“What’s up doc?” Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray review

80 years after he first appeared onscreen, Bugs Bunny remains a timeless character that still hooks new generations of fans with his witty one-liners and over-the-top antics. To celebrate the wascally wabbit’s anniversary, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has gathered a huge collection of Bugs’ shorts for the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection set, available now on Blu-ray and digitally.

The set features a whopping 60 remastered theatrical shorts making their debut on Blu-ray, presented in their original theatrical 4X3 aspect ratio format, along with 10 episodes of HBO Max’s new Looney Tunes Cartoons series. For those who grew up watching these classic shorts on TV or on beaten-up VHS tapes over the years, this Blu-ray set will be a revelation. The shorts look incredible, showing fine drawing details and colours that have been obscured to most viewers for decades.

Apart from the stunning new transfers, the material itself still holds up remarkably well. The 7-8 minute shorts (which were initially conceived as disposable opening films attached to a new theatrical release) have stood the test of time, including bonafide animation classics like A Wild Hare, Baseball Bugs, and Knighty Knight Bugs. While many of Bugs’ wisecracks are definitely of their time and may fly over the head of today’s younger viewers, the wild premises and slapstick genius exhibited in this collection simply transcend the ages.

Showing Bugs the respect he deserves, Warner Bros. has put together a great set of extras for this release, including the new hour-long Bugs Bunny’s 80th What’s Up Doc-umentary! Narrated by Billy Crystal, the documentary examines the history of the character over the decades, including sketches, clips from the shorts, and interviews with animation legends like Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, and Tex Avery, who created some of the most memorable Bugs material over the years.

In addition to the new documentary, the set features thirty (!) audio commentary tracks from animation experts and historians on select episodes, a number of featurettes from previous DVD releases, a fun new featurette on Bugs’ beloved nemesis Marvin the Martian, the aforementioned new Looney Tunes episodes, and more. To make the set stand out on your shelf, the collection is even boxed with an exclusive Bugs Bunny Funko Pop figure (limited to 30,000).

Warner Bros. has put together an impressive package highlighting nearly a century of Bugs Bunny’s animated zaniness. The shorts look fantastic, and the new features add some great context for those looking for a deeper dive into the history of the character and animation/comedy in general. Check out the complete list of the included shorts below.

Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Featured Cartoon Shorts

Disc #1:

1.Elmer’s Candid Camera
2.A Wild Hare
3.Hold the Lion, Please
4.Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid
5.Super-Rabbit
6.Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk
7.What’s Cookin’ Doc?
8.Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears
9.Hare Ribbin
10.The Old Grey Hare
11.Baseball Bugs
12.Hair Raising Hare
13.Racketeer Rabbit
14.Bugs Bunny Rides Again
15.Haredevil Hare
16.Hot Cross Bunny
17.Hare Splitter
18.Knights Must Fall
19.What’s Up Doc?
20.8 Ball Bunny

Disc #2:

1.The Rabbit of Seville
2.Rabbit Every Monday
3.Fair Haired Hare
4.Rabbit Fire
5.His Hare Raising Tale
6.Hare Lift
7.Upswept Hare
8.Robot Rabbit
9.Captain Hareblower
10.No Parking Hare
11.Yankee Doodle Bugs
12.Lumber-Jack Rabbit
13.Baby Buggy Bunny
14.Hare Brush
15.This is a Life?
16.Rabbitson Crusoe
17.Napoleon Bunny-Part
18.Half Fare Hare
19.Pikers Peak
20.What’s Opera, Doc?

Disc #3:

1.Bugsy and Mugsy
2.Show Biz Bugs
3.Hare-Less Wolf
4.Now, Hare This
5.Knighty Knight Bugs
6.Hare-Abian Nights
7.Backwoods Bunny
8.Wild and Woolly Hare
9.Bonanza Bunny
10.People are Bunny
11.Person to Bunny
12.Rabbit’s Feat
13.From Hare to Heir
14.Compressed Hare
15.Prince Violent
16.Shishkabugs
17.The Million Hare
18.The Unmentionables
19.False Hare
20.Blooper Bunn

The Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set is available now.