Tex Avery Screwball Classics#Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1

Tex Avery worked at Leon Schlesinger Productions directing Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for Warner Bros. between 1936 and 1941. Here, Avery had developed the Looney Tunes signature style of cartoon humor and was essential in the creation and/or development of many of the studio's star characters, including Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and most notably Bugs Bunny. In 1941, after a dispute with Schlesinger over the ending of the Bugs Bunny cartoon The Heckling Hare, Avery was "suspended" from the studio.{{Cite book |last=Barrier |first=Michael |title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}{{Cite AV media |title=King-Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution |type=Blu-ray |publisher=Warner Home Video |year=2012 |place=Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc 3-Bonus Materials}}

After spending a few months at Paramount Pictures developing a short-lived series of live-action comedy shorts named Speaking of Animals, Avery was hired by the MGM cartoon studio. Between the years of 1942 and 1955, Avery directed over 60 one-shot cartoons with only a handful of reoccurring characters such as Screwy Squirrel, George and Junior and Droopy. Many animation fans and historians consider this period of Avery's career to be his finest output and amongst the best cartoons of the Golden Age of American Animation. Five of Avery's MGM cartoons, Red Hot Riding Hood, King-Size Canary, Bad Luck Blackie, Little Rural Riding Hood and Northwest Hounded Police, were included in The 50 Greatest Cartoons book in 1994 as selected by 1,000 animation professionals.{{Cite book |last=Beck |first=Jerry |title=The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals |date=1994 |publisher=Turner Publishing |isbn=978-1878685490}} In addition, Blitz Wolf and Little Johnny Jet were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942 and 1952 respectively,{{Cite web |title=The 15th Academy Awards (1953) Nominees and Winners |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1943 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093739/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/15th-winners.html |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |access-date=2011-08-13 |website=oscars.org}}{{Cite web |title=The 25th Academy Awards (1953) Nominees and Winners |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1953 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093830/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/25th-winners.html |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |access-date=2011-08-20 |publisher=Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)}} and Magical Maestro was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically important" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1993.{{Cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |access-date=2020-05-05 |website=Library of Congress}}{{Cite web |title=Librarian Announces National Film Registry Selections (March 7, 1994), Library of Congress Information Bulletin |url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/94/9405/film.html |access-date=2020-07-22 |website=www.loc.gov}}

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, MGM and Turner Entertainment released VHS and Laserdisc collections of Avery's work, such as the Tex Avery Screwball Classics sub-series of Cartoon Moviestars VHS tapes, and The Compleat Tex Avery laserdisc collection in 1993.{{Cite web |date=February 11, 2020 |title=Warner Archive Podcast: Tex Avery Talk with Jerry Beck (2/11/20) |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/tex-avery-talk-with-jerry-beck/id310063354?i=1000465417564 |access-date=June 8, 2020 |publisher=Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.}}

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Tex Avery's MGM cartoons were notably absent on DVD and Blu-ray. According to animation historian Jerry Beck and Warner Archive Senior Vice President George Feltenstein, this lack of availability was because most of the original film negatives to pre-1951 MGM cartoons were destroyed in the 1978 film vault fire at the George Eastman House leaving only inferior duplicate copies, mainly mid-1990s Turner broadcast television masters as seen on the Ted Turner-owned cable networks Cartoon Network and Boomerang that were unsuitable for HD releases. In France, a DVD box set containing almost all of Avery's MGM cartoons was released in 2002, sourced from the 1990s Turner remasters with many censored for racial content, including omitting two cartoons, Uncle Tom's Cabaña and Half-Pint Pigmy. Several cartoons were also included as bonus features on various classic Warner Bros. owned feature films as well on the bonus disc of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 Blu-ray in 2012. In 2007, Warner Home Video released Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection a two-disc set that collected all 24 Droopy cartoons, once again sourced from the Turner prints (except for a few post-1951 cartoons such as Dixieland Droopy and all CinemaScope shorts). The cartoons were uncensored but contained massive amounts of Digital Noise Reduction. The set was made to "test the waters" and see if there was a potential market for future releases of Tex Avery cartoons on DVD; however, poor fan reception and low sales forced any of these plans to be scrapped.

In January 2020, as part of a Warner company-wide initiative to restore and preserve its film library, Warner Archive Collection announced they were releasing Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1 a single-disc Blu-ray that collected 19 Tex Avery MGM cartoons. Unlike the previous releases, these cartoons were digitally restored using color reversal internegatives, separation masters and other second-generation film elements that were made when the cartoons were being re-issued in the 1950s, resulting in much a much more clean and pristine image quality. However, some of the second-generation material to certain cartoons are also missing, hence why the shorts are arranged in a "best of" fashion rather than in chronological order. Currently, Warner Bros. is conducting a worldwide search for the best available film elements of Tex Avery's MGM cartoons. In March 2020 due to the high sales of Volume 1, Warner Archive announced they were working on Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2,{{Cite web |date=March 24, 2020 |title=Warner Archive Podcast: Happy 11th Birthday to Us (3/24/20) |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-11th-birthday-to-us/id310063354?i=1000469759300 |access-date=March 24, 2020 |publisher=Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.}} which was released in December 2020 containing 21 restored and uncut shorts as well as Tex Avery: The King of Cartoons, an archival documentary as a special feature.{{Cite web |date=December 8, 2020 |title=Warner Archive Podcast:No Auld Discs Shall Be Forgot (12/08/20) |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/no-auld-discs-shall-be-forgot/id310063354?i=1000501381629 |access-date=January 25, 2021 |publisher=Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.}}

According to Jerry Beck production on Volume 2 started in March 2020 with an entirely different selection of cartoons and was intended for a release date of June 2020. However, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown restrictions prevented the restoration team from working at their facilities, and were forced to use shorts that were already being restored by HBO Max independently- which was incidentally a completely different line up of cartoons than what the Warner Archive team initially had planned.{{Cite web |date=December 2020 |title=Stu's Show: Program 583 (12/23/20) |url=https://www.stusshow.com/archives.php?y=2020 |access-date=January 25, 2021 |publisher=Stu Shostak}} The set had to be delayed from June to December because the initial restoration quality of the shorts done by HBO Max was so poor that it was deemed "unreleasable" and the transfers had to be sent back multiple times to be redone and fix the problems. Initially, 25 cartoons were planned, but only 21 of them lived up to Warner Archives' high standards and made the final cut. Since cartoons were not restored by the regular Warner Archive team when Volume 2 was released on December 15, 2020, the set received a somewhat mixed reception from fans noting some minor issues with DVNR, color correction, as well as titles being redone with Photoshop.

The next volume was delayed and at one point was put on hiatus due to numerous layoffs at Warner Bros. in January 2021, including George Feltenstein. As a result, most of the volume's production was done without his oversight and plans for using original 35mm film print for "The Shooting of Dan McGoo" courtesy of animator Mark Kausler, and a documentary about the original titles to MGM cartoons featuring the original titles for "Wild and Woolfy" had to be cut. However, George was able to return in August of that year and has since taken back his role at Warner Archive. Volume 3 was released on October 5, 2021.

As of 2023, 62 of Avery's 67 MGM cartoons have been released, with the 5 remaining unreleased cartoons being Henpecked Hoboes (1946), Uncle Tom's Cabaña (1947), Half-Pint Pygmy (1948), Lucky Ducky (1948) and Cat's Meow (1957) — the latter being a CinemaScope remake of Ventriloquist Cat — made after Avery's departure. "Droopy's Good Deed" and "Millionaire Droopy" have been released, but only on "Tex Avery's Droopy - The Complete Theatrical Collection."

{{Infobox film

| name = Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1

| image =File:Tex Avery Screwball Classics Vol 1.jpg

| caption =

| director = Tex Avery

| producer = Fred Quimby

| writer = Heck Allen
Rich Hogan

| narrator =

| starring = Bill Thompson
Frank Graham
Dick Nelson
Wally Maher
Sara Berner
Tex Avery

| music = Scott Bradley

| cinematography =

| editing =

| distributor = Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

| released = {{Film date|2020|02|18|Blu-ray|2020|12|01|DVD}}

| runtime =

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1 was released on Blu-ray on February 18, 2020, and on DVD on December 1 with 19 shorts. All shorts are presented uncut (with a warning stating that the cartoons shown are products of their time and may contain jokes that, by today's standards, are considered racially insensitive) and digitally restored. The shorts are arranged in the following sections:

• Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)
• Who Killed Who (1943)
• What's Buzzin' Buzzard (1943)
• Batty Baseball (1944)
• The Hick Chick (1946)
• Bad Luck Blackie (1949)
• Garden Gopher (1950)
• The Peachy Cobbler (1950)
• Symphony in Slang (1951)

• Screwball Squirrel (1944)
• The Screwy Truant (1945)
• Big Heel-Watha (1944)
• Lonesome Lenny (1946)

• Hound Hunters (1947)
• Red Hot Rangers (1947)

• Dumb-Hounded (1943)
• Wags to Riches (1949)
• The Chump Champ (1950)
• Daredevil Droopy (1951)

{{Infobox film

| name = Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2

| image = File:Tex Avery Screwball Classics Vol 2.jpg

| caption =

| director = Tex Avery

| producer = Fred Quimby

| writer = Heck Allen
Rich Hogan

| narrator =

| starring = Bill Thompson
Frank Graham
Daws Butler
Pinto Colvig
Colleen Collins
Carlos Ramierz
June Foray
Pat McGeehan
Sara Berner
Tex Ritter
Paul Frees
Tex Avery

| music = Scott Bradley

| cinematography =

| editing =

| distributor = Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

| released = {{Film date|2020|12|15|U.S. Blu-ray and DVD}}

| runtime =

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2 was released on both Blu-ray and DVD on December 15, 2020, with 21 shorts. All shorts are presented uncut (with a warning stating that the cartoons shown are products of their time and may contain jokes that, by today's standards, are considered racially insensitive). The shorts are arranged in the following sections:{{Cite web |date=December 18, 2020 |title=Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2 Blu-ray |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Tex-Avery-Screwball-Classics-Volume-2-Blu-ray/273597/#Review |access-date=December 22, 2020 |publisher=Blu-Ray.com}}

• Little Rural Riding Hood (1949)
• The Cuckoo Clock (1950)
• Magical Maestro (1952)
• One Cab's Family (1952)
• The Cat That Hated People (1948)
• Doggone Tired (1949)
• The Flea Circus (1954)
• Field and Scream (1955)
• The First Bad Man (1955)

• Out-Foxed (1949)
• Droopy's Double Trouble (1951)
• The Three Little Pups (1953)
• Drag-a-Long Droopy (1954)
• Homesteader Droopy (1954)
• Dixieland Droopy (1954)

• The Counterfeit Cat (1949)
• Ventriloquist Cat (1950)

• The House of Tomorrow (1949)
• The Car of Tomorrow (1951)
• The T.V. of Tomorrow (1953)
• The Farm of Tomorrow (1954)

• Tex Avery: The King of Cartoons, a 1988 British documentary about the life and career of Tex Avery featuring rare artwork and interviews from Chuck Jones, June Foray, Heck Allen, Ed Love and Michael Lah.

{{Infobox film

| name = Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 3

| image = File:Tex_Avery_Screwball_Classics_Vol_3.jpg

| caption =

| director = Tex Avery

| producer = Fred Quimby

| writer = Heck Allen
Rich Hogan

| narrator =

| starring = Bill Thompson
Frank Graham
Pinto Colvig
Wally Maher
Kent Rogers
Sara Berner
Pat McGeehan
Daws Butler
Paul Frees
Tex Avery

| music = Scott Bradley

| cinematography =

| editing =

| distributor = Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
{{small|(Studio Distribution Services)}}

| released = {{Film date|2021|10|05|U.S. Blu-ray and DVD}}

| runtime =

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 3 was released on both Blu-ray and DVD on October 5, 2021, with 20 shorts. All shorts are presented uncut (with a warning stating that the cartoons shown are products of their time and may contain jokes that, by today's standards, are considered racially insensitive).Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/iO9TwTfeMGs Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211027040754/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO9TwTfeMGs&ab_channel=PhyDigColl'sCornerOpenings Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |title=Opening to Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 3 2021 Blu-ray |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO9TwTfeMGs&ab_channel=PhyDigColl%27sCornerOpenings |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} It is the final issue of Tex Avery Screwball Classics.[https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/looney-tunes-collectors-choice-vol-1/ Looney Tunes Collectors Choice Vol. 1] The shorts are presented in the following order:{{Cite web |last=Beck, Jerry |date=September 7, 2021 |title=Some Advance Notes on "Tex Avery Screwball Classics" Volume 3 |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/some-advance-notes-on-tex-avery-screwball-classics-volume-3/ |access-date=September 7, 2021 |publisher=Cartoon Research}}

• Blitz Wolf (1942)
• The Early Bird Dood It! (1942)
• One Ham's Family (1943)
• Happy Go Nutty (1944)
• Jerky Turkey (1945)
• The Shooting of Dan McGoo (1945)
• Swing Shift Cinderella (1945)
• Wild and Woolfy (1945)
• Northwest Hounded Police (1946)
• Slap Happy Lion (1947)
• King-Size Canary (1947)
• What Price Fleadom (1948)
• Little 'Tinker (1948)
• Señor Droopy (1949)
• Cock-a-Doodle Dog (1951)
• Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952)
• Little Johnny Jet (1953)
• Billy Boy (1954)
• Deputy Droopy (1955)
• Cellbound (1955)

• The Crackpot Quail (1941): a Merrie Melodies short directed by Avery whilst at Warner Bros., featuring its original 1941 soundtrack.

{{reflist}}

{{Tex Avery}}

Category:Anthology film series

Category:Films directed by Tex Avery

Category:Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated films