Dubbed Versions

An example of the altered end title card featuring the new copyright notice superimposed on it

Turner Entertainment acquired the Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) library of pre-1948 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons in 1986. In the mid-1990s, the company undertook a project to create new broadcast masters of the acquired cartoons using the earliest and best sources they had access to, as the existing masters in use were transfers of 16mm prints that had originally been made in the 1950s which had become significantly degraded with age and repeated use over the decades. For international markets, new foreign-language dubs were created for the cartoons as the original non-English audio of these cartoons was never preserved.

These new masters included new end title cards that include a superimposed notice assigning copyright of the dubbed soundtracks to Turner, replacing the original end card. The notice reads: "DUBBED VERSION © 1994/1995 TURNER ENTERTAINMENT CO. MUSIC © 1994/1995 WARNER BROS. ℗ WARNER BROS. ALL LOGOS AND CHARACTERS ARE TRADEMARKS OF WARNER BROS.", referring to the the new dubbed foreign-language soundtracks. Subsequently, these prints became known as dubbed versions.

In addition to the 1995-copyrighted prints, following Time Warner's acquisition of Turner in 1996, Warner Bros. created new prints of select post-1948 cartoons, including a similar copyright notice labeling them as "THIS VERSION" and either a 1997 or 1998 copyright date. These were originally used for home video releases outside the US.

Turner masters

In 1994 and 1995, as part of a Turner company-wide attempt to remaster and upgrade the quality of its entire classic animation archive library for television showings (specifically for the Turner-owned cable networks such as Cartoon Network, TBS, and TNT) and for future home media releases (e.g. The Golden Age of Looney Tunes: Volume 5 laserdisc), the company created new remastered transfers of the pre-1948 Looney Tunes cartoons. However, unlike the other cartoon shorts in Turner's library, Turner did not have access to the original master negatives of the pre-1948 Looney Tunes cartoons, therefore forcing them to use whatever limited film material they had in the Turner vaults. As a result the Turner prints have rather varying degrees of image fidelity.

These masters have the picture displayed in full wide and enlarged views, as opposed to the cropped "pan-and-scan" screen method used in the older transfers preceding them. This is because when the dubbed versions were created, the 16mm duplicate film negatives were re-scanned, and film scanning technology of the 1990s had enabled more picture exposure than previous film scanning technology. "Yankee Doodle Daffy", "Daffy Duck in Hollywood", "Rhapsody in Rivets" and "Page Miss Glory" are among the "dubbed version" prints that benefited from this advantage.

A comparison image depicting how 1995 dubbed versions (right) show more picture than their previous old a.a.p. prints (left), with Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943) being a good example of this

While Turner did edit the ending cards, they never omitted the cartoons' opening titles, unlike earlier broadcast prints which often omitted them. Most kept their original opening titles, but some of the cartoons had solid color borders around the opening titles, an artifact of the transfer process. Some cartoons which had lost their original opening titles in some of their a.a.p. prints previously broadcast on television had their original openings restored in the 1995 Turner versions.

For cartoons where the only available prints were Blue Ribbon re-issues, those opening titles remained. While most of the masters of cartoons with Blue Ribbon reissues did not restore the original titles, there are two exceptions: "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" and "Hop, Look and Listen" are the only cartoons where the Turner versions restored their original opening titles. For "Daffy Duck & Egghead" and "The Night Watchman", recreations of their Blue Ribbon titles were made, as no opening titles were in the library at all.

Recreated Merrie Melodies opening card seen on the Turner dubbed version masters of "Daffy Duck & Egghead" (1938) and "The Night Watchman" (1938)

Aside from the transfer color change and title alterations, the soundtracks in the 1995 dubbed versions have been partially remastered and restored, resulting in better sound quality than their previous a.a.p. prints, despite having some audible hiss and audio noise left intact "Back Alley Oproar", "The Penguin Parade", "A Gruesome Twosome", "Hare Remover", "Lights Fantastic", "Birdy and the Beast" and "What's Cookin' Doc?" are among examples of 1995 dubbed version masters that benefited from better quality soundtracks in comparison to their older a.a.p. transfers preceding them.

For the release of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 5 LaserDisc in 1997, all cartoons but nine are all Turner dubbed versions.

While dubbed versions of the Censored Eleven and other cartoons from the a.a.p. library that had been removed from broadcast due to outdated stereotypes are said to exist, none of those masters were ever used for broadcast.

End title alterations

Generally, the end titles for the dubbed versions were selected based on the original release year and series of the cartoons following the below patterns, though there were exceptions.

• 1931-1933 black-and-white Merrie Melodies by Harman-Ising - These cartoons kept their original ending card, but with the new copyright notice superimposed.
• 1934-1935 color Merrie Melodies - If the cartoon was released between "Honeymoon Hotel" and "I Wanna Play House", but was not given a Blue Ribbon reissue, the Jester sign off from 1935's "My Green Fedora" was used but the original audio still plays and the new copyright notice is superimposed.
• 1936-1944 color Merrie Melodies crediting Schlesinger - These cartoons mostly used the ending card sourced from 1937's "September in the Rain" (for NTSC masters) or "The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos" (for PAL masters) with "Released by Warner Bros. Productions Corp." digitally removed and the new copyright notice superimposed; the final result is noticeably still-framed.
• 1935-1948 color Merrie Melodies crediting Warner Bros. - These cartoons used an ending card sourced from 1948's "Bugs Bunny Rides Again" with the new copyright notice superimposed.
• 1943-1946 color Looney Tunes - These cartoons had a generic drum ending card with red borders. "Released by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc." is digitally removed and the new copyright notice superimposed. For pre-1945 Looney Tunes shorts, the altered ending card was sourced from "To Duck .... or Not to Duck", while for post-1944 ones, the altered ending was sourced from 1945's "Hare Conditioned".
• 1946-1948 color Looney Tunes - These cartoons had an ending card sourced from 1948's "Haredevil Hare" with the new copyright notice superimposed.
• Dubbed versions of the cartoons re-released in the 1952-53 season have their "THE END" ending card replaced with the 1947-48 dubbed version ending card.

Foreign-language soundtrack changes

The original foreign-language soundtracks of the the pre-1948 shorts were not preserved by Warner Bros., so Turner had to recreate new foreign-language dubs for the cartoons using music cues taken from other Looney Tunes cartoons (particularly from the post-1948 shorts produced within the 1950s) and sound effects from Warner Bros.' sound archives. These dubbed soundtracks are what the copyright notice is specifically referring to in calling them the "dubbed versions", and why the copyright notice includes "MUSIC © 1995 WARNER BROS. ℗ 1995 WARNER BROS.", giving credit for the music used to Warners. In almost all cases, the original ending music was kept, although sometimes, an earlier or later version of the closing theme is heard on the titles and some reissued Looney Tunes had their ending music changed to that of the Merrie Melodies series. In addition, some foreign language soundtracks have different music for versions released in Europe and the Americas, along with other differences in edits and source prints.

Controversy

Many animation fans and film preservationists have spoken out against the changes to the closing title cards as being inauthentic.

"The Old Grey Hare" in particular is cited as the shaking ending card gag is not present in the NTSC master of the dubbed version, though the explosion was still heard. This is corrected in the PAL version of the same Turner remaster however, where the original "shaking" ending card gag is kept intact while the "DUBBED VERSION © 1995 TURNER ENTERTAINMENT, CO." end tag appears right after it.

1997–1998 Warner Bros. masters

THIS VERSION © 1997 WARNER BROS. copyright notice superimposed on the original ending card, as seen on 1997 broadcast masters. Taken from "Catty Cornered" (1953)

Like the pre-1948 shorts, the original isolated music-and-effects track of nearly every cartoon produced between 1948 and 1949 and some cartoons produced between 1949 and 1953 were not preserved, so in 1997 and 1998 Warner Bros. made new masters of these cartoons with new foreign language dubs with a similar copyright notice added to the end titles.

The new music-and-effects-only tracks were reconstructed using the same methods as the 1995 Turner prints of pre-1948 cartoons. Unlike the 1995 Turner dubbed versions, most of these masters were derived from the original negatives, and most feature restored original titles and the original ending Color Rings.

Though some of the 1997 titles use the "DUBBED VERSION" wording for the new copyright notice, many of these masters used "THIS VERSION" instead. Unlike the Turner masters, versions of these masters exist both with and without the copyright notice.

These masters made their home video debut on the Bugs and Friends Japanese laserdisc set and 1998 international VHS releases with the new copyright notice. Shortly after some also appeared on both the Looney Tunes Presents and Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition VHS releases without the copyright notice at the end, as these were English-language releases and did not need the new dubbed-language audio. Several of these were used on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series of DVDs, also without the notice.

1997–98 masters on television

In the late-1990s and early-2000s, the 1997–1998 masters were used for television distribution, beginning with various Cartoon Network/Boomerang feeds worldwide, replacing previous unrestored prints of post-1948 shorts, even though even as recent as 2011 some of these post-1948 shorts were still shown as the unrestored versions on various Cartoon Network/Boomerang feeds in may parts of the world. In short, television broadcast availability of these 1997–1998 prints tend to vary greatly depending on the country.

VHS releases containing the 1997–1998 masters

Bugs and Daffy: What's Up, Duck

Bugs and Tweety: Watch The Birdie

Bugs and Road Runner: Runaway Rabbit

Bugs and Speedy: Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

Bugs and Marvin: Martian Mayhem

From Hare to Eternity

Superior Duck

Wideo Wabbit

Greedy for Tweety

Cheese Chasers

The Prize Pest

Big House Bunny

Scaredy Cat

Strangled Eggs

Feed the Kitty

1997-98 masters on later home video releases

VHS

• "Mad as a Mars Hare" (Marvin the Martian & K-9: 50 Years on Earth!/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes (reissued version))
• "Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century" (Marvin the Martian & K-9: 50 Years on Earth!/Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes (reissued version))
• "Dog Pounded" (Tweety: Home Tweet Home)
• "The Jet Cage" (Tweety: Home Tweet Home)
• "Bad Ol' Putty Tat" (Tweety: Home Tweet Home)
• "Tweety's S.O.S." (Tweety: Home Tweet Home)
• "A Street Cat Named Sylvester" (Tweety: Home Tweet Home, only on PAL release)
• "Muzzle Tough" (Tweety: Tweet and Lovely, only on PAL release)
• "Tweety's Circus" (Tweety: Tweet and Lovely)
• "Greedy for Tweety" (Tweety: Tweet and Lovely)
• "Catty Cornered" (Tweety: Tweet and Lovely)
• "Bully for Bugs" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny, only on PAL release)
• "Big Top Bunny" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "Water, Water Every Hare" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "Rabbit Rampage" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "The Abominable Snow Rabbit" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "Rabbit's Kin" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "Foxy by Proxy" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "My Bunny Lies over the Sea" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "Baton Bunny" (Bugs Bunny: Big Top Bunny)
• "Dough for the Do-Do" (Taz's Jungle Jams)
• "Rabbit Seasoning" (LTCE: Vol 1: All-Stars)
• "Tweety's S.O.S." (LTCE: Vol 1: All-Stars)
• "The Foghorn Leghorn" (LTCE: Vol 1: All-Stars)
• "Scaredy Cat" (LTCE: Vol 2: Running Amuck)
• "Feed the Kitty" (LTCE: Vol 2: Running Amuck)
• "Boyhood Daze" (LTCE: Vol 2: Running Amuck)
• "My Bunny Lies over the Sea" (LTCE: Vol 2: Running Amuck)
• "Awful Orphan" (LTCE: Vol 3: The Vocal Genius)
• "The Stupor Salesman" (LTCE: Vol 3: The Vocal Genius)
• "A Fractured Leghorn" (LTCE: Vol 3: The Vocal Genius)
• "Golden Yeggs" (LTCE: Vol 3: The Vocal Genius)
• "Rabbit Fire" (LTCE: Vol 3: The Vocal Genius)
• "Lovelorn Leghorn" (LTCE: Vol 4: Daffy Doodles)
• "Big Top Bunny" (LTCE: Vol 4: Daffy Doodles)
• "Baton Bunny" (LTCE: Vol 5: Musical Masterpieces)
• "Mouse Mazurka" (LTCE: Vol 5: Musical Masterpieces)
• "Rabbit's Kin" (LTCE: Vol 6: Supporting Players)
• "I Gopher You" (LTCE: Vol 6: Supporting Players)
• "Don't Give Up The Sheep" (LTCE: Vol 6: Supporting Players)
• "Water, Water Every Hare" (LTCE: Vol 6: Supporting Players)
• "High Diving Hare" (LTCE: Vol 9: A Looney Life)
• "Kit For Cat" (LTCE: Vol 9: A Looney Life)
• "Bunker Hill Bunny" (LTCE: Vol 9: A Looney Life)
• "A Mouse Divided" (LTCE: Vol 9: A Looney Life)
• "Feline Frame-Up" (LTCE: Vol 10: Canine Corps)
• "Muzzle Tough" (LTCE: Vol 10: Canine Corps)
• "Mad as a Mars Hare" (LTCE: Vol 11: Wabbit Tales)
• "Dog Pounded" (LTCE: Vol 14: Cartoon Superstars)
• "The Million Hare" (LTCE: Vol 14: Cartoon Superstars)

DVD/Blu-Ray

Some of these 1997-98 masters show up on official Warner Home Video DVDs and Blu-Rays, but do not have the dubbed notice at the end.

• "The Foghorn Leghorn" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Scaredy Cat" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Ballot Box Bunny" (LTSS: WW, only on PAL release)
• "Rabbit's Kin" (LTSS: WW, only on PAL release)
• "Bad Ol' Putty Tat" (LTSS: FF, only on PAL release)
• "Ant Pasted" (LTSS: HH, with the cue mark)
• "The Wearing of the Grin" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "The Ducksters" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Deduce, You Say" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Dough for the Do-Do" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "A Broken Leghorn" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Canned Feud" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Bunker Hill Bunny" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Bully for Bugs" (I Love Tweety: Vol 1, LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Baton Bunny" (I Love Tweety: Vol 1, LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Water, Water Every Hare" (I Love Tweety: Vol 1, LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Big House Bunny" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Rabbit Seasoning" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Lumber Jerks" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Feed the Kitty" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "The Hypo-Chondri Cat" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Don't Give Up the Sheep" (LTGC: Vol 1)
• "Boyhood Daze" (LTGC: Vol 6)
• "Mouse Mazurka" (LTMC, only in the United States)
• "Lovelorn Leghorn" (I'll See You In My Dreams)
• "I Gopher You" (His Majesty O'Keef)
• "From A to Z-Z-Z-Z" (By the Light of the Silvery Moon)
• "Hyde and Hare" (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
• "Beep Prepared" (Splendor in the Grass)
• "From Hare to Eternity" (LTPC: Vol 1 - with 1998 Dubbed Version notice)