Public Domain Famous Cartoons

[Der Captain]

Some time ago I had picked up one of those 99 cent "Television Classics" DVD's you pick up in the cheap stores that feature old Famous Studios cartoons advertised as "digitally remastered" (Yeah, right!). Anyway, the disc included a particularly messed-up copy of "The Henpecked Rooster" in which the sound track was not in synch with the rest of the cartoon at all. Has anyone else come upon the same DVD? I was wondering if the problem was the same on all of the discs. :confused:

[MarkTheShark]

Some time ago I had picked up one of those 99 cent "Television Classics" DVD's you pick up in the cheap stores that feature old Famous Studios cartoons advertised as "digitally remastered" (Yeah, right!). Anyway, the disc included a particularly messed-up copy of "The Henpecked Rooster" in which the sound track was not in synch with the rest of the cartoon at all. Has anyone else come upon the same DVD? I was wondering if the problem was the same on all of the discs. :confused:

Yes...I have that cartoon on several DVDs. However, on other releases (including, if I am not mistaken, the Digiview "Cartoon Craze" series), the cartoon is complete (as far as I can tell). Ditto for the Treeline "100 Classic Cartoons" set, where a lot of these often-recycled cartoons appear in probably the best quality you're likely to find on DVD. Though I think I recall the color being very badly faded on this title, no matter who released it (not a big surprise given that most of these originate from UM&M/NTA prints or dupes of same).

[Ray Pointer]

I unserstand completely your disappointment and agrevation. These were the reasons why I got into the arena in 1999 when VHS was at its peak. There was already a glut of badly produced tapes of vintage material, many listed in THE WHOLE TOON CATALOG, with disclaimers published as an excuse for bad prints and badly engineered and reproduced tapes. Then the DVD revolution came, and everyone was sold on the idea that this new medium, besides being compact, offered superior picture quality. But the picture quality can only be as good as the material going onto the disc. If it's "garbage" going in, it's "garbage" going out.

Matters such as these make it both difficult and challenging for independent producers such as myself who are making every effort to offer a superior product. I have had a great deal of experience working with prints that were varying in quality from excellent to mediocre, and have had to use some electronic enhancment tricks to try to breath life back into some of these old films, many in the 11th hour of deterioration. There must be some appreciation for these efforts based on the many letters I have received, as well as various reviews and related remarks that can be found about me and my product on the Internet. But the amazing thing about the badly produced DVDs is that the companies producing them are getting massive distribution. But look at the price these DVDs are going for. If it's incredibly cheap, chances are the quality may not be up to expected standards.

Although there was a wave of excitment over a crop of 99 Cent Store DVDs a year ago, the fact is that they were made in China where the manufacturing specifications required of mainstream producers are not followed. These discs are also made where adherence to copyright laws are not observed as well. As for the discs themselves, they can tend to be inferior and may disintegrate or develop mold within a short period of time, which is one of the reasons why they can sell so cheaply.

WE can all agree that these companies making the bad PD discs are not helping the cause. Fortunately, there are a few of us trying to do it right. I hope to believe I am one of them.

[ltnut]

One of the worst I've seen on PD DVDs is Pleased to Eat You with the Hungry Lion. Every copy I've seen is totally washed out to red or black & white, which actually looks better. Also, several Gabby cartoons I've seen on PD DVDs are washed out to red as well.

[MarkTheShark]

One of the worst I've seen on PD DVDs is Pleased to Eat You with the Hungry Lion. Every copy I've seen is totally washed out to red or black & white, which actually looks better. Also, several Gabby cartoons I've seen on PD DVDs are washed out to red as well.

Beware of a recent Goodtimes DVD series called "Lost Cartoons." There are three in this series, which I believe are Famous Studios, Van Beuren and Max Fleischer. The notes on the back are completely bogus. They claim these cartoons have been restored, look better than they've ever looked, etc. No. The only one I bought was the Famous one and it looks to have been duped from Dollar DVDs. The first cartoon on the disc is listed as "Pleased To Eat You." This is bizarre: It's not "Pleased To Eat You;" it's the Buzzy The Crow cartoon "The Stupidstitious Cat," with the black and white title frame of "Pleased To Eat You" cross-faded into the opening titles in place of the correct original title card. On the same disc, a supposedly "restored" "Land Of The Lost Jewels" is filled with splices and jumps, a badly faded "Ups An' Downs Derby" originates from a Dollar DVD source, and an extremely faded "Little Red School Mouse" is misidentified on the back cover as a "previously unreleased pencil test." I'm not kidding.