this list comprises of Warner Archive releases thus far. Should any more awesome titles come out past this post, we apologize to you right now (even the anticipated Johnny Quest Blu-ray). Anyways, let's get started.
A well remembered Saturday Morning show in the mid 1960s, this Hanna-Barbera cartoon stars a super heroic ant that is Up and Atom!!!! Featuring Precious Pup and the Hillbilly Bears, these cartoons have been carefully repackaged with some of their original intros intact
9. Secret Squirrel
Likewise with Atom Ant, (actually, the show used to be called The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show before splitting in half), this release also tries to carefully remaster and repackage the original Secret Squirrel show with their original intros. Secret Squirrel is a funny take on the now popular secret agent series like James Bond which follows Secret and his sidekick Morocco Mole catching bad guys. The show also featured Squiddly Diddly and Winesome Witch.
8. Marine Boy (all releases)
Perhaps one of Warner Archive's unsung releases would be one of WB's rarest animated series. Marine Boy was one of the first anime series to be in color, and the dub was licensed and syndicated by Seven Arts Television (which became a part of WB a few years later). The series has since disappeared for whatever reason not airing on Cartoon Network, Toonami, adult swim, Boomerang, nowhere. Warner Archive went back and restored the entire series on three separate releases making this hard to see anime available.
7. The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
Based on the famed comic strip Peanuts, this was the attempt to put Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang to Saturday Mornings (with mixed results). It wasn't as successful as the famed TV specials, but it still managed to gain reruns on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Warner Archive finally released these for the first time altogether on DVD. They may not be the rarest in the Peanuts library, but Peanuts fans were happy to finally own this to help complete their task of getting the entire library on DVD
6. Loopy de Loop
Another rarity from the WB library, this Hanna-Barbera cartoon was actually released theatrically. Loopy de Loop is a wolf that wants to do good instead of bad. The cartoons have since become unmemorable due to them not being as good as the TV cartoons, and reruns were very seldom if they turn up on a Hanna-Barbera packaged rerun of Yogi Bear or Huckleberry Hound. Warner Archive released this series for the first time on home video for those curious to see the rarest of the bunch during their classic years making The Flintstones and The Jetsons.
5. Popeye the Sailor 1960's Vol 1
One idea of Warner Archive was to take all 200+ TV Popeye cartoons from the 1960's and put them on home video. The cartoons were a mixed bag of studios to take on the task of making so many in such short time. The first volume specifically takes the best ones being from the original Paramount Cartoon Studio (who produced the original series as Fleischer then Famous Studios) and Gerald Ray's TV Spots (King Leonardo for Total Television and Calvin and the Colonel). Still, the cartoons were much cheaper than the original Fleischer cartoons, but these TV cartoons were very popular lasting in syndication packages for years. Sadly, sales were not good enough for future volumes, but King Features Syndicate has thankfully made the Popeye TV library available for the public to see via Amazon and Youtube.
4. Bugs Bunny Superstar
Originally released as a film compilation in 1975, this release was one of if not the first to showcase the classic Warner Bros. Cartoons as classic pieces of cinema as opposed to a kiddie show. Hosted by Bob Clampett and narrated by Orson Wells, they tell the tale of "Termite Terrace" and the people who made it all possible. Cursed at first by not getting access of the more classic ones airing on the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show and having to turn to the AAP package at that time, it became a blessing seeing cartoons from the 1940s you didn't see often like What's Cookin Doc. Over the years, bigger and better compilations like the Golden and Platinum Collections would be the more comprehensive releases, but this DVD release is PERFECT from Warner Archive as your primer to WB cartoon history, some great cartoons, and even a couple of new transfers of the more harder to see cartoons (though not as pristine as the Golden or Platinum Collections).
3. Peter Potomus
This unique collection did the impossible task of putting together ALL the black and white Porky Pig cartoons. After a daunting five years, the project became a reality showing Porky's early days to the beginning of what we call the classic WB Cartoon era. New to home video cartoons were featured on this set, and while some of the brand new transfers were questionable, they proved superior than what we've seen before: colorized, dupes, TV titles, etc. The entire Looney Tunes library may never come out on home video, but this rare classic collection for die hard Looney Tunes fans achieves the goal of targeting the release as a comprehensive curated set and not another Mom and Kids product
Before we get to our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:
Shirt Tales (for being available outside of WB Archives, specifically Hallmark since they own the characters)
Magic Boy
Yogi's First Christmas (the first animated title from Warner Archive)
Hollywood Party (not a cartoon, but has rare Disney animation including combined live action/animation with Jimmy Durante and MICKEY MOUSE!!!!!)
The Phantom Tollboth
Rankin/Bass TV Holiday Favorites Collection
1. Popeye the Sailor 1940s vol 1
This small but amazing compilation of Popeye cartoons continues where Popeye the Sailor volume 3 left off over 10 years ago. Never before released on home video, these cartoons from 1943-1945, in color, are beautifully remastered from their original nitrate negatives with their original Paramount logos as opposed to the faded AAP TV prints we've been exposed to for decades. We heard that this is selling well....here's hoping for volume 2.
Here's hoping for more exciting collections from Warner Archive Collection. Do you like what you see? Then go online now and buy them.
