Zoom and Bored (1957) User Reviews

Good Artwork & Harpoon Gag

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 26 April 2007]

Wile E. Coyote (Famishus Vulgarus) disappears literally in a cloud of dust that begins on the road and winds up hundreds of feet in the air as the Road Runner (Birdibus Zippibus) wins again in the opening scene of this cartoon.

Wile goes back "to the books," so to speak for his next attempt, reading "The Art Of Road Runner Trapping." According to the book, there are four steps: 1 - Dig hole in the road; 2 - Camouflage hole; 3 - Wait patiently and 4 - Eat Road Runner. Our coyote has problems with step one in a funny scene when he is unable to control the jackhammer in trying to dig a hole in the road. So much for that plan.

After that, it's brick, roadblocks, two birdseed traps, a long, long chute, a catapult, and a harpoon gun. The latter was the best "stunt" in the cartoon because it lasted a lot longer and very clever. I wish they draw out more of these ploys, because they always better than just the quick 10-second familiar-looking sight gags.

I thought the artwork was better than average in this episode, which was part of Volume Two Of The Looney Tunes Golden Collection.

A solid cartoon with a surprising, genuinely sweet ending

[phantom_tollbooth · 7/10 · 1 October 2008]

After a couple of so-so entries in the series, Chuck Jones's eleventh Road Runner cartoon, 'Zoom and Bored', is a vast improvement. Opening with a set of simple but effective plunges from cliffs, 'Zoom and Bored' eventually reveals that it was setting up its genuinely sweet ending from the outset. Akin to the ending of 'Gee Whiz-z-z' in which the animators cut the Coyote a break, here we actually see the Road Runner himself cutting his long time pursuer some slack by refusing to frighten him into jumping off a cliff one final time. The sequence that leads up to this finale is a wonderful tour de force and it's preceded by many genuinely funny gags including a surreal piece involving a wall. By this point in the Road Runner series, a familiar pattern had been established but 'Zoom and Bored' shows that this adherence to a formula doesn't mean the cartoon itself has to be dull or predictable.

Road Runner is taking a bit more sadistic pleasure in his pursuers misfortune

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 30 October 2005]

The eleventh pairing of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner has the ever-determined coyote using the same unreliable methods against the ever-elusive bird, who seems a bit sadistic in this one. The bee gags is funny and even the now predictable gags still bought a smile to my face. And I, as always with these cartoons, found it highly enjoyable, but perhaps I'm a bit biased as Wile E. Coyote is one of my absolute favorite cartoon personalities of all time. This animated short can be seen on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. This cartoon also has an optional music only track.

My Grade: B+

Yet another one of the better Roadrunner vs Coyote cartoons

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 16 June 2010]

While the pacing is a little leisurely here, the cartoon is still very clever and funny. The animation is colourful and lively, and the music is pleasant. What made this one of the better, cleverer and funnier Roadrunner vs Coyote cartoons though especially were the gags. All of them work, and are hilarious- the descending down the cliff, the harpoon gag(the best of the lot I think), the one with the bees and the one with the wall. Plus the ending was funny and sweet. Roadrunner with his iconic "Meep, Meep" is likable enough, but I have always preferred Coyote, he is craftier and there are times when I feel sorry for him when his traps constantly misfire. Overall, funny and clever. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"I just don't have the heart."

[Rex_Stephens · 10/10 · 1 July 2006]

Maltese and Jones can do no wrong when it comes to writing a hilarious story. Usually we see more of Wile E. Coyote's perspective as he tries all these Acme products, but in Zoom and Bored we catch a little bit more of the Road Runner's persona and his reactions. From other shorts, we see the Road Runner merely indifferent, even amused with Wile E's attempts but in this short, our bird behaves a little more cruelly, even sadistic as he goes on the attack himself, never giving the hungry coyote a break.

Wile E. Coyote (Famishus Vulgaris), continues on his hunt to catch the Road Runner (Birdibus Zippibus).

The animators, minus Ben Washam this time, are right on cue as usual. Maltese this time almost implies through our coyote that hard labor just does not have its payoffs. Throughout the short, we see our poor coyote scale a high cliff, build a heavy boulder catapult, even create a chute around a mountain for a bomb to go down, all equaling in disastrous, amazingly quick response. Even Maltese gradually agrees this is too much, as the Road Runner pulls his final punch toward the end, and the coyote is left to ponder, "Is this really worth it?" An excellent short that I highly recommend.

"I just don't have the heart: bye . . . "

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 22 May 2016]

. . . is a word-for-word, verbatim rendering of the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes prognosticators' stunning revelation at the close of their ZOOM AND BORED summary for the 2016 Rich People Party's Presidential Primary Campaign. The mythical roadrunner who signs these words, of course, represents the Fabricated Candidate, Donald Trump. (History buffs will remember another Looney Tuner who ran for U.S. President TWICE in the Real Election, and DID NOT WIN A SINGLE ELECTORAL VOTE either time, so how can someone say with a straight face that ANOTHER egomaniac devoid of previous public OR military service will become the first such clown to win even ONE electoral vote that counts in the 227-year history of America's Top College?) The 16 bozos Trump "bested" are each dealt with in their proper turn during ZOOM AND BORED. For example, the loser desperate to set his own behind on fire by the brick wall certainly is Dr. Carson, and the drop-out who shoots himself via a "Captain Ahab Harpoon" is none other than Chris Christie. The bees chase after "Little Marco" Rubio, the jackhammer rattles "Lying Ted" Cruz, the catapult flops down on "Low Energy Jeb" Bush, and so forth. But in perhaps a not-so-shocking denouement, Trump drops out on Election Eve in November (since he "doesn't have the heart") and signs on for another season of CELEBRITY POTUS.

The Road Runner zooms, and you will not be bored!

[slymusic · 18 March 2006]

"Zoom and Bored" is a fine Warner Bros. cartoon starring that ever-popular duo, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote! Plenty of gags make this film a surefire winner for the box office at Warner Bros.

My favorite highlights from this cartoon include the following (but if you have not yet seen it, don't read any further). The Road Runner beeps the Coyote off a cliff and then beeps his head through a cliff. The Coyote intends to roll a bomb down an elaborate chute made of wooden boards, but the bomb explodes immediately when the Coyote lights it. And for the final gag, the Coyote accidentally gets dragged all over the desert with the rope attached to the harpoon that he fired (his ankle got caught in the rope); following this wild ride, he finally ends up on a cliff, catching his breath, and the Road Runner just doesn't have the heart to beep him off again.

To reiterate, "Zoom and Bored" is quite fun to watch. That Coyote just won't give up, and we must all admire him for the fact that he always bounces back after every physical punishment he accidentally inflicts upon himself!

avian sadism

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 25 November 2006]

More of Wile E. Coyote - aka Famishus Vulgaris - coming up with an infinite number of unsuccessful traps to catch Road Runner - aka Birdibus Zippibus. Among the gags here are a shaft to carry a bomb down a hill, a brick wall, and bees. Needless to say, Wile E. always gets what's coming to him. A previous reviewer noted that in "Zoom and Bored", we get to see more of Road Runner's personality: he is one sadistic mother (is that better than just being indifferent to surrounding events, like he usually is?).

But no matter, this is another classic cartoon. Michael Maltese always managed to write something great. Really funny.

Funny cartoon

[rbverhoef · 6/10 · 25 April 2004]

It is amazing to make something funny that uses the same formula over and over again. 'Zoom and Bored' is another cartoon from the Road Runner vs. Coyote series and again most of the predictable gags work. The Coyote, here Famishus Vulgaris, tries to catch the Road Runner, here Birdibus Zippibus, with a harpoon gun, some bees and a brick wall. Especially the moments involving the brick wall are great and very funny.

only for the brick wall sequence I would recommend this cartoon. Fortunately other things are nice too. The sequence with the bees is pretty funny as well. Other sequences at least made me smile. Director Chuck Jones has created another fine cartoon that is quite entertaining.

My Absolute Favorite Road Runner Episode

[DaniGirl1969 · 10/10 · 16 July 2011]

This cartoon always has me giggling from beginning to end, no matter how many times I watch it. This is also one of the episodes that convinces me Road Runner is really a girl, the way she teases Coyote as she playfully eludes him in the opening credits -- then cheerfully watches as he slowly comes to realize that the dust cloud he's standing in has nothing underneath but a deep, deep canyon. I just love watching the reactions of both characters as this scene unfolds. This is also the cartoon in which Road Runner first discovers that her "meepmeep" is a pretty effective weapon to use on Wile E -- and does she ever use it, with almost sadistic glee, after he climbs all the way back up that long, long cliff (and again after he gets to the bottom). But I always think of Road Runner as more mischievous than out-and-out mean, although I'm sure Wile E might see things differently! "Zoom and Bored" has so many wonderful scenes, including a rather surreal one in which Wile E peers around a wall and sees his own scrawny butt. Among the other hilarious moments in this episode are schemes such as a bottle of Acme bees, an elaborate bomb-chute, Wile E's first attempt to use a boulder-throwing catapult (an idea he'd revisit a bit more determinedly, and even more disastrously, in a later cartoon), and an extended harpoon gun scene that leads to a rather surprisingly sweet ending. The musical score for this cartoon is particularly impressive, especially during the wonderful dust cloud/cliff scene at the beginning, and marks the passing of the baton from the retiring Carl Stalling to Milt Franklyn -- both are listed as Music Directors for this episode. An excellent cartoon and one you'll watch over and over again!

Birdibus Zippibus

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 24 December 2015]

Fun Road Runner and Coyote short from the great Chuck Jones. As always, the plot is standard "Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner and failing" stuff. But the plots never drove these cartoons, the wonderful gags did. Here we have a number of funny bits, including the jackhammer and "The Art of Road Runner Trapping," an anomalous brick wall, ACME bumblebees, and variations on the classic ramp and catapult gags the series was known for. The animation is excellent with nice colors and fun action. The opening title sequence is a good example of how creative Chuck Jones could get with this series. The ending features one of the sign gags (you know, where the Road Runner or Coyote holds up a sign to say something to the audience). I'm not a big fan of those gags but when you see other reviewers talking about the cartoon's 'sweet' ending, that's what they're referring to. Anyway, it's a funny short but not one of my favorites. You can't go wrong with any Road Runner and Coyote cartoon by Chuck Jones, though, so give it a shot and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Fast and furious!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 16 March 2018]

STARS: "The Road Runner", "Wile E. Coyote".

Director: CHARLES M. JONES. Story: Michael Maltese. Animation: Abe Levitow, Ken Harris, Richard Thompson. Effects animator: Harry Love. Lay-outs: Maurice Noble. Backgrounds: Philip De Guard. Film editor: Treg Brown. Music: Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn. Color by Technicolor.

Copyright 1957 by The Vitaphone Corp. A Warner Bros. "Merrie Melodies" cartoon. U.S. release: 14 September 1957. 1 reel. 6 minutes.

COMMENT: I'm not overfond of the Road Runner, as you know, but this is one of the better efforts in the series.

The Heath Robinson gags are not only wonderfully involved and backfire with amusing simplicity, but they are often extended into a whole series of causes and effects, culminating in one disaster piled on top of many another for the luckless coyote.

Not only do these ingenious stratagems capture the imagination, but here they move at a fast and furious pace against some truly memorable rock canyon backdrops.

Nice Fun

[Michael_Elliott · 2 May 2009]

Zoom and Bored (1957)

*** (out of 4)

One of the best in the series has Wile E. Coyote trying all sorts of new tricks including bees, a brick wall, a gun and a couple bird seed traps. To me this is one of the best in the series because it seems so fresh and original, although we do get a couple repeat jokes. One of the best sequences of the series comes at the end when Wile using a rope to slide down to catch the Road Runner but instead heads straight for a train. What he does next and the sign that the Road Runner hold up is just priceless. Another great gag is the one dealing with the bees and you know how it's going to end.

Some surreal sadism

[Chip_douglas · 19 January 2004]

Chuck Jones and his team always managed to find new and original ways of incorporating the titles into Road Runner shorts without giving the impression of the action slowing down. An extra element of speed is added by the simple yet dynamic backgrounds. One of the highlights of "Zoom and Bored" is a very surreal sequence in which While E. Coyote spies on his own behind from around the corner of a brick wall of his own design.

At this time in there career as a double act, Road Runner seemed to take an almost sadistic pleasure in pointing out to W. E. Coyote whenever he ran out of ground. R.R. also repeatedly startles W. E. by running up from behind and beeping in his ear. The strain starts to show on Wile E., who at one point even breaks character and speaks, albeit no more than yelps of pain.

The lesson learned from "Zoom and Bored" is to never try out your new Acme products in the vicinity of the highway and/or railroad!

7 our of 10