Another Cartoon Megaset spotted at Wal-Mart...

[Jon Cooke]

Spotted today at the local Wal-Mart, right next to the infamous "Giant 600 Cartoons" set from Mill Creek was what appeared to be another run-of-the-mill "Cartoon Mega Pack" set for about $10.00, until I noticed that in addition to Popeye and Woody, other characters on the cover include Beetle Bailey and the Sarge. Upon a closer look, this cheap looking set seems to have been officially licensed by Hearst Entertainment (King Features) and also includes Hagar, Blondie, and a bunch of other random King-owned cartoons thrown together with typical PD fare.

I didn't pay close enough attention to be 100% sure if this item on Amazon is the same thing I saw or not... but if it isn't, it's pretty close:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=B00186YSQM/theunofficlooneyA/


Okay, Geezil... when can we expect to see a review of THIS monster?? ;) :shame:

[oldgreypole]

This DVD set that you found has aroused my interest. Next time I go to Wal-Mart, I'll look for it. Do you remember which Beetle Bailey cartoons were on it? In the Beetle Bailey Complete Collection DVD set, three or four of them were edited in some way. These particular Beetle Bailey cartoons ("Home Sweet Swampy"; "Beetle's High Horps"; "Bull of the Ball") ought to be re-released in complete form on some sort of DVD collection. A fourth cartoon ("Labor Shortage") has a very minor edit.

[Cartoon King]

I actually purchased this set last week. I am unsure of which Beetle Bailey's are on the set. I'll have to go back and check. All 50 of the Snuffy Smith cartoons are included. Sadly only 20 Beetle's and about 27 of the 50 Krazy Kat's are included. Would've been nice to have them all, if you're going to purchase this set.

Also, Jon, this set as opposed to the one on Amazon, does not include Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, Baby Huey and the like. It's strictly cartoons released through King Features: Blondie, Hagar, Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, Krazy Kat, Cool McCool, Flash Gordon, and something called Defenders of the Earth which features the Phantom, Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician. There are two Betty Boop 1/2 hour specials that I believe were released in the 80s.

[Jon Cooke]

Also, Jon, this set as opposed to the one on Amazon, does not include Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, Baby Huey and the like. It's strictly cartoons released through King Features: Blondie, Hagar, Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, Krazy Kat, Cool McCool, Flash Gordon, and something called Defenders of the Earth which features the Phantom, Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician. There are two Betty Boop 1/2 hour specials that I believe were released in the 80s.

Thanks for the clarification, I'll try to get a better look at this thing the next time I get to Wal-Mart.

[stupiddimbulb]

Can you put up the UPC code or something identifiable? I can't find this anywhere on the web.

[Jon Cooke]

Here's the item on Wal-Mart's website: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10177131

[MarkTheShark]

Here's the item on Wal-Mart's website: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10177131

I love this part:

Warning: This product is Not Rated. Learn More (javascript:popWindow('/cservice/movie_ratings.jsp','esrbRatings', 610, 570);)

The content may be mature. You must be 17 years old to purchase this item.

[MarkTheShark]

Ya know, this brought an interesting thought to my mind...I have a set that came out a few years ago that seems to be similar to this one, with a selection of Beetle Bailey and Snuffy Smith alongside various other King Features cartoons and animated shows -- Defenders Of The Earth, Cool McCool, and one of the Betty Boop specials. Between these sets and past releases, like the Krazy Kat collection...it would be too much to ask for the complete King Features Trilogy package to be out on DVD in some form, right?

[samtheq]

I picked this up this morning; it's over with the New Releases at Wal-Mart, and was $9.00. It appears to be a sampler, made up of 4 double-sided discs and one single.

Discs 1 & 5 are identical to the first two discs of the second "Defenders of the Earth" boxed set.

Discs 2 & 3 "Saturday Morning Cartoons Animated All-Stars," namely Beetle Bailey, Krazy Kat, Cool McCool, Flash Gordon (the Filmation series), and some later stuff I never saw like "Quasimodo" and Prince Valiant. It also contains "The Romance of Betty Boop."

Disc 4 doesn't have a title on the menu. (It's the single-sided one.) It includes Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery, 2 Blondie animated specials, and a Hagar the Horrible animated special.

I also picked up the "Giant 600 Cartoon Collection" from Mill Creek, because some kind soul had torn into one, and I was able to inspect the disc sleeves and discover it included quite a bit of Hoppity Hooper and Calvin & the Colonel, which was worth my $10.

So, to sum up---I picked up "over 80 hours" for $20....hm! Guess I'd better get busy viewing, before Popeye and the next Golden Collection come out!

brant

[Geezil]

Okay, Geezil... when can we expect to see a review of THIS monster?? ;) :shame:

That's an easy one, Jon: When you get another reckless volunteer! :flip:

[Jon Cooke]

That's an easy one, Jon: When you get another reckless volunteer! :flip:

We all know you secretly want to sit through 50 Snuffy Smith cartoons. Admit it. :p

[MarkTheShark]

I picked this up this morning; it's over with the New Releases at Wal-Mart, and was $9.00. It appears to be a sampler, made up of 4 double-sided discs and one single.

Discs 1 & 5 are identical to the first two discs of the second "Defenders of the Earth" boxed set.

Discs 2 & 3 "Saturday Morning Cartoons Animated All-Stars," namely Beetle Bailey, Krazy Kat, Cool McCool, Flash Gordon (the Filmation series), and some later stuff I never saw like "Quasimodo" and Prince Valiant. It also contains "The Romance of Betty Boop."

Disc 4 doesn't have a title on the menu. (It's the single-sided one.) It includes Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery, 2 Blondie animated specials, and a Hagar the Horrible animated special.

I also picked up the "Giant 600 Cartoon Collection" from Mill Creek, because some kind soul had torn into one, and I was able to inspect the disc sleeves and discover it included quite a bit of Hoppity Hooper and Calvin & the Colonel, which was worth my $10.

So, to sum up---I picked up "over 80 hours" for $20....hm! Guess I'd better get busy viewing, before Popeye and the next Golden Collection come out!

brant

Shoot me now!

I picked up a version of this at Fry's. But the contents differ somewhat from what you mention above. On the cover are Barney Google, Woody Woodpecker, Popeye, Blondie & Dagwood, Superman and characters from Beetle Bailey. Anyway...it appears that for whatever reason, they have replaced the two Defenders Of The Earth discs with the usual public domain suspects. It appears all the contents of their previous release, Animated All-Stars, are here as well, but not all in the same exact order...for instance, Disc 4 is the only one that's not a two-sided disc, and is crammed full of stuff, including all 50 Snuffy Smith cartoons and some 1980s TV specials (one each with Betty Boop and Hagar The Horrible, and two with Blondie & Dagwood). Very convenient to have all this stuff for $7.99, but I have to wonder why they didn't just include all of the Krazy Kat and Beetle Bailey shorts in lieu of the public domain filler.

[Tim Lones]

I picked this up the other day at my local WalMart-Good selection of "Samplers"..I especially wanted to see the King Features Cartoons and Cool McCool, both of which I watched first run in Black and White. I had forgotten(Or didnt realize at the time) That Bob McFadden's Cool McCool voice was reminiscient of Jack Benny, who was one of my favorite comedians. The Beetle Bailey Cartoons were pretty good as well..The opening King Features theme was as cstchy as I remember it..I sat through the "Quasimodo" episode..Really quite well done..I wanted to see more of this series.. Looking at the "Prince Valiant" credits, I had barely heard of this series, despite the well-known voice talent..I really didnt remember the "Blondie" Cartoons either..They could have left out "Defenders of the Earth" and made it a 3-disc set and it still would have been worth $9.00 to me..

[Dave Mackey]

I bought the set ($9 at Walmart) - it's nice to have all the Snuffy's. I do have the Beetle Bailey set (50 shorts + one half hour special), but has anyone brought all the Krazy Kats together on one set? I hear that the few "complete" sets that are out there come up a little short.

I did like the selection of Krazys - mostly Gene Deitch's with a few Gerry Ray-produced ones thrown in, and one of the two Seymour Kneitel did ("Mouse Blanche" which is my favorite of all the Krazys) with its variant main title showing the white-bellied Krazy model preferred by Kneitel and the jazzy accordion/organ/vibes blend of Winston Sharples' alternate theme song. But I think the credits may be corrupt on some of them as there's great variation in the title cards within the episodes. I can vouch that the credits for "Mouse Blanche" are now correct - all those years I had them wrong.

Anyway, tracking down all the Snuffys led me to create a new filmographic page on my website, including Popeye and the Comic Kings (I may expand into the Beatles cartoons later) and I need some help (Brubaker? Anyone?) in tracking down the two Snuffy's that don't have credits ("The Hat" and "The Method and Maw") and a handful of Jack Kinney Popeyes, plus director credits (McDonald? Bemiller?) on some of Gerry Ray's Popeyes....

http://www.davemackey.com/animation/kingfeatures.html

I also hear that the Hagar The Horrible cartoon that Chris Browne has pretty much disowned is on that set, too.