How to watch Looney Tunes and other cartoons on DVD and Blu-ray (and without HBO Max)
Warner Brothers Discovery and HBO Max have made headlines recently for axing some of the studio’s most famous cartoons. These include dropping from HBO Max half of “The Flintstones,” a chunk of the Cartoon Network catalog ("OK KO! Let's Be Heroes," "Infinity Train," etc.), and, around New Year’s, half of the classic catalog of the studio’s flagship cartoon, Looney Tunes.
The last one was the "final straw" for HBO Max for me. While I dislike what WB Discovery's done to their other cartoons, Looney Tunes is the one cartoon I expect a flagship Warner Bros. streaming service to actually carry, especially at $16 a month. As such, all of this revived my interest in buying some of my favorite WB cartoons on physical media. Thus, here’s a look at how to watch Looney Tunes, plus Scooby-Doo and the Flintstones, without HBO Max... a.k.a., how to get them on DVD and Blu-ray.
Digitally, all of the series below are available for sale via iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu. As of this writing, these cartoons (and their spin-offs) are all available to stream on Boomerang. “The Flintstones” and “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” are also available to stream for free on Tubi.
My criteria:
Blu-ray / high definition is preferred when possible.
I’m just looking at the original series; trying to include spin-offs, especially for Scooby-Doo, would make this post too long.
North American DVD/Blu-ray releases only, as that’s where I live.
The Flintstones
The modern Stone Age family is fortunately easy to buy on video. The entire original show’s 1960-1966 run is available on DVD and Blu-ray as a complete series box set. (Individual season sets are also available, but I’d go for the complete series set.) The Blu-ray set also offers the 1966 theatrical film “The Man Called Flintstone” and the 2015 direct-to-video WWE wrestling crossover film.
Scooby-Doo
“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” is available as a complete series DVD and Blu-ray set. The complete set includes the two seasons of the original show’s 1969-1971 run, plus the short-lived 1978 third-season revival. The third season is normally included under “The Scooby-Doo Show,” the collective syndicated title of 40 episodes that originally aired across different anthology shows in the late 1970s. As such, these episodes on the DVD/Blu-ray include that series’ opening credits.
Separate DVD (but not Blu-ray) sets also exist for the first and second seasons (combined) and the third season.
While the original series is still on HBO Max, I note “The Scooby-Doo Show” is one of the cartoons they quietly dropped without warning in late December 2022.
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes has seen a myriad of DVD releases, from sets aimed at hardcore collectors and completists to DVDs aimed at casual viewers. Given over 1,000 shorts were produced between 1930 and 1969, there’s no single complete set of everything available. To date, about half of the Looney Tunes catalog is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Unfortunately, while there’s been many DVD releases, there are few Blu-ray releases. The Blu-ray releases are mostly aimed at collectors, and thus are out-of-print and/or expensive.
The best DVD and Blu-ray options available are listed below.
The Golden Collection
The Golden Collection is six-volume series of DVD sets aimed at collectors, originally released between 2003 and 2008. To date, it’s still considered the most comprehensive set of Looney Tunes shorts available; the Golden Collection covers both most of the most popular shorts/characters and some obscure/minor shorts. There’s also a ton of extras (interviews, guest commentary, etc.) for fans.
Again, I note this set is aimed at fans, and not kids. There’s an unskippable warning about some of the shorts’ dated and problematic content (racist stereotypes, etc.) at the start of the latter DVD sets.
The Spotlight Collection
The Spotlight Collection is an eight-volume, “best of” series of DVDs (based on the Golden Collection) released from 2003 to 2014. It’s aimed at families, those on a budget, and casual viewers. Unlike the Golden Collection, the Spotlight series is cheaper, lacks most of the fan-oriented extras, and doesn’t include the more obscure or problematic shorts.
Looney Tunes Super Stars
Looney Tunes Super Stars is a series of character-specific DVDs released from 2010 to 2013. While some of these shorts recycle what’s on the Golden Collection, there’s also a large number of shorts new to DVD, and aren’t available on the other sets. Character DVDs include: Bugs Bunny; Daffy Duck; Foghorn Leghorn; Sylvester and Tweety; the Road Runner and Coyote; Pepe Le Pew; Porky Pig; and Sylvester, Sylvester Jr., and Hippety Hopper (the baby kangaroo). The DVDs lack any extras, as they’re more aimed at casual viewers/families/budget-conscious viewers than the Golden Collection.
Unfortunately, the Bugs and Daffy DVDs for ill-conceived reasons decided to only offer a 16:9 cropped version of some of the shorts (all made for 4:3 viewing originally) for widescreen TVs. The Road Runner DVD is also almost entirely the less-regarded 1960s shorts, plus a few modern productions, and lacks any of the classic Chuck Jones-directed shorts.
The Platinum Collection
The Platinum Collection is a three-volume follow-up to the Golden Collection. Released from 2011 to 2014, this series reuses some of the shorts from the Golden and Super Stars collections, but in a more organized or “best of” fashion; for instance, the first volume includes all of the classic Marvin the Martian and Tasmanian Devil shorts. There are also plenty of extras for fans, especially on the Blu-ray versions, though some of these are the same ones from the Golden Collection.
Unfortunately, the first two volumes’ Blu-ray versions are out-of-print, and effectively non-starters unless you’re a hardcore fan willing to spend $100-$200 each (what they run for on eBay).
As for which ones to buy?
For hardcore fans: The Golden Collection, Super Stars, and the Platinum Collection. All three series will cover nearly every available Looney Tunes short currently on video. According to this site, buying the Golden Collection alone will cover two-thirds of the available shorts, and thus this set is often considered the main one to buy. Adding the Super Stars DVDs to the Golden Collection ups the percentage of shorts covered to about 87%. While the Platinum Collection has just a few unique shorts, the third volume coming in a Blu-ray version (that’s easily available) is a big reason to consider this set.
For budget-conscious fans: The Golden Collection (if at a sufficient discount); otherwise, the Platinum Collection and/or Super Stars. Unless you can find the Golden Collection used or at a discount, buying the entire set's still pricey. The separate volumes go for around $20 each, while complete box sets seem to vary in price (anywhere between $70 and $100). Meanwhile, it’s about $40-$50 for all three Platinum volumes, and $20-$30 for the Super Stars DVDs. Additionally, the Super Stars DVDs offer special Bugs and Daffy multipack versions that carry three of the DVDs for the price of one; thus you’d only need to also buy the Pepe and Sylvester DVDs to get all of them.
For families: The Spotlight Collection and/or Super Stars.
"DVDs" by blmurch is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Flickr / cropped from original)