Harveytoons: The Complete Collection
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C+
Harveytoons
rank amongst such Classic Americana Animation studios as Disney and Warner
Bros., beginning in the pages of a comic book publisher in the early 1940’s and
growing significantly through the next two decades into a prosperous animation
studio. Harvey Comics produced such
great classic characters as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Baby Huey, Katnip, Wendy
the Witch, and many, many more. All of
these characters later being adapted into cartoon series which appeared on both
television and in movie theaters. This
DVD set entitled Harveytoons: The
Complete Collection, includes over 52 original Harveytoon Cartoon Episodes.
The cartoon
episodes (comprised of 3.5 1950s shorts each) that these DVDs are arranged in
are not the original presentation, but are assembled in such a manner that the
cartoons have a cohesive pattern such as Fishing, Camping, Love, and so on. The original cartoon shorts were not ordered
in any such compilation, rather being short segments between theatrical
films. The Harveytoon Company was sold
in the early 1990s to Classic Media, who is correspondence with Sony Pictures
released this classic compilation of animated shorts featuring many of the
world’s favorite animated characters.
The DVD
set overall is pretty bare. This 4 Disc,
dual layered set (8 sides overall) contains over 19 hours of animation, 52
episodes including with 4 shorts each, amounting to about 192 shorts overall. The Picture quality varies widely from short
to short. Mostly every episode has some
degree of remnants (particles or dust and dirt) as well as some shorts
featuring a spotty, jumpy quality that has not been restored. Each short is presented in a full screen format
that at times is gritty, too bright, and/or blurry. For its age, overall, the quality has stood
the test of time but the studio should have placed a greater degree of effort
into restoring these animated classics.
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono sound is quite clear and refreshing for the old pictures, with
little fuzziness or high/low errors. The
extras, however, are a problem. The
problem with the extras lies in the fact that there are NONE! With the history that exists in the Harvey
Animation Family some strong effort should have been put forth to add some
excellent features to this DVD Box set.
Also with the large number of shorts that exists on this particular set
there is no in box directory to the animated collection. This in turn makes it extremely hard to
navigate to viewers’ favorite shorts, or even give the ability to observe how
many shorts are held within this collection.
Overall,
this reviewer is glad to see these classic cartoons presented on DVD in one
large compilation. Though the title
states “The Complete Collection,” looking at the past number of animated shorts
created by Harvey it is obviously apparent that some animated shorts are
missing. Even with this small
indiscretion the set is quite nice highlighting the way cartoons used to be,
meant for all audiences. These cartoons
are part of our history alluding to elements of war, Americana, and many more
aspects of a time that has passed.
Though this set is lacking in many ways it is still entertaining and
these animated shorts should be shown to and cherished by each and every
generation.
- Michael P Dougherty II
