Lyris Lite :: The new American Tex Avery DVD is...

Thanks to CartoonBrew for picking up on this post!

I have it on good authority that a "Compleat Tex Avery" DVD set is in the works, and will have these DVNR errors corrected. However, its release depends on the sales of this first set.

So my advice is to buy it, tolerate the 4 DVNR'd cartoons (which I'm going to explain below), and have fun watching all of the others, which look either good or excellent.

Before I discuss the video transfer on this set, I need to first of all say that it's great to see that Warner Bros have taken the mature, responsible approach to the less politically correct caricatures in these old theatrical cartoons. The back of the package, in-box insert, and DVD menu, all remind the viewer that these cartoons were made for adults, are products of their time, and might not be suitable for kids. So, don't let the glossy airbrushed cover art fool you - WB have got this part right. "Droopy's Good Deed", which had one part cut by accident on the LaserDisc, is totally intact. That's great! And the other often-edited cartoon is also on here intact.

Not only that, but the video transfer on "Dixieland Droopy" (what a classic!) is so, so much better than any other version I've seen. The others were either tinted brown or blue, but this one looks great. Additionally, if you owned the LaserDisc set - "The Compleat Tex Avery" - then you'll have remembered the curious Cinemascope remakes of some of the cartoons that were included, and how murky they looked. They look a lot better on this DVD, and they're a lot funnier than I used to give them credit for. And the 16-minute documentary on the set is pretty good as well - nothing revolutionary, but a nice retrospective.

Other cartoons on the set look pretty good as well, given their age. (Go and check out Andrea's site, ClassicCartoons.blogspot.com, where I sent pictures of some really great looking moments from the set). Unfortunately, 4 out of the 24 cartoons on the set are DVNR disasters and contain some of the worst examples of DVNR artefacts I've ever seen (and that's not just an angry exaggeration). It's a small number, but it's still four too many, and two of them are shorts that are rarities, as they're presented in uncut form, which is a little ironic. Missing scenes or missing lines - what'll it be?

The affected shorts (termed "episodes" on the DVD, for some reason) are so badly eroded that the mangled lines are almost constant, not just in selected areas like on the Looney Tunes discs. Basically, if a character starts running, or the camera pans, you'll see the artefacts. It's pretty severe, severe enough to be spotted while fast forwarding. Here's some samples.

Before you say "What's wrong with this one", there's meant to be strings on the top part of the frame, but the DVNR hardware has mistaken them for scratches and erased them.

The 1993 LaserDisc didn't have these problems. Sure, the video transfers were products of their time and not always as good overall, but at least the people in charge of making them hadn't abused film restoration hardware in the process. Please WB, if you're going to use Dirt and Scratch Removal systems on your classic cartoons, be more careful, and get video perfectionists to scrutinize the end results BEFORE you press a few hundred thousand copies of the thing and send it to stores! Get me to sign a non-disclosure agreement and send me screeners and I'll check over them for you for free - serious offer, I know people from WB have read this site before!

Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection is out in the USA and Canada on May 15 (in one week). I think the bottom line here is that the set is good, and WB's attempt to please collectors by releasing the shorts uncut is commendable to say the least, but they need to be more careful if they're going to "restore" cartoons. Its inclusion of some previously cut scenes and excellent quality Cinemascope cartoons, as well as some other Avery classics, means that it's still a must-have. But still, let's hope that in the future, WB will be more careful. Restoration, after all, is pointless if it ends up making the shorts look worse instead.

Man! Look at that DVNR! What a shame, atleast we have it on DVD I guess...

are the 16x9 shorts listed on the amazon page anamorphic or does it have a letterbox matte over a 4:3 image?? This write up is great!! I love these shorts, but the French box set will have to do until they come out with a decent domestic release.

The Cinemascope shorts are in their original ratio, and are presented in a 16:9 anamorphic frame.

This should have been discussed at the recent WB chat at Home Theater Forum!

Could you list the titles that are DVNRed?

Thanks
Steve

Sure Steve, it's these:

From Wags To Riches
Daredevil Droopy
Droopy's Good Deed
Three Little Pups

This would be less abstract if these were compared to Non-DVNR'd copies of the cartoons, just so we can see the extent of the damage

I bought mine yesterday. The DVNR is not that bad as Lyris says. The only time I can really notice it is on spike's body. I support this collection 100% because there uncut.

Can anyone please inform me in which languages is it dubbed? And in which languages is it subtitled? Any Spanish subtitles or tracks?

Have to disagree with the 8th and 9th comment, the DVNR is very noticeable.

I also disagree completely with Brooks Elliott. This release is consistently wracked with noticeable DVNR washing away in nearly every 2 seconds of the film on these shorts.

Only a nearly blind person can miss something that badly and consistently degraded, visually. It's positively gutwrenching.

Honestly, I bought the set becuase I also didn't think it would be that bad.

Although it VERY much is. So much so that I honestly cannot watch it a second time and will be selling it. Usually a little bit of it dosn't bother me but the level of it is terrible.

I honestly think that Brooks Elliott here, is simply supporting the set and making excuses for it becuase the shorts are uncut. Anyone can release classic cartoons uncut. It takes a GOOD set not to destroy them visually in the process.

There's virtually no excuse for it, and these particular cartoons are positively hacked. There's no other way to say it.

I actually went searching for reviews of this collection because of the dvnr issues I'm seeing everywhere on this set.. It's beyond noticable and leans on neglegance on the part of the restorers. This is a great collection of classic films at a good price but someone dropped the ball here and all I can say is that it's a shame. These films deserve better than
this. Not all are bad but enough to make you shake your head and wonder " didn't anyone care enough to look at it when it was finished?"

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