Looney Tunes

[CorpITGuy]

Does anyone know where to find Looney Tunes on DirecTV? I love the old cartoons (is it just me, or are the newer ones really, really stupid?) and miss Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fud, etc. I've had no luck lately, though around Christmas someone did have a marathon of the old Merrie Melodies cartoons. We recorded every bit of it for my son to watch! (Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) :D

[Matman]

I think Cartoon Network runs some during the day. I know they run some of the old Tom and Jerry, and I think I remember seeing Loony Tunes as well somewhere in the lineup. They also sell the DVD collections on Amazon for pretty cheap if you want to go that route.

[LarryFlowers]

There is a major issue with the Looney Tunes cartoons as they are broadcast today... they have been sanitized!

They have been deliberately edited by the PC Police. You won't see Tweety stick Sylvester's tail in a electric socket.. heaven knows we don't want to give todays kiddies any bad ideas. Maybe it's me, but when I was a kid, I never had a problem seperating cartoon violence from reality. Of course I had parent's who taught me such things.

The only way to see the original unedited Looney Tunes cartoons is to buy them.

It's truly a sad state of affairs.

Kill the Wabbit!

Larry

[say-what]

Yeah, I have all 6 sets of the Looney Tunes Golden Collections that were released along with the Looney Tunes Movies. I remember waking up early on Saturday Mornings as a kid and beyond to watch the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner show......until they quit airing them :)

[cmtar]

Boomerang has some oldies

[mgoblue99]

As far as I know, with the exception of the Buggs Bunny movies and a recent New Years Day marathon on Cartoon Network, Looney Tunes are not currently on the air on any network's regular schedule.

[paulman182]

Turner Classic Movies showed some of them for a while in a half-hour block on Saturdays. These were not edited.

I'm not sure if they still show them, however.

[dvdmth]

It was a lot better when Nickelodeon had Looney Tunes...

Since they ended up at Cartoon Network/Boomerang, they completely screwed everything.

Half of the cartoons don't air anymore because of political correctness, including all Speedy cartoons. The irony is that back when the ban was reported in the news it was mentioned that Speedy continued to air on the Latin American version of Cartoon Network, where he was a "big hit."

The ones that do air have been edited like crazy. Some of my favorite episodes are no longer watchable because entire scenes were removed and others changed around. Even some MGM cartoons (Tom and Jerry, the Tex Avery ones, etc.) have been watered down.

I haven't watched CN or Boomerang in a long time now. I guess I can credit their ruining the Looney Tunes for finally breaking my cartoon habit.

[BigJ52]

Does anyone know where to find Looney Tunes on DirecTV? I love the old cartoons (is it just me, or are the newer ones really, really stupid?) and miss Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fud, etc. I've had no luck lately, though around Christmas someone did have a marathon of the old Merrie Melodies cartoons. We recorded every bit of it for my son to watch! (Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) :D

Yes, I agree. I find today's cartoons are just brutal compared to what I grew up with (I'm 32 years old).

[armophob]

I am slowly getting the whole collection on dvd. I think this blurb from wikopedia explains why the kids channels don't run the cartoons. I can see one day when they may run them on adult swim or something uncut.

"a warning in the beginning of each disc that states that some of the cartoons contain ethnic and racial stereotypes that may be offensive to modern audiences; however, like the fourth volume, the warning is shown on a title card rather than done as a special introduction."

[paulman182]

I can understand why some of these cartoons aren't shown on kids channels anymore, but there are many, many of them that could still be shown with no editing necessary.

A few of them weren't even being shown due to racial content 40 years ago when I was a kid.

Purchasing them on DVD appears to be the way to go.

[QuickDrop]

Half of the cartoons don't air anymore because of political correctness, including all Speedy cartoons. The irony is that back when the ban was reported in the news it was mentioned that Speedy continued to air on the Latin American version of Cartoon Network, where he was a "big hit."


While I'm completely against the censorship of anything, at least for adults, my guess is that the popularity/lack of censorship of Speedy in Latin American countries compared to here is a.) He's basically the only Spanish Looney Tunes cartoon character b.) When you and everyone you know is Spanish, it's easier to recognized the exaggeration and comic absurdity of the stereotype.

[HDRoberts]

What would be awesome is an HD release. Most of these cartoons were done with film. Seems like real HD should be possible.

Don't get Boomerang, but Cartoon Network had a Looney Tunes marathon New Years Day. Some were butchered, but others were OK. Still better than the junk on Nick, Cartoon, and Disney today.

Only one cartoon has been close to being a successor: Animaniacs. I wish I still got that. (The 90s Batman Animated Series was also brilliant, but not really comedy like Looney Tunes).

[Matman]

Animaniacs is a classic, I have the 1st and 2nd set on DVD, great copy, and the extras are decent. Lead to one of the best spin off's ever. Are you poindering what I'm pondering Pinky????

[paulman182]

Actually, Speedy is extremely tame compared with the African-American characters in some of the cartoons.

They would make Jesse Helms' jaw drop.

[jefbal99]

Yeah, I have all 6 sets of the Looney Tunes Golden Collections that were released along with the Looney Tunes Movies. I remember waking up early on Saturday Mornings as a kid and beyond to watch the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner show......until they quit airing them :)

Do you have a link to where these are available? I have a 3 month old that I would like to start collecting the cartoons that I grew up on and my family grew up on. The crap that is on today is horrible

[fluffybear]

Actually, Speedy is extremely tame compared with the African-American characters in some of the cartoons.

They would make Jesse Helms' jaw drop.

I was thinking the same thing..

I am very surprised the PC Police have not yet demanded changes to MGM library because if this very issue. Plus, I don't think there is a Warner Brothers cartoon out there that can hold a candle to Tom & Jerry. Given Tom and Jerry do not use explosives but then again I don't think I have to worry about my 5 year old getting their hands on TNT either...

[CorpITGuy]

Thanks, everyone. I was afraid that the answer was "buy the DVDs." I guess that's just what I'll do.

The PC police had cartoons taken off-air that had racial stereotypes or gratuitous cartoon violence, but they're fine with dry-humping in prime-time. Amazing.

[QuickDrop]

Thanks, everyone. I was afraid that the answer was "buy the DVDs." I guess that's just what I'll do.

The PC police had cartoons taken off-air that had racial stereotypes or gratuitous cartoon violence, but they're fine with dry-humping in prime-time. Amazing.

Yeah, it's shocking that some people are more offended by racial discrimination and violence in programming aimed at children than they are by sexual situations in programming aimed at adults. What is the world coming to?

[CorpITGuy]

Yeah, it's shocking that some people are more offended by racial discrimination and violence in programming aimed at children than they are by sexual situations in programming aimed at adults. What is the world coming to?

1. Aimed at adults? I said "prime-time" for a reason.

2. Racial stereotypes are different than discrimination.

3. Some violence is good. I honestly have no problem with my son watching violent movies so long as (a) he's old enough to process it and won't have nightmares and (b) he's old enough to understand that humans should rarely resort to violence, and under what circumstances we SHOULD.

I don't really have a problem with most prime-time TV, and don't want the government regulating it. I just find it ridiculous that the PC crowd accuses folks of trying to censor television when they are clearly doing it themselves.

[Matman]

Do you have a link to where these are available? I have a 3 month old that I would like to start collecting the cartoons that I grew up on and my family grew up on. The crap that is on today is horrible

Check out www.amazon.com, they have a bunch of the sets and the prices seemed to be in the low to middle 20's. You might be able to do better at some other sites, but Amazon is usually a good place to start.

[CorpITGuy]

I've ordered all 6 sets of the Looney Tunes Golden Collections. :D

[QuickDrop]

1. Aimed at adults? I said "prime-time" for a reason.

2. Racial stereotypes are different than discrimination.

3. Some violence is good. I honestly have no problem with my son watching violent movies so long as (a) he's old enough to process it and won't have nightmares and (b) he's old enough to understand that humans should rarely resort to violence, and under what circumstances we SHOULD.

I don't really have a problem with most prime-time TV, and don't want the government regulating it. I just find it ridiculous that the PC crowd accuses folks of trying to censor television when they are clearly doing it themselves.

1. Yes, I believe Prime-time, compared to afternoon cartoons, is aimed primarily at adults.

2. Racial stereotypes come from and help justify racial discrimination. Besides being plainly obvious, there are numerous examples within the last couple hundred years that support this. I won't go into them only because I don't know whether they would fall under the not permitted "political discussion."

3. You can pretty much say what you wrote about violence about any topic. Once a person has reached an age to truly comprehend what they are seeing it will mostly likely do less harm than before that time. Personally, I believe sex has more good in it than violence. Most moral codes I know of, view "good violence" only as a necessary evil, as in defending yourself from another person's violence. Sex has many possible things going for it without it needing an outside evil to react to: an expression of love, reproduction, or simply pleasure.

As for the alleged PC Cops, most times they seem more like a "straw man" to attack because people don't like the idea that some people find their thoughts, opinions, entertainment, etc. morally objectionable. Certainly, in the case of Looney Tunes, the reason they are rarely on air is more likely a corporate decision because those cartoons, most of which are completely brilliant, btw, from 40 and 50 years ago don't appeal as much to their target market as newer programming. Unless, of course, I missed the big "PC" march to ban Bugs Bunny from the airwaves.

[bobnielsen]

There are several available for free download at http://www.archive.org.

[Funk Doctor]

It still boggles my mind that the entire Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies line of 'Toons is off the air completely, You'd think WB would carve out an hour a day (or a Week!) on Boomerang for them.