Tom & Jerry: Golden Collection, Vol. 1

Description

Product Description Tom & Jerry Golden The Golden Collection V1Celebrate the most enduring team in animation history with a collection fans will want to chase and catch! This highly anticipated release includes over 40 remastered shorts starting with Puss Gets The Boot! Enjoy these highly collectible set with Improved Picture and Audio for the first time ever! TBC]]> desertcart.com During the '40s, MGM's Tom and Jerry series was animation's gold standard, challenging Disney in the Animated Short Film Oscar category. The lavishly produced shorts featured polished animation, brash slapstick gags, and lush watercolor backgrounds. The series, which began in 1940 with "Puss Gets the Boot," ran for 15 years and won seven Oscars. Many of these cartoons follow the pattern set in "Puss Gets the Boot": housekeeper Mammy Two-Shoes (voiced by Lillian Randolph) warns Tom that if he makes a mess or fails to catch the mice, he's out on his ear ("O-W-T, out!"). Jerry overhears the threat and makes trouble. In cartoons where Mammy doesn't appear, Jerry finds other reasons (or excuses) to cause problems for Tom. But the stories are only fast-paced vehicles for the animated gags, like Tom's exaggerated jitterbug in "Zoot Cat" or his jaw-dropping, bug-eyed "takes" in "Mouse Cleaning." The Golden Collection features cartoons from 1940 to 1948, and includes the Oscar winners "The Yankee Doodle Mouse," "Mouse Trouble," "Quiet Please!" and "The Cat Concerto." The transfers were made from excellent prints and look terrific. Unlike previous re-dubbed video releases, Mammy Two-Shoes' dialogue is presented intact, although the subtitles offer the cleaned-up versions from the previous Spotlight Collection. In "Old Rockin' Chair Tom," she declares, "If you is a mouser, I is Lana Turner, which I ain't"; the subtitles read, "If you're a mouser… I'm Lana Turner, which I'm not." An introductory statement proclaims that the ethnic stereotypes "were wrong then and are wrong today," which misses the point. The stereotypical African-American maid and blackface gags were considered good fun and good taste in the era of Amos and Andy; that they are no longer acceptable reflects the social progress of the intervening decades. (Unrated, suitable for ages 7 and older: cartoon violence, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon (1. Puss Gets the Boot, 2. The Midnight Snack, 3. The Night Before Christmas, 4. Fraidy Cat, 5. Dog Trouble, 6. Puss 'n' Toots, 7. The Bowling-Alley Cat, 8. Fine Feathered Friend, 9. Sufferin' Cats! 10. The Lonesome Mouse, 11. The Yankee Doodle Mouse, 12. Baby Puss, 13. Zoot Cat, 14. The Million Dollar Cat, 15. The Body Guard, 16. Puttin' on the Dog, 17. Mouse Trouble, 18. The Mouse Comes to Dinner, 19. Mouse in Manhattan, 20. Tee for Two, 21. Flirty Birdy, 22. Quiet Please! 23. Springtime for Thomas, 24. The Milky Waif, 25. Trap Happy, 26. Solid Serenade, 27. Cat Fishin', 28. Part Time Pal, 29. The Cat Concerto, 30. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse, 31. Salt Water Tabby, 32. A Mouse in the House, 33. The Invisible Mouse, 34. Kitty Foiled, 35. The Truce Hurts, 36. Old Rockin' Chair Tom, 37. Professor Tom) Review: An Outstanding Collection, with Nitpicks - I never got over loving animation, so I think it's great to see the classics appearing in high definition. This set gets a lot of things right. The films are shown in their correct aspect ratio. The producers cleaned things up and corrected faded colors, but didn't pile on excessive digital cleaning or boost the colors unnaturally. They're presented in chronological order, which works quite well for Tom & Jerry. They're uncensored. And. . . The price is right. There's a small bit of controversy that has emerged. Most of the numbers in this set look wonderful. A few of them were allegedly transferred from sub-standard film sources. The original master films were lost in a fire long ago. I'm no expert, and I can only tell you what my uneducated and untrained eyes are seeing on my own HDTV. I can see the increased amount of film grain in some of these, and it does sometimes get noticeable. Once in a while the lines may not be quite as sharp, or the colors or exposure may be subtly off. However. . . From where I sit, it's all nitpicking. Even the worst of them are very watchable, and in fact much better than the ones I've seen shown on TV. If you watch these films looking for flaws, then you'll find a few flaws. If you watch these films for enjoyment, you should enjoy them. I find the warning screen a bit annoying. It's the one that tells about the racial stereotypes and how they're all wrong and bad, but we won't censor them because pretending those attitudes never existed would be even worse. OK. I appreciate the explanation, but I just wish I wasn't forced to stare at it for a full minute when I start up the disc. Anyhow, that's soon forgotten when the cartoons start rolling. To sum things up: Don't let the nitpicks turn you away from this set! It's a piece of history, it's a bargain, and on the whole it's quite well done. It should make a good appetizer for the Looney Toons Platinum Collection, which is coming up soon! Review: The REAL cartoons for serious collectors - I made no secret of my distaste for the censored version of the Tom and Jerry shorts available on the Tom and Jerry - Spotlight Collection DVD. Not only was history whitewashed to satisfy the PC Brigade (just who ARE these people anyway?) they were also in shocking condition with lots of dirt and scratches and generally terrible picture quality. All is now fixed for this Blu Ray release from Warner, presenting the first 37 shorts, in chronological order, with brand new 1080p transfers from the best 35mm materials, Dolby 5.1 sound (HD sound is not confirmed at the time of writing, but these cartoons WERE released in Mono anyway and DD 5.1 is still a notable upgrade) and, most importantly, UN-EDITED AND UN-CENSORED. You will finally be able to see the REAL Mammy-Two-Shoes voiced by Lillian Randolph, and various other 'racially inflammatory' visual jokes. The cartoons included are: Puss Gets The Boot The Midnight Snack The Night Before Christmas Fraidy Cat Dog Trouble Puss N' Toots The Bowling Alley Cat Fine Feathered Friend Sufferin' Cats The Lonesome Mouse The Yankee Doodle Mouse Baby Puss The Zoot Cat The Million Dollar Cat The Body Guard Puttin On The Dog Mouse Trouble The Mouse Comes To Dinner Mouse In Manhattan Tee For Two Flirty Birdy Quiet Please! Springtime For Thomas The Milky Waif Trap Happy Solid Serenade Cat Fishin' Part Time Pal The Cat Concerto Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Mouse Salt Water Tabby A Mouse In The House The Invisible Mouse Kitty Foiled The Truce Hurts Old Rockin' Chair Tom Professor Tom This is how it SHOULD have been released the first time around, but this Blu Ray set is an absolute MUST-HAVE for serious animation collectors. Spend the money and let Warner know that this presentation and effort is profitable. It will only grease the wheels for more T&J and perhaps some uncensored HD Looney Tunes.