Modern Looney Tunes Series was the fifth Looney Tunes home video collection from Warner Home Video. Each tape in this series was named after the modern-day Looney Tunes cartoon it contained, with each tape also featuring an additional five classic cartoons.
This collection began on 13 August 1996 with the video releases of "Carrotblanca" and "Chariots of Fur", and then on 29 July 1998, the series was continued with the video releases of two of Chuck Jones' recent cartoons: "From Hare to Eternity" and "Superior Duck". Many collectors were disappointed with the number of titles repeated from previous Warner Home Video releases.[1]
Beginning with this video series, Looney Tunes home video collections would begin with a short version of the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment logo, which was the same logo as shown on Warner Bros. Animation's cartoon shows (albeit with a short Merrie Melodies fanfare).
August 1996 releases[]
All the classic cartoons included in these VHS releases use unrestored "off-the-shelf" tape masters.
| Cover | Title | Shorts |
|---|---|---|
 |
Carrotblanca (Looney Tunes Go to the Movies) |
|
 |
(Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote) Chariots of Fur (and Five Other Cartoons) |
July 1998 releases[]
All the classic cartoons included in these VHS releases use the newly-remastered 1998 Warner Bros. Dubbed Versions (AKA: 1998 THIS VERSION's), albeit without the dubbed notice at the original ending cards.
| Cover | Title | Shorts |
|---|---|---|
 |
From Hare to Eternity | |
 |
Superior Duck |
Notes[]
Cartoons repeated from previous home video collections[]
- While most of the classic cartoons included in this VHS series are repeats from previous Looney Tunes VHS releases, "The Stupor Salesman" is the only classic cartoon to be new-to-VHS at the time, having been previously only available on the Guffaw and Order: Looney Tunes Fight Crime LaserDisc set released two years prior.
- All of the repeated cartoons from previous releases are re-released with new video transfers made by Warner Bros. in the late-1980s-to-early-1990s, with the notable exception of "Hook, Line and Stinker".
- All of the classic cartoons in both Carrotblanca and Chariots of Fur were repeated from the Golden Jubilee home video collections. All the cartoons appearing on the Chariots of Fur tape were repeated from Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote: The Classic Chase, which was still in-print at the time. Three months later, the cartoons "Zip 'n Snort" and "Hook, Line and Stinker" would be repeated again on the Stars of Space Jam: Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote release that same year, using the exact same video masters used for the Chariots of Fur tape.[1]
- Unlike the other titles, the Superior Duck release contains two titles repeated from both the Cartoon Cavalcade and the Authentic and Original Looney Tunes Cartoons VHS series respectively, aside from just the Golden Jubilee tapes, and only one classic cartoon which was then new-to-VHS.
- "Box Office Bunny", despite being a more recent Looney Tunes cartoon, made its VHS debut here on Carrotblanca, despite previously making its home video debut on the Winner by a Hare: 14 of Bugs Bunny's Best LaserDisc set three years prior.
- "You Ought to Be in Pictures" is presented in its then-current computer colorized form and in its correct playback speed on the Carrotblanca tape. This is in contrast to its previous appearance on the Porky Pig's Screwball Comedies tape from the Golden Jubilee series, where it was time-compressed to play twice as fast as normal despite being presented in its original black-and-white form.
- The original black-and-white version of "You Ought to Be in Pictures", minus the time-compression, previously made its home video debut on Ham on Wry: The Porky Pig Laser Collection LaserDisc set three years prior.
Dubbed Versions[]
- Outside the U.S., the cartoons in the Carrotblanca (Looney Tunes Go to the Movies) and (Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote) Chariots of Fur (and Five Other Cartoons) VHS tapes have a 1997 dubbed version copyright notice over the original ending cards labelled "DUBBED VERSION © 1997 WARNER BROS.", very similar to the ones shown on the Stars of Space Jam tapes, only because new music-and-effects dub tracks were created for foreign dubs (see one of the reference links below).
- Unlike the rest of the shorts, the computer-colorized version of "You Ought to Be in Pictures" on the Carrotblanca tape has the dubbed notice at the opening, rather than at the ending.
- Outside the U.S., both the From Hare to Eternity and Superior Duck tapes are released in the same international series entirely dedicated to the first batch of 1998 Warner Bros. Dubbed Versions, complete with the "THIS VERSION 1998 © WARNER BROS." notices on their original ending cards.
Gallery[]
1997 dubbed notice shown on the opening of the computer colorized print of "You Ought to Be in Pictures" from the Carrotblanca tape in this collection (international versions only). This dubbed notice here is as long as the 1995 Turner Dubbed Versions, since these shorts do not survive their original music-and-effects track and had a new dub track made with music-and-effects tracks from other cartoons.
1997 dubbed notice shown on the ending of "Hare Do" from the Carrotblanca tape in this collection (international versions only). This dubbed notice here is as long as the 1995 Turner Dubbed Versions, since these shorts do not survive their original music-and-effects track and had a new dub track made with music-and-effects tracks from other cartoons.
1997 dubbed notice shown on the ending of "Drip-Along Daffy" from the Carrotblanca tape in this collection (international versions only). This dubbed notice here is quite short, since these shorts' dub track survive their original music-and-effects track but had new sound effects from other cartoons added in to replace some of the lost original music-and-effects track.
Other notes[]
- In the UK, the cartoons in the Carrotblanca (Looney Tunes Go to the Movies) VHS compilation would appear as part of Looney Tunes Bumper Edition: Volume 8 VHS release, sharing space alongside a selection of cartoons from the Bugs & Friends VHS collection, as opposed to as a standard stand-alone VHS release as in the other countries. [2]
- The Superior Duck VHS box art prominently featured Tweety and Taz alongside Daffy, even though the two characters only had brief cameos in the featured cartoon.[3]