Porky Pig 101

Porky Pig 101 is a DVD box-set released by Warner Archive Collection, collecting the first 101 animated short subjects starring the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies character Porky Pig. The set features all 99 Porky Pig cartoons made in black and white, as well as two cartoons made in color: Porky's debut appearance in I Haven't Got a Hat (1935) and the color "special" Old Glory (1939).

This is the first Looney Tunes DVD collection produced by the Warner Archive boutique label, as opposed to the main Warner Home Video "family division", which had handled previous Looney Tunes DVD and Blu-ray releases the such as the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Platinum Collection and Super Stars sets. According to Jerry Beck, after several years of both him and Warner Archive president George Feltenstein lobbying, the "family unit" relinquished the distribution of the black and white Porky Pig cartoons to Warner Archive since they believed children were uninterested in black and white cartoons.

The set features 65 newly remastered shorts, while 36 of them are previously restored transfers ported over the from the aforementioned Golden, Platinum and The Essential Daffy Duck collections. All shorts are presented uncut with all 99 black and white cartoons shown in their original format - as opposed to the various redrawn and computer colorized versions that commonly aired on television. The set has no new special features - but the set does include audio commentaries and other supplements from the previous Golden and Platinum releases.

According to Beck, production on the set started in 2012,  and since this was Warner Archive's first Golden Age of Animation release, the restoration team was given a very limited budget. Therefore, unlike the previous Golden Collection series, they were unable to digitally restore the 65 new-to-DVD shorts from the original camera negatives, and instead had to simply remaster them from high quality 35mm black and white "vault prints". This resulted in several shorts having some minor errors including incorrect opening and closing themes (see below).

Porky Pig 101 received mixed reviews from animation fans and collectors, who tended to praise the complete and chronological nature of the set - featuring rare never before released shorts, and presenting them uncut and in their original black and white format - but also criticised the restoration quality; noting several splices, dirt, brightness and contrast issues - and overall feeling it lacked the pristine image quality of the cartoons restored for the Golden and Platinum collections.

Porky Pig 101 was a modest financial success, and led Warner Archive to release more classic theatrical animated content as single-disc Blu-ray sets, such as Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Tex Avery Screwball Classics and Looney Tunes Collector's Choice, all of which garnered a much more positive fan reception.

Special features

 * Audio commentaries
 * Jerry Beck on I Haven't Got a Hat
 * Michael Barrier on Porky's Poultry Plant
 * Mark Kausler on Porky in the North Woods

Special features

 * Audio commentaries
 * Mark Kausler on Porky's Romance and The Case of the Stuttering Pig
 * Daniel Goldmark on Porky at the Crocadero

Special features

 * Audio commentaries
 * John Kricfalusi and Eddie Fitzgerald on Porky's Party
 * Daniel Goldmark on Wholly Smoke
 * Michael Barrier on Porky in Wackyland
 * Mark Kausler on The Daffy Doc
 * Jerry Beck and Martha Sigall on Old Glory
 * Porky's Party storyboard reel

Special features

 * Audio commentaries
 * Jerry Beck on You Ought to Be in Pictures
 * Porky's Poor Fish storyboard reel

Special features

 * Audio commentaries
 * Greg Ford on Porky's Preview
 * Joe Dante on Porky Pig's Feat
 * Porky's Breakdowns (1939)