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Fastest with the Mostest (1960)
Cartoon brilliance!
This episode starts off with a bang! -- right in the poor coyote's face -- and ends with one of the most disastrous "epic fails" of Wile E's career.
In between, there's enough action going on to keep you laughing throughout. Director Chuck Jones once wrote that one of his major rules in this series was to, wherever possible, make gravity the coyote's greatest enemy -- and it certainly is here. The poor hungry canine spends virtually the entire cartoon falling off one of those two-mile-high precipices -- and even over a waterfall -- in fact, it gets so bad for him that Road Runner actually seems to take pity on him at one point and provide a giant coil spring to break his fall (not that it completely saves him from pain).
Mind you, maybe Roadrunner owed him that after earlier "meepmeep"ing him off the edge of one after he'd just completed a long, painful climb up the darn thing. It's a scene very similar to one in the earlier "Zoom and Bored" -- but even funnier this time in that it shows more of Wile E's horrified expression after the bird zings him yet again.
But the best scene by far is the long-drawn-out ending, in which Coyote finally seems to have trapped Road Runner at the edge of a cliff, only to have Cruel Fate intervene once again, sending our hapless predator onto a series of calamities, ending with him thoroughly defeated and wondering why gravity only works on him, and not on that frustrating bird!
A couple of trivia notes: this cartoon was released in January 1960, thus becoming the first WB cartoon released in the 60's. And it's also the first Road Runner cartoon not to credit Michael Maltese as the story writer. In fact, there is no "Story" credit at all, making me suspect Maltese really did write it, but his name was removed because by this time, he had defected to Hanna-Barbera. Besides, his touch seems to be all over the pacing of this hilarious cartoon. He was one of the best!
Rabbit's Feat (1960)
Hunting Rabbitus Idioticus Delicious
This was Wile E Coyote's third attempt to, as he explains in the opening, pursue, capture and eat Bugs Bunny -- and it was just as unsuccessful as his attempts to capture and eat ANYTHING!
To be honest, I don't think this episode is as funny as the first two in this shortened series ("To Hare Is Human" and the hilarious "Operation Rabbit").
Bugs is loonier than ever in this episode, but the pace is a bit slow, and there's not as much action as you normally expect to see in a Wile E Coyote cartoon.
That's not to say there aren't some funny gags in this short -- I especially laughed at Wile E's defective rifle, which Bugs manages to thwart by first, spinning the gun barrel -- and then removing the end sight so that the coyote doesn't know for sure which end is the "shooting end" (you'd think by now he'd know that the shooting end is whatever end is aimed at him!).
But some of the jokes are recycled ideas -- somehow Bugs screaming "YAHHHH" to send Wile E flying doesn't seem as funny as Road Runner's "meep meep". And the barbecued coyote's final words -- "my name is mud" -- are, of course, the same as he moaned at the end of "Operation Rabbit".
Overall, not bad -- but not the best.
Incidentally, this cartoon has no "Story" credit. Apparently, Michael Maltese -- who was director Chuck Jones' long-time partner on so many WB cartoons -- did write it, but by the time it was released, he'd left for Hanna-Barbera, and so his credit was removed -- as was producer John Q. Burton's.
Wild About Hurry (1959)
Pushing the limits with the Latin names
For me, the funniest thing about this episode in the wonderful Road Runner vs Wile E Coyote series is the joke that, of course, flew right over my head as a child, but made me laugh out loud when I finally noticed it as an adult. The Latin names that writer Michael Maltese and director Chuck Jones chose for the two adversaries shows just how much they enjoyed seeing what they could get away with.
The coyote in this episode is "Hardheadipus Oedipus" -- and even funnier is the road runner's Latin name: "Batoutahelius".
But you don't have to be an adult to enjoy the rest of the gags in this episode. To be honest, they're fairly routine for the series -- although there are a few surprises, such as when Wile E actually manages to slow down his descent in yet another fall down another cliff, by causing the rock he's standing on to start spinning rapidly. Does it help soften his landing? Well, I'll let you watch the episode to find out for yourself! There's also a very funny scene involving a defective roller-skate (must be from Acme) and a hand grenade. The best part is the woeful look the poor coyote gives us just before disaster strikes yet again.
But the best part is the drawn-out scene involving an Acme "Indestructo Steel Ball", which Wile E climbs inside and then rolls himself down the side of a cliff, presumably to flatten Road Runner -- but instead sending him onto a series of disasters before the entire sequence starts all over again, to the amusement of that rascally bird.
This, by the way, was the final time Michael Maltese would be credited as storyman for a Road Runner cartoon. He was about to take his creative mind over to Hanna-Barbera and several of their TV cartoons being produced in the late 1950's and early 60's.
Hot-Rod and Reel! (1959)
More Fun on the Run
The 15th pairing of these two lovable adversaries finds the famished coyote (just to emphasis the point, his "Latin name" in this episode is "Famishius-famishius") once again coming up with all sorts of clever ideas to catch that tasty but taunting tidbit ("Super-sonicus-tastius") -- and of course each scheme ends the same way -- with a battered and bruised,but never beaten, coyote!
The music by Milt Franklyn is especially dynamic and vigorous, but other than that, there's nothing particularly exceptional about this episode -- it's as funny as usual -- and there are even a few recycled gags. For example, there's the fake traintracks, first tried in "Beep Beep" ... with, of course, the same result!
And then Wile E decides since one bomb at the top of a long chute built into the side of the mountain didn't work (in "Zoom and Bored"), he'd try using about a dozen of them jammed into a crate at the top. "Jammed" unfortunately is right -- they won't go down the chute, and of course our frustrated canine completely forgets his own safety as he tries to try to dislodge them. Can you guess what happens next?
There are other very funny scenes in this cartoon -- my favorite is the last one when Wile E once again foolishly relies on Acme -- this time it's a jet-powered unicycle. Watching him painfully try to master this contraption -- and then finally succeed -- is the type of thing that always makes these cartoons so cute and clever. Of course the payoff for the poor coyote is always the same -- a long, long fall down a dizzyingly high cliff. In fact, he falls off quite a few cliffs in this episode, including one moment when that rascally Road Runner actually tries to trip him!
Overall, a very funny cartoon that you can't help but giggle watching.
Hip Hip-Hurry! (1958)
Pretty funny -- despite the "canned music"
"Hip Hip Hurry!" is an improvement over the previous episode ("Hook Line & Stinker") but, like that episode, suffers from the effects of a musicians strike. That means that instead of the outstanding and completely sympathetic music scores of Carl Stalling, we have very obtrusive "canned music" borrowed from some production library. At least most of the gags are pretty funny, such as the grenade Wile E attempts to drop on Road Runner but which is caught up in a power line and fired back up at the luckless coyote -- with a wicked little surprise in store moments later. In fact, Wile E gets blown up quite a bit in this episode, which is always fun to watch, especially his facial expressions both before and after the blast. Road Runner, who's at her teasing best at the beginning of the episode, even lends him a hand -- or beak -- at one point when his matches flare up in his face, kindly offering him a lit match to ignite the very long fuse of a stick of dynamite he'd left out for her. Of course she has her own ideas about how that should play out. There's also a great scene involving Wile E's attempts to drop a huge boulder off a rather fragile cliff-edge. One of the cutest scenes involves a little mouse that Wile E uses to test out some Acme Hi-Speed Tonic, which sends the poor little thing ricocheting around the desert and into the glove of the delighted coyote, who kisses it in gratitude (if he's so hungry, wouldn't he have eaten the little critter instead?). A pretty funny episode -- which ends with a bang!
Ready, Woolen and Able (1960)
Wile E Coyote in another role
Creator Chuck Jones once described Ralph Wolf as "Wile E Coyote in another role" -- and this must have been the episode he was thinking of when he wrote that. Ralph is very Wile E-like in this episode, holding up a tiny umbrella as he's about to be flattened by a flying boulder, and his patented cliff dive, complete with shotgun sound-effect when he hits. There's also the stick of dynamite that he tries to catapult at Sam Sheepdog but it simply rolls down the plank to Ralph's feet before detonating. But the end sequence is the best part of this cartoon. Sam always seems to have the ability to magically appear wherever Ralph is -- and in "Ready Woolen and Able" we see how -- apparently Sam owns a cloning device that makes endless copies of him -- enough to make poor Ralph finally blow his stack and be carried away in a padded wagon. A very funny ending to a hilarious cartoon.
Hook, Line and Stinker (1958)
This episode is actually a bit of a "stinker"
After creating the two best episodes in the entire "Road Runner" series ("Zoom & Bored" and "Whoa Be-Gone"), I guess it was inevitable that creator Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese were due for a less-than-stellar go-round in Episode #13 of the series. It wasn't helped by the fact there was a musicians strike on at the time, so the music used was basically commercial-production music -- including a melody that was later used (slightly altered) as the theme song for the "Dennis The Menace" TV show. The gags in this episode seem a bit forced, and only a few really stand out as being genuinely funny, such as the bundle of dynamite that chases Wile E back to his hiding place and the grand piano that he somehow decides would be the perfect weapon to squash Road Runner with! This is probably my least-favorite episode of the series -- at least until after Chuck Jones left WB and it became shadow of itself 1960s.
Double or Mutton (1955)
A Dog in Sheep's Clothing
This is the episode that established the premise most of us remember from the Sheepdog vs Wolf cartoons. After confusing the character names and relationship in the first two episodes ("Don't Give Up the Sheep" and "Sheep Ahoy"), the sheepdog's name is now Sam, the wolf is Ralph, and they're both just working stiff who punch in at the start of the day and punch out at the end. In between those times, Ralph is apparently paid (for unknown reasons) to try to steal sheep that Sam is paid to protect, resulting in some very funny confrontations -- which of course Ralph always loses, much in the same manner of his black-nosed cousin, Wile E Coyote. As in most episodes, Ralph proves to be very adept at tunneling underground, but unfortunately for him, he always ends up surfacing right where Sam is patiently waiting with clenched fist, or in this case, a huge mallet. Sam, on the other hand, apparently can be in several places at the same time, such as at both sides of a canyon, holding each end of a tightrope that Ralph had been walking on to try to get at those sheep. The funniest moment comes when Ralph, disguised as Little Bo Beep, apparently fools Sam into letting him prance off with one of the sheep -- but when Ralph gets to his cave, guess who ends up dressed in those sheep's clothing! There are other pretty funny scenes, including Ralph's attempt to parachute AFTER his helicopter has crashed... and the ending when Sam's pummeling of Ralph comes to a sudden end as the end-of-shift whistle blows, telling both combatants to head home for the day! A pretty funny cartoon.
Steal Wool (1957)
Gee Thanks, Sam.. You're a real pal!
Ah yes, another day, another dollar -- or whatever these two guys are paid -- but however much it is, it can't be enough for poor Ralph who staggers home at the end of this shift in such rough shape that Sam actually offers to do both jobs tomorrow. The characters' off-hours friendship is more firmly established in this episode, where, in the opening scene, we see Sam thoughtfully sliding Ralph's newspaper to his front door. But once the whistle sounds, the two are mortal enemies and Ralph's attempts to "steal wool" are constantly thwarted by Sam's iron fists. Ralph seems even more like Wile E Coyote here, especially in light of what happens to him in the last few minutes of this hilarious cartoon, when he's blasted by a cannon and then battered and bruised by boulders, logs and even a flying tree!! No wonder the poor guy needs a vacation at the end of the episode.
Whoa, Be-Gone! (1958)
Hilarious From Beginning to End!
I've always thought of Road Runner as a girl, and this was the episode that convinced me, the way she cheerfully teases Coyote. I guess she reminds me of the way I used to tease my older brother when I was a little girl myself, although my brother had a bit more luck in getting even than poor Wile E, who just never gets a break! This is one of the very best episodes of this wonderful cartoon series --- from Coyote's opening encounter with a wayward rocket and an Acme delivery truck, to his calamitous ride through a minefield inside an Acme Instant Tornado at the end. Director Chuck Jones once wrote one of his guiding rules of the Road Runner series was to, wherever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy -- and this may be the episode he was thinking of. That rascally Road Runner shows Wile E the proper way to set a trap, tricking him off the same cliff three times! And, once again, we're treated to a Road Runner's eye-view of his plunge to the bottom each time. Wile E's expressions are always so hilariously cute -- first anger at being tricked, then resigned defeat, and finally smug satisfaction because THIS time, he set up a trampoline at the bottom to soften his landing (yeah, right!). He does another canyon dive later when his "high-wire" attempt to catch Road Runner goes just the way you expect it to -- with a "shocking" little postscript added on! There are other gags that will have you laughing all the way through, including a rubber band and some very large boulders, a barrel of dynamite and a poor quality rope (must be from Acme), and a booby trapped bridge. This is a cartoon I giggled at as a little girl, then giggled at with my daughter when SHE was little, and I'm still giggling as I watch it with my GRANDdaughter! Some things just never get old! An excellent cartoon!
Zoom and Bored (1957)
My Absolute Favorite Road Runner Episode
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!
Scrambled Aches (1957)
When will he learn that he never can mow him down?
Whenever I see this episode -- and especially the ending -- I'm reminded of the theme from the old Road Runner cartoon show (even though I still think of Road Runner as a "her"). "Scrambled Aches" perhaps is not the best episode of the series -- but there are still lots of cute and clever jokes, such as the dehydrated boulders -- which apparently gain not only size but weight when you add water -- and when you're a coyote directly underneath one! And Wile E's expressions are as priceless as ever. As others have said, he's the real star of these cartoons, with his wonderful expressions that show cunning and self-confidence -- then panic and dread as his latest scheme comes back to clobber him. In this episode, he shoots us a defeated glance as he watches the fuse burn down on a stick of dynamite that's lassoed to the end of his nose. There's also his terror as an anvil he's launched at Road Runner comes hurtling back his way,his momentary relief when it misses him, and his final horrified reaction when he sees what it did instead. There are several other very funny moments, with the steamroller gag at the end the best of the lot, especially Coyote's expression as he prepares for "The End". A pretty funny cartoon overall!
To Hare Is Human (1956)
The dangers of relying to much on computers!
The second of Wile E Coyote's encounters with Bugs Bunny, and while not quite as funny as the first (the classic "Operation Rabbit"), it's still great fun and well worth watching. It gets off to a slow start, with Wile E -- having easily put the bag on Bugsy -- allows the rabbit to squeeze his out of the bag while he carries on a conversation with himself. But as soon as the coyote looks into that bag to see what Bugs has left him, the fun begins. This time, our self-styled genius relies on a giant computer -- "Univac, the Electronic Brain" -- to come up with ways to capture Bugs... and of course each idea ends with one barbecued coyote! Among the funniest gags is a pop-up carrot toaster -- which launches two hand grenades right into the face of our luckless predator.
This cartoon even serves as a warning to us today, though it was made over half-a century ago. Wile E obeys every command from his electronic brain, even when it orders him to stand under a falling rock and "take his medicine".. kind of like motorists today will slavishly follow every twist and turn recommended by our GPS units -- to the point of driving right into the middle of a swamp! Of course, we have to hope our GPS units don't have the same internal mechanism that Wile E's computer does!
There They Go-Go-Go! (1956)
In Heaven's Name, What Am I Doing???
That must be the question Wile E Coyote asks himself at the end of each Road Runner episode -- and it's certainly the question he asks at the end of THIS one, as his frustration finally gets to him and he places himself in exactly the wrong spot as he tries to trigger the latest of his schemes to misfire! Although not the best in the series, this is a very funny cartoon, and reveals how Coyote's obsession with catching Road Runner makes him oblivious to everything else -- and prompts him to use a ladder he'd just booby-trapped to try to catch the taunting bird. There are many great scenes, including the opening one in which our sympathies are again drawn to Coyote as he tries to make a chicken dinner out of clay, fired up in his little adobe oven. Of course that works about as well as can be expected -- but as always, just as he grumbles over his lack of food options, he's bowled over by that rascally Road Runner who, rather than zipping off obliviously as usual, stops and waits for Coyote to begin the chase before setting fire to the road -- and Wile E's tail!! And for probably the only time in the entire series, he actually succeeds in finding relief -- and it's almost as much of a relief to US when he finds it! But from that point on, it's just disaster after disaster as the poor guy is shot, battered, squashed and blown up in his futile attempts to get that bird... leading to the hilarious ending that we all know is coming -- and that he only anticipates when it's too late -- prompting the first appearance of his patented Wile E umbrella! And Carl Stalling's music score is even better than usual -- perhaps the best of the whole series, especially when that nasty-looking set of spiked balls lifts off from the ground.
Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956)
Finally! An Acme product that works!!!
Another very funny and highly creative entry in the Road Runner series, in which even the opening credits are a hazard to Coyote. They're carried on the side of a truck which mows him down in the opening scene! And Wile E's day doesn't get any better, as he's blown up by an exhausted bullet, flattened by a flying boulder and falls into a chasm that was part of a picture he himself painted! Of course, there are the usual malfunctioning gadgets that the poor canine arms himself with, such as a telescoping arm that's supposed to deliver dynamite to Road Runner but instead slams the coyote into a rock wall, and delivers the explosive to him instead.. and the detonator plunger that refuses to go down while Road Runner is crossing the booby-trapped bridge -- but naturally it slides down all by itself once you-know-who tries to cross in pursuit. But "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z" is best known for the Acme product that finally DOES work exactly as advertised: the Acme Bat-man Outfit!! After a few frantic moments, Coyote actually manages to soar majestically through the air! But Acme can't be held responsible for operator error! Likewise the Acme Jet Motor also works perfectly, until the silly coyote turns it off after he soars off the edge of another cliff. Of course, the Laws of Cartoon Physics say he won't fall as long as no one draws his attention to the fact that he's now floating high above a deep deep canyon (now who do you suppose would do that? hehehe) A wonderful cartoon -- with the cartoonist finally cutting him a break at the very end!
Sheep Ahoy (1954)
Hello Ralph.. or Fred... or George... or Sam???
The second of Chuck Jones' Wolf vs Sheepdog series... but before he and Michael Maltese settled into the format most of us remember for this series -- with the two adversaries being named Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, and both good friends away from "the office". This cartoon begins with the dog coming on shift being called "Fred" by the dog he's relieving, who is called "Ralph"....although at the end of the cartoon, they reverse the names. Meantime, it turns out the wolf is called "George" -- and he's relieved (and for him, it really IS a relief!) at the end of HIS shift by another wolf.. who's named "Sam". Confused? Well, it doesn't really matter, because once the action starts, it's the same plot as always: the wolf, who looks even more like Wile E Coyote in this episode than he did in the first one ("Don't Give Up the Sheep"), tries all sorts of devious means to try to get at those sheep, and is constantly thwarted by the sheepdog. There are all sorts of funny scenes, involving a waterfall, an Acme "Smoke Screen" bomb and an Acme "Artificial Rock" disguise ("Have Fun! Be Popular! Be A Rock!" says the packaging). Overall, "Sheep Ahoy" is a pretty enjoyable cartoon, but I think this series really hit its stride with the next episode ("Double or Mutton").
Guided Muscle (1955)
Wanted! One Gullible Coyote!!
Our relentless underdog seems ready to finally throw in the towel at the end of this hilarious cartoon -- and who can blame him, after everything that happens to him in "Guided Muscle"? Not only is he the victim of his usual miscalculation or sheer bad luck -- getting flattened by a tree, an iron ball and another of those rogue trucks that seem to run rampant in that desert of his. But even the laws of physics won't work for poor Coyote. He attempts to fire himself after Road Runner, only to have the rubber band just stand there suspended after he cuts the restraining rope -- at least until he sticks his neck inside it! Then there's the cannon that fires itself -- and him -- backward into the side of a cliff.. and then to add insult (and injury) to injury, the thing spits right in his face when the battered and bruised coyote crawls out of its maw. And when he lowers a lit stick of dynamite attached to a fishing line behind Road Runner, does it blow the bird up? Of course not -- the spark somehow goes right through the TNT, jumps onto the fishing line and then travels up until it finds its way into the box full of explosives right behind Coyote! All this should tell him that he'd be better off trying to cook up that empty tin can he was planning to eat at the beginning of this cartoon. But the funniest moment of all comes at the end, when Road Runner once again tricks him into falling for his own trap. The look on Coyote's face after the inevitable explosion is just priceless. No wonder he appears to hand in his notice! Luckily for us (but not for him), Wile E would change his mind in time for the next episode, and try his luck again -- and again -- and again. Great cartoon!
Ready.. Set.. Zoom! (1955)
Ya Just Gotta Feel Sorry For Him
One of the reasons Wile E Coyote is so good at making us laugh is that we can really relate to his suffering. Okay, so most of us don't get run over by trucks, trains and giant boulders, or fall off two-mile-high cliffs, on a daily basis, but we've all had our best-laid plans blow up in our faces, or been in a bad situation that only seems to get worse the more we try to fix it. Coyote reminds us of ourselves -- or maybe our husbands! In "Ready, Set, ZOOM!", there are several such scenes in which Coyote's terror is drawn out by his desperate attempts to save himself from his latest calamity -- with predictable results! When Road Runner douses him with glue while he's holding a burning stick of dynamite, his panicked attempts to get rid of it only manage to bring it closer, to the point where he's forced to hobble along on his scrawny butt in a last-ditch effort to reach a nearby pond before it detonates. The fact we all know what's going to happen only makes it funnier when it does. Likewise, when his latest crazy contraption (an outboard motor and a wash tub filled with water) propels him straight toward the edge of a deep ravine, his frantic efforts to free himself only succeed once he's midway across -- and he can only watch in agony as his contraption makes it safely to the other side -- without him! There are several other wonderful scenes in this episode, including a 10,000 lb weight, a lariat filled with dynamite and a female roadrunner costume Wile E uses to attract his prey (even though I'm convinced Road Runner really IS female!). A wonderful cartoon, and one of my 3 or 4 favorites of the entire series!
Don't Give Up the Sheep (1953)
Dog gone funny!
Having pitted Wile E Coyote against the Road Runner and Bugs Bunny, Chuck Jones decided to slightly redesign his luckless predator and point him in the direction of a flock of sheep, being guarded by an apparently unionized sheepdog. In later cartoons, they would be named Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, and turn out to be friends away from the "office" -- but in this debut episode, the sheepdog is "Ralph", and he and his fellow sheepdog "Fred" are the ones punching the clock. They take turns guarding the sheep from the unnamed wolf, who is a bit shaggier and huskier than Wile E in this episode, as if Jones was truly trying to create a different character. Nevertheless, the wolf suffers much the same fate as his coyote cousin, although in this episode, it's not so much his bad luck as it is the sheepdog's ability to appear on the scene in an instant. But the wolf does share one unfortunate trait with Wile E -- he shops at Acme, and the ferocious wildcat he buys to tear apart the sheepdog does what all Acme products do! There are some other very funny moments in this cartoon, such as the sheepdog's shocked expression when "time flies" (aided by that crafty wolf) -- he doesn't even get to enjoy his "bone sandwich". There's also a hilarious sequence in which the two adversaries take turns chopping off the tree branches the other is clinging to. The series would get even better, as Jones and writer Michael Maltese refined the "shiftwork" idea to include both adversaries -- but this is a very funny beginning!
Stop! Look! And Hasten! (1954)
One of the best of a great series!
The fifth episode of Chuck Jones' "Road Runner" series, and also one of the very funniest, with the Coyote employing his typically creative but doomed ideas to try to outwit the fastest bird in the west. Unlike the previous four episodes, where the pursuit is already in progress, this short begins by drawing in our sympathies for the Coyote, as he trudges miserably across the desert, reduced to eating insects and empty cans -- when he is literally bowled over by the feast of his dreams -- the Road Runner. He soon learns his speed is no match for "Hot-roddicus Supersonicus", and thus he begins setting a series of ingenious traps that leave you wondering how he set them in the first place. Just how DID he get that giant boulder to balance up there on the side of the cliff face, held up only by a tiny stick attached to a rope? But no matter how he got it up there, or that he's supposedly safe on the other side of the road, you just know where that huge rock will land once he yanks that rope... to the delight of the taunting Road Runner. This cartoon is loaded with hilarious moments, including a Burmese tiger traps that actually works (Surprisibus! Surprisibus!), and a very funny sequence through a series of train tunnels which finally ends with our poor anti-hero quivering on the tracks, right in the path of an oncoming locomotive, plaintively (and fruitlessly) imploring it to "Stop in the name of HUMANITY!!" In his typically brilliant style, Jones doesn't actually show us the train, just the light in the tunnel, followed by Wile E's terrified reaction and a lot of stars, leaving us to imagine the result. And the ending is priceless -- one of the best of the whole series. A wonderful cartoon from beginning to end!
Zipping Along (1953)
Not Quite as Much "Zip" as Other Episodes
After the very funny and clever third episode of the "Road Runner" series ("Going! Going! Gosh!"), creator Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese seemed to backslide a bit on this fourth episode of the series. I always felt "Road Runner" worked best when Coyote was a victim of his own obsession, his own miscalculation, or his own horrible luck (helped along by Acme's guaranteed-to-backfire merchandise). Road Runner generally never laid a feather on him, other than occasionally bowling him over, but instead would trick him or startle him ("MEEPMEEP!") into his own calamities. That's why I often think of Road Runner as actually being female, cheerfully teasing her pursuer. But in this cartoon, Road Runner not only bowls coyote over, but repeatedly kicks him while he's down in the opening sequence, which seems a bit mean. And the artists also gave Coyote rather noticeable incisors, lessening his "cute" factor... and first and foremost, Wile E Coyote was always cute! Nevertheless, there are some funny moments, and those patented woebegone Wile E expressions (such as when he's gazing up at a huge steel ball that's about to flatten him, or at a hand grenade about to detonate in his teeth) are as priceless as ever. And the end gag is hilarious, as another of those rogue trucks sends him straight into his own booby trap. (Just why did he need that much dynamite for one little bird, anyway??) Overall, an enjoyable cartoon -- but a much better one was on the way!
Going! Going! Gosh! (1952)
Going! Going! Great!!
The third episode of Chuck Jones' wonderful Road Runner series, this is by far the best of the three, and the one that really made this cartoon something special and unique. Jones and writer Michael Maltese allowed their imaginations to run wild, and the result is lots of fun for everyone. Everyone, of course, except poor Wile E Coyote, who must feel the entire universe is against him! *SPOILER ALERT -- WATCH THE CARTOON FIRST BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER.* He has to contend with the crazy laws of cartoon physics, which allow the Road Runner to speed right into a painting placed at the edge of a deep, deep canyon, while the confused and enraged Coyote can only hurl himself right through it and plummet to the ground far below, leaving a dust cloud spelling out "OH NO!" in his wake. His expressions throughout this scene (and the rest of the cartoon) are priceless. These same goofy laws of physics allow him to outrace an anvil he'd dropped several seconds before to the bottom of yet another canyon -- and we all know where that anvil will land. Carl Stalling's musical score is also the best thus far, especially the flute which sweetly plays as the rope around Wile E's hot-air balloon unravels. My only complaint is the ending is disappointingly similar to the previous two episodes (vehicles just can't seem to resist running him down, can they? -- but this time, we discover why!) Overall, though, a great cartoon, and one of the best in the entire series!
Beep, Beep (1952)
Should Really Be "Meep Meep"
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!
Operation: Rabbit (1952)
My Name is Mud!!
"Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Wile E Coyote, Genius!" With those words, Chuck Jones & Michael Maltese place their most hapless predator squarely in the cross-hairs of that most ruthless of all adversaries, Bugs Bunny! We all know it'll be a mismatch from the beginning, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the rascally rabbit's systematic destruction of his opponent, who ends up collapsing at his feet, moaning "My name is Mud!!" . This is the coyote's second appearance on screen -- his first, of course, was against Road Runner in "Fast and Furry-ous". But Road Runner cartoons were done in the style of the old silent movies, and Coyote was pretty much a helpless victim of his own bad luck. But against Bugs Bunny, he gets a name (Wile E), he speaks -- and he's a much more arrogant (and less sympathetic) character -- and of course Bugs Bunny takes an active role in his disasters. Consequently, I think the Road Runner cartoons are funnier, and more clever. But "Operation Rabbit" still has some great moments (SPOILERS COMING -- BEWARE) -- my favorite is when Wile E designs an explosive mechanical lady rabbit to trick Bugs, only to fall victim to the same gag played on him by Bugsy -- and then get blasted by his own booby trap ("Ohhh No!!" cries the barbecued canine just before disaster strikes again). In all, Wile E is blown up six hilarious times in this short, finally ending up hanging, dazed and confused, from a tree branch, high up the side of a cliff. I always expect that branch to snap... and am actually kind of disappointed when it doesn't! A very funny cartoon, and the best of the Wile E vs Bugs match-ups.
Fast and Furry-ous (1949)
The Birth of a Legendary Duo
One of the most brilliant cartoon series of all time, and definitely my favorite, began with this short. Wile E Coyote (not named yet in this cartoon) is the star of this series, and he represents every bad day we've ever had, every gadget that ever misfired on us at the worst possible moment and every impossible dream we've ever thought we could make come true if we only "tried something else". The Road Runner is almost a phantom, darting in and out of the picture at will, taunting us with that relentless smirk and the flick of the tongue. Being the first in the series, you can see Chuck Jones & Michael Maltese had the basic idea in place from the get-go, but would work to refine it over the years. The two characters -- especially Coyote -- aren't quite as cute as they would become, and some of the gags aren't quite as clever. Also, Road Runner is a bit more aggressive in this short, socking Coyote with "Another Genuine Boomerang" (shortly after Coyote had launches his own) and bashing him with a metal trash can lid. In later cartoons, I would become convinced Road Runner was really female, but in this short, the bird seems decidedly male. Yet many of the elements that made this such a brilliant series are present -- the crazy laws of cartoon physics that always favor the Road Runner and always punish the Coyote (the bird can go right into -- and back out of -- a tunnel painted on a rock wall, while Coyote can only smash face-first into it) and Coyote's first reliance on a crazy contraption designed to give him more speed (a refrigerator attached to a meat grinder strapped to his back to give him artificial snow so he can ski in the desert -- and right off the edge of a cliff.. of course the thing sputters to a halt only inches away from the safety of the other side). All in all, a great beginning.. but the best was still to come!