The Best Way To Watch The Original Looney Tunes Now That They’re Not Streaming

David Zaslav may just be the single worst movie studio head in the entire 100+ years-long history of cinema, worse than the alleged old studio heads that allegedly worked with the mob and allegedly had actors (like George Reeves) killed, worse than Thomas Edison and his hobby of suing everyone else who tried making movies. Indeed, the current head of what we currently know as Warner Bros. Discovery (until he gets rid of that, too) has been on a crusade to seemingly get rid of everything related to legacy entertainment, from Turner Classic Movies to Cartoon Network.

His latest move was to delete the entire 1930-1969 run of “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” shorts that were available on Max. All of it. Over 200 cartoons are gone. This, of course, isn’t the first time Zaslav has had it for the beloved cartoon characters. Like a real-life Judge Doom, Zaslav acts as if has a particular vendetta against anything animation and “Looney Tunes” related, like throwing “Coyote Vs. ACME” to the trash for a quick tax write-off, or getting rid of “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”

Now that the classic “Looney Tunes” shorts are unavailable to easily stream, what should animation fans old and new do? Miss out on some of the greatest works of cinema of all time? Ignore the foundation for most cartoons today? Absolutely not. Despite David Zaslav’s best attempts, there are still ways to watch the chaotic fun of the original “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” shorts if you know where to look.

If you want to see the cartoons that gifted the world Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Porky Pig, Tweety, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, and so many others, you have to go to the source. The first option is to go to YouTube, where official accounts like WB Kids have plenty of shorts available showcasing the works of industry giants like Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, and Friz Freleng. Unfortunately, for the most part, these are just compilations rather than full shorts. If you want to experience the monumental, ground-breaking artistry of “What’s Opera, Doc?” or “Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century,” we have to go deeper.

Physical media will always be your best bet when it comes to future-proofing your collection. DVD may still suffer from disc rot, and many chain stores no longer sell Blu-rays, but these are still the most comprehensive way of watching the classic “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” shorts. There’s the Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes Golden Collection, which contains quite a lot of the best and most popular “Looney Tunes” shorts, but that is out of print and is lacking a lot of the bigger shorts.

The most recent HD collection is the Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice series on Blu-ray, which is available in a four-pack or individual volumes. The only problem with this collection is that it is mostly focused on shorts previously unreleased physically (there are still dozens of shorts that have never been available on DVD or Blu-ray). This means that the most famous shorts that were previously collected in other releases are not a part of this series, including “Duck Amuck,” and “One Froggy Evening,” even if there are almost 100 cartoons in the collection at a price that won’t break the bank.

If you want to experience the best “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” have to offer, your best bet is to get the Looney Tunes Complete Platinum Collection on DVD or Blu-ray. This doesn’t include all the shorts that were deleted from Max, but it does have the most comprehensive collection of shorts featuring the biggest classics and all the iconic characters. Sadly, the collection is out of print on Blu-ray, and copies can go for quite a lot of money. The DVD version, however, was reprinted recently and is more affordable.

Then there’s the actual best way to watch “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies,” the one method that is also the most cost-effective — MeTV Toons. This is a broadcast TV network that launched last year and has a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. The network mostly airs classic Warner Bros. cartoons, including classic Hanna-Barbera shows, “Looney Tunes,” and even old Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoons as well as other shows like “ALF: The Animated Series” and “Speed Racer.” The network airs “Looney Tunes” cartoons multiple times a day (you can check their schedule right here) all for free through your local station like an actual TV channel — remember those?

Granted, given that the channel depends on Warner Bros. Discovery, chances are not low that it will stop broadcasting “Looney Tunes.” Still, for the time being, there are options if you want to watch these classic shorts. That’s all folks!