The first volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection offers 56 restored cartoons and an assortment of other shows offered as extras. The extra shows have been covered in the DVD buying guide, but I will again list here the ones that are presented in their entirety. I will list the featured 56 by disc so that if you are looking for info on the Spotlight/Premier Collection you will be able to see what you'll get with it. The toons offered in that set are the same as discs 3 and 4 of this list.
D1: Bugs Bunny
1) Baseball Bugs
Bugs single-handedly takes on a team of rough baseball players after calling them nasty names.
2) Rabbit Seasoning
It’s duck season, but Daffy wants to trick Elmer into shooting Bugs instead. Bugs outwits both of them.
3) Long Haired Hare
Bugs innocently distracts a rehearsing opera singer who has a bad attitude. After taking abuse after abuse, Bugs fights back during the concert by literally bringing down the house.
-Bugs tormenting the poor singer while posing as a famous conductor is one of the shining moments of cartoon hilarity.
4) High Diving Hare
Sam pays to see a high-diving act but Fearless Freep is delayed. Sam decides to force Bugs to do the act himself… not going to happen. Sam ends up taking the plunge over and over and over…
-Sam never learns, does he? There's something about these two facing off that cracks me up more than any other except maybe Daffy.
5) Bully For Bugs
Bugs stumbles across a bull fight (should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque). When the bull attacks, Bugs can’t help but retaliate.
6) What’s Up Doc
Bugs tells his life story over the phone. He started in show business as a chorus singer. Then he met Elmer and they formed a hit comedy team until Bugs struck out on his own. Their tag line was “What’s up doc?”
-The punchline in this one seems weak to me, but Elmer as a star too great for the comic legends he passes by is funny.
7) Rabbit’s Kin
Little Buster runs to Bugs because he’s being chased by Pete Puma. Bugs goes after Pete again and again despite Buster’s worries of them getting caught. The little bunny is inspired and wants his own crack at the villain so Bugs lends a hand.
-Inspiration for the future Tiny Tunes perhaps?
8) Water Water Every Hare
Bugs’ house floods. His mattress floats away with him asleep on it bringing him to the castle of a mad scientist who wants to take his brain for use in a giant robot. He sends Rudolph (AKA Gossamer) after the bunny. Bugs gives the monster a hairdo then finds some vanishing cream. Playing with other chemicals while invisible, Bugs finds something that shrinks Rudolph to rat size, but now he’s up against the scientist. The pair accidentally get high on ether fumes and pass out.
-I consider this one to be a Halloween themed toon being that it involves a mad scientist and a monster. Those are among my absolute favorites of all time so I'm excited to be getting one here. Too bad there's not a set dedicated solely to Gossamer and Witch Hazel (Edit: Hazel's toons are all colelcted in the first Blu-Ray set).
9) Big House Bunny
Bugs is being hunted in the woods. Looking for a safe haven he breaks INTO a maximum security prison. He faces off against Sam the guard ultimately landing Sam in prison… twice!
-Do I need to comment on the Bugs-Sam pairing again? This doesn't disappoint.
10) Big Top Bunny
Bugs joins the circus to perform with Bruno the bear who is not happy with the arrangements. Bruno abuses Bugs until the rabbit strikes back. They compete with increasingly more difficult feats until Bugs gives Bruno a grand finale.
11) My Bunny Lies Over The Sea
Bugs ends up in Scotland. He immediately attacks a Scotsman’s bagpipes thinking the guy is being eaten by a monster then ridicules the guy’s kilt. Furious, the Scotsman demands they face off in a game of golf. Bugs wins by cheating.
-I don't really care for the whole cheating to win from the hero bit in this one, but mistaking bagpipes for a human-eating monster is beyond hilarity.
12) Wabbit Twouble
Elmer goes camping and Bugs steals his tent. He makes Elmer think a whole day has passed in just a few minutes. Then a bear gets after them. Elmer attacks the park sign to vent his frustration at the destroyed holiday and is sent to prison. He’s happy to at least be out of the woods until he finds a surprise in his cell.
-This Elmer is the fatter one if you remember that design. And don't lie, you wondered about how you could pull off this kind of prank when you saw it as a kid didn't you?
13) Ballot Box Bunny
Sam wants to be mayor of an old West town and rid it of rabbits. Bugs decides to fight back by running for office himself. Their campaigns turn violent until they’re both beaten by a mare for mayor.
-Old West cartoon politics... I think I would be more likely to vote for either Sam or Bugs than some of the characters we have in office now.
14) Rabbit Of Seville
Elmer chases Bugs onto the stage of a “Barber of Seville” performance. They parody the show with Bugs abusing Elmer at every turn.
-This is one of my all time favorites. This tune has been chronically stuck in my head for well over 30 years now.
Disc 2: Daffy & Porky
15) Duck Amuck
Daffy is battling with the animator of this particular toon as scenery, voices, colors, and other elements change without warning.
-This is another of my all time favorites largely because of the way it breaks the 4th wall and has a character reacting directly to the animator.
16) Dough For The Do Do
Porky hunts for the last Dodo bird in Wackyland. He is trying to capture the rarity for a reward, but the Dodo has too many tricks up its sleeve.
-In a long list of weird characters the Dodo bird might just be the oddest. This is extreme usage of cartoon physics.
17) Drip Along Daffy
Daffy is a Western hero that takes on the role of sheriff for a small town. He makes his entrance only to run up against Nasty Canasta. It turns into a shootout with sidekick Porky caught in the middle.
-Heroes in these cartoons are never quite what they ought to be. While often funny it's a gimmick that I think has been overused. Still, Nasty Canasta is about the funniest incarnation of nasty you'll find outside of Yosemite “Mr. Nasty Pants” Sam.
18) Scaredy Cat
Porky and Sylvester move into an old mansion. Sylvester is already nervous, but when he sees mice about to execute another cat he gets hysterical. Porky thinks he’s jumping at shadows, and when the mice attack it looks like Sylvester’s doings. That all changes when Porky is captured and Sylvester must save his master.
-More of those Halloween toons. Give me more! These haunted house toons with Sylvester and Porky had a dark creepiness to them that the Gossamer ones don't.
19) The Ducksters
Daffy hosts a radio game show where delayed or incorrect answers result in terrible pain. Porky uses his winnings to buy the station and turn the tide on Daffy’s abuse.
20) The Scarlet Pumpernickel
Daffy is trying to sell a cartoon script. It’s about Daffy as a swashbuckler, the Scarlet Pumpernickel. In a Zorro-like story the lady will be forced to marry the Duke as a trap for the hero. Here comes the Scarlet Pumpernickel to the rescue.
-Remember what I said about heroes in these toons? Yeah, don't expect a heroic ending here. In fact, the ending of this one is on the verge of being a little disturbing.
21) Yankee Doodle Daffy
Daffy is the agent for Sleepy Lagoon and is trying to sell the boy's talents to Porky. Only it’s Daffy doing all the performing. All the while Porky just wants to get away to catch a plane.
22) Porky Chops
Squirrel is trying to take a vacation, but Porky keeps attempting to chop his tree down. Squirrel pulls Bugs-type antics until the pair awaken a bear that sets after them both.
23) The Wearing Of The Grin
Porky, walking to Dublin, Ireland, gets caught in a storm and stops at an old castle for lodgings. The leprechauns there are paranoid and put Porky on trial for trying to steal their pot of gold. Then again, maybe it’s all just a dream.
-There's a surreal quality to this one that might make you wonder if the ether fumes leaked out of the lab in that earlier toon.
24) Deduce You Say
Daffy is a parody of Sherlock Holmes and Porky is Watson. They’re put on the case of the Shropshire Slasher. They find him at a bar where Watson’s methods prove more efficient than Holmes’
-Another example of what I said about heroes. As a Sherlock Holmes fan I'm not above the joke that it is Watson who is the true genius, but it's another convention that seems overused to me (in general, not by WB specifically).
25) Boobs In The Woods
Porky is trying to paint a landscape while Daffy gives him grief because he wants to be in the picture. Daffy’s problem is that Porky has a license to use him as a motor.
-This is an earlier version of the characters. They are recognizable as the ones we know today, but Daffy has more of a Bugs Bunny quality to him than he does in his most famous incarnation. I kinda like the wily, unpredictable Daffy.
26) Golden Yeggs
Someone has laid Porky a golden egg and blamed it on Daffy. Now the mob wants him to lay eggs for them.
27) Rabbit Fire
Daffy is trying to get Bugs shot by Elmer who is hunting rabbits. The animals dress up as each other to confuse Elmer and finally gang up on him: it’s Elmer season!
-How many different ways can you depict two animals fighting over who is being hunted? I don't know, but when Looney Tunes does it it never gets old.
28) Duck Dodgers In The 24 ½ Century
Daffy is sent to Planet X to find the shaving cream atom. He claims the planet in the name of Earth until Marvin shows up to claim it for Mars. Their battle results in the destruction of Planet X.
-We need some sci-fi in our toons. There's never enough of Daffy in space.
Disc 3: All Stars (random)
29) Elmer’s Candid Camera
Elmer wants to be a wildlife photographer, but Bugs wants to be mischievous. He gives Elmer a hard time before kicking him in the water.
-This is the first Elmer cartoon and has the older versions of the characters.
30) Bugs Bunny And The 3 Bears
3 bears fitting the description of the Goldilocks story are hungry. They decide to act out the story in order to catch their own Goldilocks only they get Bugs instead. The chase is on until Bugs sweet talks Mama Bear.
31) Fast And Furryous
Wile E Coyote goes after Road Runner with a lid, a boomerang, a rocket, a tunnel painted on a rock, a super suit, snow skis and a backpack snow generator, and rocket shoes.
-This was the first Road Runner toon. I think I actually like these more now as an adult than I did as a kid.
32) Hair Raising Hare
Bugs is led by a mechanical female rabbit to the lair of the Evil Scientist. He’s to be dinner for Gossamer (AKA Rudolph). Bugs does the monster’s nails, jousts with him, then shows him the viewing audience.
-This is the first appearance of Gossamer.
33) The Awful Orphan
Charlie the dog wants a home and sneaks into Porky’s house inside a birdcage. Porky doesn’t want a dog but Charlie is persuasive. The battle begins as Porky tries to get rid of his “guest” while Charlie worms his way back in. This ultimately results in Porky getting the ever-loving snot beat out of him by his upstairs neighbor scarring his psyche in unfathomable ways.
-Charlie never became one of the leading characters of the series, but his antics are most amusing.
34) Haredevil Hare
Bugs is dragged kicking and screaming to a rocket about to be shot to the moon. Marvin shows up and tries to blow up the Earth. However, Bugs finds out and manages to steal the Space Modulator. Marvin sics K-9 on Bugs who manages to pull a fast one and blow up Marvin… and himself.
-I believe this is the first Marvin the Martian toon. You know what? Let's add Marvin to my list with Gossamer and Witch Hazel (Edit: All of his toons are included in the first Blu-ray set).
35) For Scentimental Reasons
A perfume shop owner opens up his door to discover that Pepe has invaded and is sampling the selection. He sics a cat on Pepe, but hair dye marks the kitty as a female skunk. Pepe starts the wooing. He ends up coated in paint while she gets soaked and sick. Suddenly the roles are reversed.
-Ah, Pepe, teaching little boys around the world to swoon wildly over every halfway-cute girl that passes by.
36) Frigid Hare
Bugs accidentally ends up in the Antarctic (that darned left turn at Albuquerque again). He bumps into a penguin being chased by an Eskimo. The penguin follows Bugs around making the rabbit feel sorry for him. Bugs sticks around to take care of the Eskimo for good and gets a vacation reward.
37) The Hypo-Condri-Cat
Mice Hubie and Bertie invade a house only to be stalked by Claude. They find a weapon in his hypochondria. They manage to make him think he’s sick, then dead, then a ghost. He ends up trying to fly to Heaven.
-I don't know that I ever really appreciated this team-up in my youth. Looking at it now I see the upsetting of the standard chase toon, and I think it's great.
38) Baton Bunny
Bugs is conducting “Morning Noon & Night in Vienna.” He’s plagued by a fly and cuffs that won’t cooperate. He puts on a cowboys and Indians show then battles the fly some more.
-This is one of those music-centric toons. I like these classical music oriented ones more than the pop song ones.
39) Feed The Kitty
Big Marc Antony tries to terrorize a kitten, but she is unmoved. Marc decides to take her as a pet. His owner chides him for his mess in the house so he hides the kitten. After several escapades he watches what he thinks is his kitty being made into a cookie.
-This is probably one of my favorites when it comes to the more sentimental toons. It has a little bit of a moral lesson in showing that lies lead to trouble.
40) Don’t Give Up The Sheep
When the guard duty shift changes for the sheepdogs the wolf starts his antics by messing with the work clock. Then he dresses like a bush only to be followed by a tree-clad dog. Next is a Pan impersonation, tunneling, a wildcat, a vine swing, etc. Finally the sheepdogs take turns spanking the wolf.
-This is the first Sam the Sheepdog and Ralph the Wolf cartoon though the characters have different names at this point.
41) Bugs Bunny Gets The Boid
The buzzard kids are sent out to get dinner. Beaky is sent for a rabbit which turns out to be Bugs. After a battle Beaky thinks he’s seriously injured, but Bugs proves that he’s fine earning the undying love and admiration of Mother Buzzard.
-Beaky seems to have brief surges of popularity every so often followed by nearly total obscurity. Here he is at his best.
42) Tortoise Wins By A Hare
Bugs can’t figure out how Cecil the turtle keeps beating him in races. Cecil says it’s because of streamlining so Bugs builds his own shell. The rabbit mafia tries to help Bugs win but confuses the disguised racers causing Bugs to lose yet again.
-This one is actually a sequel to “Tortoise Beats Hare.” So you're getting part 2 without part 1 which is included in the second volume set. This out-of-sorts ordering is one of my few complaints with the Golden Collections. Why not give us both of them in the proper order on the same set?
Disc 4: All Stars (random)
43) Canary Row
Sylvester sees Tweety in the window of the next apartment building but he can’t get access because Granny is on guard. He disguises himself as a monkey then a bellhop. Finally he runs across the trolley wires only to be chased by the trolley car.
-This is the first appearance of Granny.
44) Bunker Hill Bunny
Bugs and Sam reside in forts. Sam’s is big with lots of cannons, but he can’t seem to get the upper hand. He and Bugs charge back and forth, but mostly Sam just gets the business end of a cannon.
-Poor Sam. Excuse me while I laugh maniacally at your misfortune.
45) Kit For Cat
Sylvester is homeless in a storm and appeals to Elmer to take him in. A little kitten does the same. Elmer says he can only keep one of them so they try to get each other in trouble.
46) Putty Tat Trouble
Sylvester and another cat are both after Tweety in his snow covered nest. They beat each other over the head letting Tweety get away. They end up falling into a frozen pond and getting sick.
47) Bugs And Thugs
Bugs stumbles across a bank robbery and is kidnapped at gunpoint. Taken back to the hideout he drives Rocky and the goon crazy enough to turn themselves in.
48) Canned Feud
Sylvester’s owners have gone to California and have forgotten to put the cat out. Worried about starvation Sylvester searches the house until he finds a stash of canned food, but a mouse has stolen the can opener which he refuses to give up. It's a battle of survival vs. amusement.
49) Lumber Jerks
A pair of gophers move into a new tree then go nut hunting. They return to find the top of their new home missing. When they track it to a furniture factory they decide to rebuild their tree out of furniture.
50) Speedy Gonzales
The mice want cheese from a nearby factory but can’t get past guard cat Sylvester. They appeal to Speedy for help. Sylvester tries to stop the mouse with a catcher’s mitt, mouse traps, and a net, but nothing works. Finally Sylvester decides to blows up all the cheese.
-Despite the name this is not the first Speedy toon.
51) Tweety’s SOS
Sylvester sees Tweety on a cruise liner and sneaks on board. He runs into Granny but separates her from Tweety. Now the bird must defend himself made easier because of Sylverster’s chronic seasickness. Tweety replaces the cat’s medicine with Nitro.
52) The Foghorn Leghorn
Henry Hawk is eager to hunt chickens even though he’s never seen one. His grandpa gets beaten up by Foghorn and tells Henry that it was a Shnook to cover up the embarrassment. Henry thinks that the dog is a chicken and Foghorn foolishly takes it upon himself to teach Henry what a chicken really is.
-What if Col. Sanders were a chicken instead of frying them? Let's find out.
53) Daffy Duck Hunt
Daffy is being hunted by Porky. He gives himself up to the dog to help him look good in front of Porky which lands him in the freezer for dinner later. Dog lets him out to warm up but won’t let him leave for fear of Porky’s retribution. Daffy starts causing his mischief in the house.
54) Early To Bet
Dog wants to gamble with Cat, but Cat refuses until he’s literally bitten by the Gambling Bug. He continually loses and is penalized with the Gesuntite, William Tell, and Roll Out The Barrel. The Gambling Bug then gets in on it and loses to the cat.
-Oh the amusement of evil tortures with playful and innocent names. If I ever create a doomsday device I'll have to give it an innocuous name.
55) A Broken Leghorn
Prissy wants to lay an egg but can’t seem to. The others make fun of her so Foghorn slips an egg under her. It turns out to be a rival rooster that hatches. Foghorn wants to get rid of the competition and decides to do so by pretending to train him. It doesn’t work out well.
56) Devil May Hare
The Tasmanian Devil has come into the forest and wants rabbit for supper. Bugs feeds him a bubblegum chicken and an inflatable raft pig instead. But it takes bringing in a lady Devil to stop the eating machine.
-This is the first appearance of Taz (hands down one of the single funniest characters ever created). Why he doesn't have a disc dedicated to him and him alone is beyond me (actually there are only a few classic toons featuring him and they are all on the first Blu-ray set).
Extras:
57) Bosko The Talk-Ink Kid
Animator Rudolph Ising has a conversation with Bosko who is a drawing that has come to life. Bosko wants to perform but is annoyingly enthusiastic about it.
-It’s interesting from historical perspectives, but I got bored with it after a bit.
58) Blooper Bunny
It’s Bugs’ anniversary, and the cast of Looney Tunes is sending best wishes from the stage. The cartoon is about a minute and a half. From that point we are taken on a “behind the scenes” type of tour throughout the day as the various characters get ready for their parts.
-It has a reality show kind of feel to it and is a lot of fun.
59) Toon Heads: The Lost Cartoons
Leslie Fram tells us the history behind some of the most notable moments in the early development of Looney Tunes cartoons. Some of the toons shown are “Bosko The Talk-Ink Kid,” “Crying For The Carolines,” “Lady Play Your Mandolin,” “Any Bonds Today,” “Spies,” “The Return Of Mr. Hook,” “So Much For So Little,” “Drafty Isn’t It,” and various other segments and clips.