Fan of classic Saturday morning cartoons? Who isn't, right? They're not all gems, but there's no doubt that many of us have lots of fond memories of the classics from the 60s and 70s (and 80s and 90s for that matter). Warner Home Video has been tending to ardent fans of these cartoons with two disc DVD releases. Last week, I took a look at the new 60s Collection, and today, I've got the 70s edition under my scope. Let's take a closer look.

The Collection

As this is a compilation of vintage cartoons, the most important aspect of this release is what cartoons are included. The breakdown looks like this:

Disc 1:

-"Keep Your Keeper," from the show Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch.

-"Off Limits" from the New Adventures of Gilligan.

-"Deep Threat" from Sealab 2020. Before there was Sealab 2021 on Adult Swim, there was the original Sealab that was a 'serious' show about a group of humans exploring the depths of the sea. In this episode, two of the teenagers go out exploring and get lost. Worth a watch, but doesn't warrant a lot of replays.

-"The Mardi Gras Caper" from Episode #12 of the Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan. I had never even heard of this show before seeing it on this DVD. I didn't get much out of it, but I can see its value to collectors and 1970s cartoons enthusiasts.

-"The Living Island" and "Master of the Thieves" from Shazzan - I enjoyed these two episodes of another 70s series I hadn't seen before. Chuck and Nancy use their mystical ring to call upon the help of Shazzan to solve a variety of problems, good wholesome fun and perfect 'background TV' for late night work around the house.

-"Mr. Bigot" from Yogi's Gang - A dozen or more Hanna Barbera characters team up for comedy and entertainment in this one.


Disc 2

-"Duck, Rabbit, Duck!" / "For Scent-imental Reasons" / "Stop, Look, And Hasten" / "Hare-Way to the Stars" from the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour. Classic stuff here, very entertaining with plenty of replay value.

-"Forbidden Fruit" from Valley of the Dinosaurs.

-"No Way Stowaway" / "That Was No Idol" / "The Ski Bunny" / "The All American Ape" / "Stay Awake Or Else" from Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape. Nothing too outstanding here, but again, worth a watch.

-"Joining the Knights" / "Danger Island" / "The Littlest Musketeer" from the Banana Splits Adventure Hour. Didn't much care for these episodes. They're actually live action, not animated, which is a bummer.

-"Diamonds Are A Crook's Best Friend" from Inch High Private Eye. I love this character and show. This is another cool episode that has Inch High putting an end to some criminal activity with his clever ideas, using his height to his advantage.

-"A Sweet Joke On Gotham City" from The New Adventures of Batman. Sweet Tooth changes Gotham's water supply to pump liquid chocolate instead of water. Batman and Robin fear the children will rot their teeth and get unhealthy so they're on the case. This is pretty campy, but still well animated and enjoyable.

As for extra features, well, there isn't much, but that shouldn't be surprising. The first disc contains "The Power of Shazaan," a five and a half minute look at the show and its premise. Animation directors and writers talk while clips and some behind the scenes footage is shown. The only other extra are the two Saturday Morning Wake-Up Call features that run about two minutes per disc. These are really just a preview of the episodes on the disc and aren't really an extra feature.

As far as presentation, things look and sound just fine. No major technical flaws were noted. With that, let's get to the summary...