Last year, Warner Brothers finally released a boxed set of Looney Tunes. It was every cartoon lover's dream...four-discs-worth of fully restored & remastered shorts, accompanied by an exhausting number of special features. The set was easily the best DVD release of 2003, my only criticism being in some of the selections chosen; while any Looney Tunes on disc is a good thing, I was a bit surprised at some of the 'toons not included. Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 2 goes a long way toward remedying that with an equally great boxed set, featuring 60 more cartoons, including some of best the folks at Termite Terrace ever made, along with another huge batch of extras.

Like Volume 1 , most of this set wisely focuses on the 'toons from the 40s & 50s, considered by most to be the Looney Tunes' "golden age." Disc 1 features more Bugs Bunny classics, and while the selections here aren't quite on par with those included in the previous boxed set, there's still a lot of great stuff, including "Broomstick Bunny," "Bunny Hugged," "Tortoise Beats Hare," & "Hyde and Hare." Still missing-in-action is "Knighty Knight Bugs," which won Bugs Bunny his first Oscar (even if it wasn't exactly Bugs' best cartoon short). Disc 2 goes a long way toward making up for the measly single Road Runner cartoon from Volume 1 . This one features 11 Road Runner Cartoons, all well-worthy of inclusion on this set (I'd mention some of the titles, but the nature of the series probably makes that a redundant exercise...their individual titles mean nothing). Disc 3 features some of Sylvester & Tweety's best moments, though their Oscar-winning "Birds Anonymous" isn't included among them (here's hoping they're saving it for the inevitable Volume 3). The real jewel of Volume 2 may be disc 4, which includes not only several musical/show-biz oriented shorts starring beloved Warner characters ("What's Opera, Doc," "Show Biz Bunny," "Rhapsody Rabbit" and the semi-live-action "You Ought to be in Pictures"), but some all-time classic shorts featuring characters who never appeared in another cartoon, like "The Three Little Bops," "I Love to Singa," & "One Froggy Evening" (arguably the best cartoon Warner Brothers ever released). Alas, to make room for all this, several Looney Tunes characters inevitably get short-changed. There ain't much Daffy Duck or Porky Pig to be found, probably because many of their best cartoons were included in Volume 1. Director Robert McKimson's underrated Foghorn Leghorn cartoons have still yet to be adequately represented on disc, as are Pepe LePew, Marvin the Martian & the Tasmanian Devil (though the latter two didn't really appear in all that many cartoons). But what's included in this set is undeniably great, and will have Looney Tunes fans cheering.

All the cartoons are presented in their original theatrical 1.33:1 aspect ratio, before the days of widescreen. As for the quality of the picture...for the most part, it's great. The colors are as bright and vibrant as I've ever seen them, and there's little grain in most of the cartoons. There are many glaring scratches and blemishes present in several of these shorts, but that's simply due to their age and the flaws of the original negatives, not the quality of this transfer. The soundtrack of each cartoon is digitally remastered in its original mono format (no thundering 5.1 surround, here). While the sound won't exactly give for home theater system much of a workout, the music, effects and dialogue are crystal clear, with no hissing or distortion.

Volume 2 features another massive and historically important set of extras, which are at least equal to, if not greater than, those included on Volume 1. Again, they are spread out over all four discs. Disc 1 features part one of Bugs Bunny's All-Star 50 th Anniversary special, which was originally televised in the 80's, an irreverent and entertaining look at the character's career. Legendary director Tex Avery (who helmed many cartoons and was instrumental in developing the overall "look" of Looney Tunes shorts) is featured in an interview. Also included are bridging sequences from the early TV shows, and the rare "Do or Diet" short. Disc 2 features the TV pilot for The Adventures of the Road Runner show, the opening title sequence for The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show , and a short featurette on sound effects expert Treg Brown. Disc 3 offers the second part of Bugs Bunny's All-Star 50 th Anniversary (I'm not sure why they had to break up the show into two parts, though), along with a featurette on animation legend Bob Clampett. Opening sequences for The Porky Pig Show & The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show are also included, as well as "Daffy Duck for President," an all-new cartoon short that doesn't compare to the Looney Tunes of old, but isn't too bad. Disc 4 has the best extras, like three Behind the Tunes featurettes, in which animators and historians discuss "One Froggy Evening" & "What's Opera, Doc?" This disc also includes two rare shorts. The first, "So Much for So Little," is a health-related ten-minute public service cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The second, "Orange Blossoms for Violet," is a live-action comedy short I didn't even know existed, featuring mostly dogs and monkeys playing the human roles (directed by Chuck Jones & Friz Freleng). As with the first set, Volume 2 also features dozens of audio commentaries by animators, voice actors and historians. Selected 'toons also include voice-only or music-only audio tracks. All-in-all, this is a vastly entertaining and informative set of extras, making one ponder if there's much left for Volume 3 .

Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 2 is just as good as the first, phenomenally fun, lovingly assembled and painstakingly restored. Yeah, there are still a few classic shorts conspicuously absent, and some fans of specific characters may balk at their lack of representation, but this second volume makes it obvious that Warner Brothers isn't quite finished bringing these classic cartoons to DVD. This is easily the best animated release of the year.