Release Date:

May 24, 1952

Main Character(s):

The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote

Summary:

Wile E. Coyote (Carnivorous Vulgaris) makes a second go round at catching the Roadrunner (Accelerati Incredibilus).

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1203 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue.

As “Fast and Furry-Ous” had been a hit with the Air Force, Jones was allowed to make another Roadrunner cartoon, with this being the cartoon where Wile E. and the Roadrunner officially became continuing characters.

The title alludes to the Roadrunner’s catchphrase, albeit it sounds more like “Meep! “Meep!” (side note, I often think of the Roadrunner cartoons when listening to the Beatles’ “Drive My Car”, since it has the memorable “beep, beep, m’ beep, beep, yeah!” backing vocals)

The cartoon was originally titled “The Pursuit of Slap Happiness”.

This is the cartoon that Michael Jordan’s kids are watching in “Space Jam” before Porky interrupts the cartoon for the “toon meeting”.

The box Wile E. uses for the “free drink of water” scheme is labeled “Harris Soup”, being a reference to Ken Harris.

This is the last Warner cartoon to feature animation by Phil Monroe.

“Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals” plays during the scene where Wile E. looks over his blueprint for the drink of water rigged to explode a TNT keg.

The scene of Wile E. using the ACME Rocket Powered Roller Skates is shown in the 1987 film, “The Witches of Eastwick”.

This is the 650th Warner cartoon overall, meaning that we are now officially 65% of the way there.

Favorite Scene:

The “Old Cactus Mine” sequence.

What Happens in This One:

Wile E. is chasing the Roadrunner with his cutlery before the Roadrunner puts on that extra burst of speed and zooms off, leaving Wile E.’s cutlery stuck in the road and him dangling in the air from his attempt to catch him. He looks on in disbelief, but falls due to letting go of one of his utensils, before coming up with an idea (animated by Ben Washam).

Wile E. attempts to use a spring-released boxing glove attached to a boulder to punch the Roadrunner, but the boulder instead sends Wile E. flying backwards into a cliff side. The boxing glove shortly springs back to punch him in the face (animated by Washam).

After looking at a blueprint, “1. Carry Anvil Out Onto Tightwire. 2. Drop Anvil on Roadrunner. 3. Roadrunner Burger”, Wile E. goes with an anvil across a tightrope wire suspended by two cliffs, but the anvil’s weight causes him and the wire to go all the way down to the road. The Roadrunner stops in front of him before running off the other way. Angry, Wile E. tosses the anvil aside to give chase, but as soon as he does, he is flung high into the air. Coming back down, Wile E. reveals his parachute, only to realize it’s actually a knapsack upon pulling the cord. Before hitting the ground, Wile E. takes a few ACME Aspirin (animated by Lloyd Vaughan).

Having put up a sign, “Last Water for 300 Miles”, Wile E. is seen looking over a blueprint for a “Free Drink of Water” setup: “1. Roadrunner Lifts Up Glass of Water- Pulling Up Match. 2. Match Scratches on Matchbox. 3. Match Lights Fuse to TNT. 4. Boom! 5. Ha-Ha!!” The Roadrunner instead blows a raspberry at it and runs off. He then runs up to Wile E. with a sign, “Roadrunners Can’t Read and Don’t Drink” before running off. While E. chases him into a cactus mine where most of the shots are seen as a map of the mine and distinguished by the color light of their respective helmets, the Roadrunner’s being green, and Wile E.’s red. During the chase, they go down two respective shafts, the Roadrunner jumps over a large gap but Wile E. nearly falls when he tries to get across, only to hang onto the ledge, Wile E. chases the Roadrunner up a ladder several times and keeps doing so rapidly several times, oblivious that the Roadrunner has stopped and has exited down another tunnel. The Roadrunner gets his attention with a “Meep! Meep!”, so Wile E. skids to a stop and goes after him. They then enter a zigzag-like tunnel, underscored by xylophone-like music. The Roadrunner enters a tunnel going up, but Wile E. instead enters the tunnel going straight, as he keeps thumping up and down on the ceiling and floor with his helmet flickering on and off from this. Finding himself in a dark room, Wile E. lights a match to see where he is, and finds out that he’s in a tunnel full of explosives. The explosion causes the five cacti above ground to jump upward and become the respective letters and exclamation point of “YIPE!” (animated by Ken Harris)

Back outside, Wile E. attempts to use a springboard to propel himself towards the Roadrunner, but it only succeeds in flinging him forward into the ground (animated by Phil Monroe).

He then attempts to use a skyrocket to go after him, but it instead launches him into the air and explodes into a sign advertising “Eat at Joe’s” (animated by Monroe).

Wile E. next attempts to use ACME Rocket Powered Roller Skates, which he struggles to control at first, before getting the hang of it. Unfortunately, for him, the Roadrunner is able to follow the road when it turns, but the skates don’t permit Wile E. to do so as he instead ends up flying straight in mid-air and dragging his rear end across three surfaces before going up the cliff side and landing smack on top. Just as he sighs in relief, he accidentally puts his feet down, causing the skates to propel him forward and do a loop on a round rock formation, flinging him high into the air where the skates conveniently run out of fuel. Wile E. is seen silently praying for mercy as he falls, before he carries a wreath saying “R.I.P” the rest of the way down. After getting out of the hole he made upon impact from hitting the ground, Wile E. becomes very out of breath and crawls over to a free drink of water, forgetting that it’s the same one he set up earlier. Once he pulls the glass, he realizes his mistake as he gives a sad expression and his pupils shrink before the explosion (animated by Harris).

Lastly, Wile E. puts a single piece of railroad track across the road and bushes covering both ends, before disguising as an old man waving a railroad crossing wigwag. The Roadrunner just runs right into him, causing Wile E. to land on the tracks dazed. Upon coming to, he sees a real train approach him and gets hit by it. Wile E. gets up, disheveled, and sees the Roadrunner leaning on the caboose above the words, “The End” (animated by Monroe).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕