POPEYE!!!

The Killer of Sheep

I would vote for the Three Stooges collection. The picture quality and sound are phenomenal. “Hey! I can see the string on that little mouse!”

Guess LTs would be my choice too, followed by the Popeye set, the Oswald set and the Woody set (this one’s the last only due to the horrible restoration. With better restoration it would have been at the top of my list).

Favorite? I think I see Oswald and Popeye in a very messy battle, here—Popeye’s strength and spinach advantage hindered by his general inability to lick animals smaller than himself, not to mention Oswald’s lucky rabbit’s feet.
I don’t think I care who wins, as long as I’ve got a ringside seat and a box of popcorn.

The Popeye box set. Popeye is better than I remember it being. I can’t wait for further volumes. They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

It was probably too late to make the list, but I just got my Disney Treasures Oswald set and it’s a beauty. Only half the Walt Oswald cartoons are present, but who knows how many of them are lost forever and those that survive have needed all-new soundtracks which are wonderfully done with their authentic quirkiness.

For sheer historical significance, I’d nominate Oswald as my fave for the year.

POPEYE!!!!!!!!!!!
Without question the most eagerly awaited animation DVD release of all time!!

My favorite DVDs of the year so far are the Looney Tunes Golden Collection vol. 5, Popeye the Sailor 1933-1938, The Pink Panther and Friends vol. 5: The Ant and the Aardvark, The Departed, Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, Close Encounters of the Third Kind 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition, and Ratatouille (the last two on blu-ray).

I plan on getting the Stanley Kubrick collection, Battleship Potemkin, the Walt Disney Treasures collections of Donald Duck and Oswald, Criterion’s The Lady Vanishes and maybe the John Ford collection in the future.

I also bought the Woody Woodpecker and Friends DVD and I really like the cartoons included on it, but I was disappointed by the DVNR trouble on certain cartoons, and the lack of any special features.

Bender’s Big Score FTW!
Rattatouillie always rocks.

It would be the Looney Tunes collection, but 60 dollars for four discs!? Please.

The ‘Popeye’ box is certainly great … I rented it from Zip, but now am planning to buy it. That doesn’t happen too often.

From the ‘new classics’ department, definitely ‘Paprika,’ Satoshi Kon’s best movie yet. Very rewatchable and there are some good extras on the disc, which is rare for anime releases.

I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve bought ‘Looney Tunes’ Vol. 5 but haven’t even begun to watch it yet ….

Popeye of course.

AQUA TEEN!

I don’t consider Corliss all that great of a reviewer, but props for the Looney Tunes mention.

Popeye! DUH!

I am elated to hear it, Jerry!! It’s about time the [general] public knew of the beauties of those B&W Fleischers!

Looney Tunes deserved its nominations, because it was the most perfect animation DVD this year; the cartoons chosen were great, the restorations were splendid, and none of the cartoons were plagued with the DVNR, censorship, or title reconstruction fowlups that afflicted most of the other collections.

And I still need to check out Oswald, but from what I’ve heard, it sounds like a solid competitor.

You don’t suppose it made the list because TIME is part of the TIME-WARNER (as in Warner Bros.) merchandising machine?

Popeye, Ratatouielle, Surf’s Up in the animation category.

So, Jerry, this means that the performance bonuses kick in, like with A-Rod, right?

Is #5 the first Looney Tunes volume to make the list? Why only now?

Anyway, Popeye gets my vote, hands-down.
It’s not only a first-rate product and the start of a great series; freeing Popeye from the vaults is a major, major event for anyone who cares about American popular culture.

I’d swap out #10 on Corliss’ list for the Blu-Ray version of “Ratatouille,” but otherwise it’s a stellar listing. If another 10 items were on the list, the Popeye and Oswald collections would be added.

Popeye( the extras were great), Oswald(excellent commentaries), Donald(some of his best), Looney Tunes Vol.5, Woody Woodpecker (glad he is back), Ratatouille, and Pixar short films.

My others would be Jerry’s Lost Terrytoons, Lost Lantz and Lost Paramount.

first off…i’m sorry but die hard 4???

it’s got to be the WORST die hard movie. the first one is so awesome and die hard 4 is like a weak hackers 2 made by kids who watched the matrix too much. totally not a diehard movie.

anyway.

i say:

Popeye for number one!
Golden Collection for number two!

and…air guitar nation a close third! haha!

smo out.

Much as I loved LTGC #5, The Popeye collection literally blew me away…Alot of love & attention went into it’s creation & it is greatly appreciated.I especially loved all the added shorts. It was a great history lesson. As far as the discs that have spent the most time in the dvd player, that honor would have to go to the Droopy collection. Despite it’s many technical faults, the sheer entertainment value of these shorts made it a must have. Bring on the Tex Avery collection…And I have to give special props to anything that is released by Thunderbean.

To Ceaser:
You know, the Golden Collections can be bought for like 48 bucks at Best Buy.

It’s neither animation nor even theatrical, but let me give a shout-out to the box set of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, the best TV series to be prematurely snuffed since BRISCO COUNTY. And a shameless plug to THE SAM KATZMAN COLLECTION.

But on topic: LT5, POPEYE, WOODY, RATATOUILLE, SURF’S UP and, presumably, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE and OSWALD.

The Popeye set is easily my choice. Name one other set where “every single cartoon” is a winner.

It never hit the mainstream, but the 2-disc Anthology of Polish Animated Film was breathtaking. The picture quality for each of the 28 shorts is amazing, each film with dialogue has optional English subtitles and the companion book is in Polish and English.

It’ll come after the holidays, I’m sure (mine took 6 weeks to be delivered), but you can check out the set here: http://www.pwa.gov.pl/en/show/60/news/0/272/index.html and order it here: http://merlin.pl/frontend/browse/product/2,524240.html or here: http://www.chaletfilms.com/produit/4807-Anthology_of_Polish_Animated_Film_vol.1.html.

Enjoy!

Thanks! I’m guessing that’s for Christmas… it still feels sooo pricey… like most DVD’s for that matter! The thing with those Looney Tunes is they’re fantastic, but its hard to find an excuse to watch blocks of six minute toons!

I just got an early Christmas gift from my wife of the first Looney Tunes Golden Collection so I’m adding that to my personal “best of 2007″ DVD list!

Better late than never I guess. Hey, with a price tag of $49.99 at most retailers I was doomed to receive it late! I do love it though.

2007 has been a great year for DVDs with many releases that are historically significant as well as entertaining. It will be a while before I can even catch up. The Popeye set, LT vol 5, and the Oswald set in the animation world, not to mention the Kenneth Anger DVDs, Criterion’s Hiroshi Teshigahara set, the Blade Runner set, Panik House’s release of The Horror of Malformed Men, the Facets DVDs of Kazuo Hara documentaries… But the hands down winner for the best and most important DVD of 2007 is cartainly the Alejandro Jodorowsky boxset.

Oh, I would simply have to give POPEYE THE SAILOR 1933-1938 the highest honor because it is an homage not only to Max and Dave Fleischer and their long overlooked and underappreciated artistic integrity, but it is also a true homage to the art of black and white, perhaps *THE* most underappreciated type of animation in any age! I think that the honors that have been bestowed on this first fantastic volume of POPEYE cartoons is a true testament to how much black and white is still respected! Here’s to getting the rest of the Fleischer POPEYE cartoons in 2008!

Also, LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION 5 comes immediately on its heels because this is a volume in which we got a taste of every era of Warner Brothers cartoons, with a final disk that I still come back to and will always enjoy. It is too late to stop now, especially since the plunge has been taken and we saw how diverse the black and white medium can be in the hands of those at Termite Terrace.

And I absolutely *LOVED* the first WOODY WOODPECKER collection for its daring, giving us just about all of the WOODY cartoons of the 1940’s, that grotesque and out-of-control bird, with a nice glimpse into what Lantz had done with and to the OSWALD THE LUCKY RABBIT character…and even including a kind of documentary created around the time when OSWALD was Lantz’s pride and joy, a slap to Walt and Ub I suppose, but a very interesting time capsule, nonetheless.

Oh, and I will always also include anything coming from Thunderbean. Perhaps *THIS* individual should be allowed not only to do THE COMPLETE BOSKO but to be given easy entry into the cartoon vaults of the great golden Hollywood studios and allowed to do what most video companies really don’t want to be bothered doing. Give the job to someone who would absolutely *LOVE* the challenge!!

This was a great year for animation on DVD. I would have to say that the best set of the year was the Popeye. It was long overdue and hopefully more are coming.

My personal runners up would be the complete sets of Milton The Monster and Batfink, the first Woody Woodpecker volume, and Looney Tunes Vol. 5 (which I will probably be getting after the holiday rush).