Beep, Beep (1952) User Reviews

Underground Scene A Change Of Pace

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 13 April 2007]

This is more of the same thing that made this cartoon popular.....but who's complaining? It's always fun to see the poor coyote try various contraptions to get the Road Runner, and then get pulverized by every one of those inventions.

The underground cave chase was different from the normal fare and was clever. It gave us an aerial view of the chase in a maze-like structure. I didn't say it was hilarious; just different from the normal above-ground antics.

This one, along with some other Road Runner shorts, are featured on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and the transfers of them are spectacular. The colors are magnificent.

I liked it very much

[rbverhoef · 8/10 · 17 April 2004]

I think I am some kind of Road Runner fan. I don't care how predictable it is, I laugh anyway. 'Beep, Beep' is predictable most of the time, although it is pretty ingenious at the same time as well. Of course the Road Runner is chased by the Coyote and of course the Coyote fails to catch the Road Runner with every new attempt. The plans the Coyote comes up with are very funny. You see exactly where it will go wrong and you will not disappointed. Well, one time you are sort of disappointed, what you think will happen does not, but it makes the joke even funnier.

If you like the Road Runner shorts you will love this one. The predictable gags work and the animation is great and pretty original at times.

The second Road Runner cartoon improves on the first, confirming the possibility for a whole series

[phantom_tollbooth · 7/10 · 1 October 2008]

Chuck Jones's 'Beep Beep' (so called despite the fact that the Road Runner clearly says "Meep Meep") is the second of the exceptionally popular Road Runner series and is a vast improvement on its predecessor, the historically important but lacklustre 'Fast and Furry-ous'. While it features several predictable quickfire gags, 'Beep Beep' also expands on that initial cartoon with more ambitious, longer sequences. Chief among these is a fantastic, extended chase through an old mine in which we see the Coyote and the Road Runner represented by two small lights. There's also a very funny longer gag involving some rocket-powered roller-skates. 'Beep Beep' also sees a great improvement in the representation of Wile E. Coyote. Not only does he look more handsome than his scraggly prototype in 'Fast and Furry-ous' but he also draws the audience into the cartoon more with a greater amount of looks to the camera to indicate the brilliance of his idea or his fear of imminent pain. Although it's a little slow to get going (too many lingering shots of blueprints hinder the pace in some of the early gags), once 'Beep Beep' arrives at the mine shaft sequence it's clear that Jones was beginning to get a real handle on these characters and the greater possibilities of what he could do with them. There are better Road Runner cartoons than 'Beep Beep' but there's a real feeling of triumph about this cartoon, as if it were the confirmation that there was a series to be milked out of this scenario.

Fantastic

[movieman_kev · 10/10 · 30 October 2005]

This second pairing of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner is a great as the first. Predictable maybe, but I don't care and still laugh so much whenever I see it. The Wile E./Road runner shorts always had the most special place in my heart. So knowing that the second disc of the Golden Collection would not only feature 11 of this, BUT they would be in chronological order (2 through 12, the first episode was on Volume 1), made me get misty eyed. I LOVE this stuff. This animated short can be seen on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. It also features an optional commentary by Micheal Barrier.

My Grade: A+

the chase continues

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 9 March 2007]

OK, so in any Wile E. Coyote-Road Runner cartoons, we know that WEC is going to set up all sorts of traps for RR, but always maim himself in various ways. That certainly happens in "Beep, Beep". Predictable? I guess that it is, but when you think about it, these cartoons show how the more you try to harm someone else, the more you get harmed; sort of like how Daffy Duck always tries to undermine Bugs Bunny's integrity but Bugs sees around it.

Overall, this is another classic from the Termite Terrace crowd. Sometimes, I think that if we really had wanted to ease Cold War tensions, we could have just let the Soviet Union see Looney Tunes cartoons; I'm sure that they would have loved them. Another great one.

PS: I learned on "Jeopardy!" that Wile E. Coyote's middle name is Ethelbert.

Wile E.

[Michael_Elliott · 2 May 2009]

Beep, Beep (1952)

*** (out of 4)

Second film in the Road Runner/Coyote series is a pretty good one as the dumb but always trying Coyote comes up with new tricks as he tries to catch his meal. The highlight of these new tricks is a long running sequence where the two are inside a dark mine and we can only see them from the lights on their helmets. I'm not a die-hard fan of the series but I am watching them again in the order that they appear on Warner's second disc in their second volume of Looney Tunes shorts. Seeing them in order might have me changing my mind but this one here is a pretty good short from start to finish as the action is always at a feverish pace and we get many good gags including the before mentioned mine sequence but there's also another good one dealing with water.

The cartoon that gave the World PacMan and Charlie Brown's shirt . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 17 May 2016]

. . . mispronounces the most important word in the Scrinkopian Heritage. To first address the basics about BEEP, BEEP, an early entry in Warner Bros. documentation of America's Resident Masochist, Wile E. Coyote's Life and Times, Mr. Coyote is blown up three times, suffers two Death Plunges, gets crushed twice by spring-loaded devices, and finally is mangled by a train--all par for his course of self-destruction. However, in the middle of this episode, the action detours off-road to enter a "cactus mine," and viewers are presented with a crude beta version of PacMan. Rough as this is, it's far more sophisticated than that subsequent "pioneering" Video Game, Pong. Not content with virtually inventing on-screen gaming, the mine scene segues into a familiar-looking visual motif: the jagged line design on Charlie Brown's iconic top. Unfortunately, the Scrinkopian Culture suffers what is essentially a Death Blow, as their ONLY verb--Mweep Mweep--gets mispronounced here as "Beep Beep." Since Roadrunners were the main staple of the Scrinkopian Diet, and BEEP, BEEP was their first exposure to Abstract Art & Thought, their minds were totally blown by this goof, leaving them in the exact same fix as the inhabitants of Planet Clare.

Should Really Be "Meep Meep"

[DaniGirl1969 · 8/10 · 6 August 2010]

The second episode of Chuck Jones' brilliant "Road Runner" series, "Beep Beep" is even funnier than the debut, "Fast and Furry-ous". (Of course, we all know Road Runner REALLY says "MEEPMEEP"! In this episode, the action begins immediately, with the Coyote hot on the tail-feathers of that constantly-grinning Road Runner. Obviously the bird's lightning speed is too much for our favorite anti-hero, so he's forced to come up with all sorts of crazy schemes to even the odds. Of course, each scheme succeeds only in clobbering the Coyote, in delightfully funny ways. (WARNING: SPOILERS COMING) At one point, it looks like he'll actually avoid plummeting to the ground from a dizzying height, as he was sporting a parachute. But no, he must have grabbed the wrong pack because all pulling the ripcord produces is some camping gear, prompting him to dig some Acme aspirin out of his pocket as he prepares for the now-inevitable impact. The funniest moment comes when the poor coyote, gasping and crawling after his latest plunge to the bottom of a canyon floor, spots a glass of water thoughtfully placed nearby. He manages to drag himself over to what he thinks will be much-needed relief, remembering only after he lifts the glass that it was a booby-trap, tied to high explosives, that he himself had set there earlier in the cartoon. You can't help but go "awwww" even as you laugh yourself silly at his pathetic expression, just before the big KABOOOOM!! The final gag shows how the laws of cartoon physics are out to get poor Wile E at every turn. He places a set of mock train tracks between two bushes in order to stop Road Runner -- but they become REAL train tracks -- complete with an oncoming train -- once he's knocked down onto them by the passing Road Runner. How can you not love a character whose luck is always so bad? Great cartoon!

Meep Meep Not Beep Beep!

[ShelbyTMItchell · 10/10 · 30 March 2013]

It says that the Roadrunner calls out in the Beep Beep but really it actually sounds like Meep Meep. As you can call it what you want to but still it does not take itself seriously.

As Coyote aka Wile E wants to continue his pursuit of the fast and clever bird. As the Roadrunner and he goes through a mine underground in the middle of the cartoon. Which lasts at least six minutes or so. But it is as charming and witty.

We know that Wile E is the antagonist but his character is the more developed. As the Roadrunner is like an anti-hero thing. Like in the song of his theme "Poor Little Roadrunner never bothered anyone but just running down the road is his idea of having fun!" That also includes irking the heck out of the poor Coyote! LOL!

Accelerati Incredibilus

[utgard14 · 8/10 · 7 October 2015]

One of the first truly great Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote shorts by the legendary Chuck Jones. There's no plot really, just Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner and failing over & over. Beautiful animation with well-drawn backgrounds. Love the colors. Energetic music from Carl Stalling. Many funny gags, including "free drink of water," ACME aspirin, and rocket-powered roller skates. The highlight of the short is the sequence that takes place in an underground mine. As with all of the Road Runner cartoons, there is an element of predictability to it but it works so well. Chuck Jones was a master at the sight gag and it shows in this series more than any other. It's not the best of the Road Runner and Coyote series but it is a great one.

Meh meh

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 14 November 2017]

"Beep, Beep" is a cartoon from 1952, so this one has its 65th anniversary and it was from the Golden Era of Animation. As almost always, it runs for slightly under 7 minutes. The names Chuck Jones (director) and Michael Maltese (writer) stand for two of Warner Bros' most prolific and most successful and here we have another Coyote vs. Roadrunner cartoon from this duo. And as always, despite (or because of?) all kinds of technical support by ACME, Coyote has no chance in getting Roadrunner. It's another little film that deals with the subject of one character wanting to eat another just like several Bugs Bunny and Sylvester/Tweety cartoons, so it was a bit of a constant plot idea for Warner Bros. But new characters and ideas and a decent deal of attention to detail don't make it repetitive. You also don't need to be a big technology fan to enjoy Coyote vs. Roadrunner, but it helps. I myself am pretty much the opposite, so it did not help in my case. Anyway, there were some funny moments, some not so funny, but as a whole I must say I find Coyote so much more likable than Road Runner and his annoying noise referenced in the title here that it became a slightly frustrating watch. This is a really early short from this series starring these 2 characters, but I have to give it despite its popularity a thumbs-down. Don't watch.

Very funny

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 16 July 2010]

While I agree there are a few predictable gags, there are also some very well-executed ones that are ambitious and are a good length. The animation is very good, making it I feel one of the better-looking Roadrunner vs. Coyote cartoons, and the music is not repetitive or annoying thank goodness. The Roadrunner is likable enough, but I have often preferred Coyote, because he is craftier and we actually sympathise with him to some extent. Beep, Beep also goes along at a fast pace, and doesn't feel laborious or rushed in any way. In fact, apart from a few predictabilities, it is near-perfect, and I liked the underground scene as well. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Sounds more like "Meep, meep!"

[slymusic · 18 May 2009]

"Beep, Beep" is a great Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon created by the usual band of Warner Bros. hooligans: director Chuck Jones; writer Michael Maltese; composer Carl Stalling; sound effects editor Treg Brown; animators Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Phil Monroe, and Lloyd Vaughan; etc., etc.

My favorite gags from "Beep, Beep": Carl Stalling utilizes a nice arrangement of "She Was an Acrobat's Daughter" as the Coyote studies the blueprint for his tightrope/anvil scheme, which of course backfires; the Coyote just happens to be wearing an emergency kit backpack, which does him no good either as he flies in the air and drops right back down. There is a fairly lengthy chase inside an old dark cactus mine, which is quite unusual for a Road Runner/Coyote cartoon; the two characters are denoted by small dots within a map of the mine, and an explosion causes the cacti above to spell the word "YIPE!" The Coyote's jet-powered roller skates send him flying uncontrollably through the desert landscape (which, by the way, is beautifully crafted by Philip De Guard); when he finally wipes out, he grabs a glass of water on top of a soap box, forgetting that the glass would then trigger a keg of TNT hidden inside the box!

You can find "Beep, Beep" on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 Disc 2, with an optional audio commentary by a very knowledgeable cartoon historian named Michael Barrier.