'Looney Tunes,' John and Yoko top DVD releases

More Warner Bros. and MGM cartoon collections lead off these new DVDs, which will be released on Tuesday.

• "The Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume Three" (Warner, 1935-59, not rated, color and b/w, $64.92, four discs). Warner's has another "Wow!" collection with this third set of uncut cartoons with Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Elmer and the gang. The Chuck Jones documentary "Chuck Amok" is here, too, as well as an examination of the duck-hunting/rabbit-season trilogy by Jones. A disclaimer on the box says the set "is intended for the adult collector and may not be suitable for children." Ah, these politically correct times. Just enjoy the wackiness that was singular to the Warner Bros. characters in pristine transfers and featurettes that put everything into historical context.

Extras: Full frame, 60 cartoon shorts, new introduction (by Whoopi Goldberg) audio commentaries, making-of featurettes, documentaries: "Chuck Amok" and "What's Up, Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny," "Philbert" TV pilot, clips from "The Bugs Bunny Show," vintage making-of shorts, language and subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

• "Looney Tunes Movie Collection" (Warner, 1979/1982, not rated, $26.99, two discs). This collection has two theatrically released clipfests, "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie" (1979) and "Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales." In "Golden Collections" the cartoons are preserved in their original form, while in these compilations they are sometimes trimmed. Having said that, there's still an awful lot of hysterical material in these films. (Bugs Bunny's second movie, the 1981 "Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie," has not yet made its way to DVD.)

Extras: Full frame, making-of featurettes, language and subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

• "Tom and Jerry: Spotlight Collection, Volume 2" (Warner, 1940-58, not rated, $26.99, two discs). As with the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" above, Whoopi Goldberg offers an introduction to each disc here, putting racial stereotypes into historical perspective. A nice touch that is probably a good idea, especially for young audiences. As for the cartoons, Tom and Jerry were never better than the theatrical shorts of the '40s and '50s. This set kicks off with their first, "Puss Gets the Boot," and there are many other hysterical entries.

Extras: Full frame, Goldberg's new introduction, audio commentaries, making-of featurettes, language subtitles (English, Spanish), subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.