Behind the Tunes: Man from Wackyland - The Art of Bob Clampett

This 21 minute documentary on the work of Bob Clampett can be seen on Disc 3 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. And is very much worth it for any fan of his, of which I certainly am. Featuring interviews by his daughter, fellow cartoonists, and other notables, it also features clips of his work as well as old stills of behind the scenes stuff. This is great stuff and i loved watching every second of it. Needless to say I feel that this is the best "Behind the Tunes" featurette of all that I've seen hands-down. There will never be another Bob Clampett in my or your lifetime.

My Grade: A+

One of the other people reviewing the mini-documentaries created for the Looney Tunes DVDs said that the mini-documentaries improved significantly on Volume 2, and I gotta agree. Whereas the ones on Volume 1 mostly featured really basic stuff intended for newbies, Volume 2 looks into stuff that even we hardcore fans might not know. "Behind the Tunes: Man from Wackyland - The Art of Bob Clampett" is a case in point. He may not be in the 21st century as famous as Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng, but - as they note - he put the "looney" in Looney Tunes. His cartoons were a veritable pastiche of contortion, phantasmagoria, popular culture...and that's just the start. "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" is probably the seminal example. I had never totally realized that Clampett was the one to create situations in which Bugs could be the loser.

Anyway, it's too bad that Clampett left Warner Bros. when he did. He could have made some impressive cartoons over the years. But his work lives on. And this featurette does a good job focusing on him. You should also watch "Bugs Bunny Superstar" for more info.

We get a history of the famous Looney Tunes animator, a member of the famous "Termite Terrance" with Chuck Jones and a few other guys under the tutelage of Tex Avery. When Avery left, he took over the Merrie Melodies unit of WB. His cartoons were wild with tons of gags in his cartoons and a lot of energy.

Some of the nice comments about Clampett by others in here:

"In 30 seconds of a Bob Clampett cartoon, there are more ideas, original thoughts, sound ideas than are in 20 of anybody else's cartoons. They are amazing."

"He was the man who put 'looney' in "Looney Tunes."

"He was a crazy guy and of fun.....he was a lot like Bugs Bunny, doing jokes on others, but not in a mean spirit."

"Clampett saved Porky Pig and made him what he is and how we know him today."

I was glad to see a great cartoon like "Porky In Wackyland" get good publicity in here. You listen to these experts on animation and you realize how highly regarded is Clampett. This, plus a lot of other comments and history about Clampett, can be seen on this feature which is on disc three of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Two DVD.