Overlooked Classics: The Adventures of the Roadrunner (1962)

 

No matter how many great cartoon series are made Looney Tunes will always be the greatest (or at least my favorite). These series not only contains many of the greatest cartoons ever made, but also some of the greatest films ever made. I am obviously not the only one to feel this way. These cartoons have found away into many of our subconscious minds. We can quote these cartoons without even thinking about it. The characters have become old friends and have been burned strongly into our minds for our whole lives. 

In the late 1950's and early 1960's Looney Tunes were becoming not just big hits in movie theaters, but also had a huge television following thanks to The Bugs Bunny Show. It was because of this that Chuck Jones decided to make a TV series based off of his Coyote and Roadrunner characters. The result was this pilot episode. This episode was directed by Chuck Jones as well as by his current layout artist, Maurice Noble and one of his animators, Tom Ray. It would be animated by Chuck's usual team of animators (at this time) including Ken Harris, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Tom Ray and Bob Bransford. However for whatever reason, this pilot was not picked up by any TV networks. Because of this it would be released in theaters as a single near half an hour short film.

The film begins with a theme song written by Looney Tunes composer Milt Franklin. After that it starts as your normal Roadrunner cartoon as the Coyote tries many ways to catch the Roadrunner and of course constantly fails. However this time Wile E. Coyote speaks directly to the audience about his plans. He had spoken before in some Bugs Bunny cartoons, but this is the first time the character talked in a Roadrunner cartoon. Then we see the characters are been watched on TV by Looney Tunes character Ralph Philips and his brother. Ralph admits sometimes he thinks he is the Roadrunner. Ralph's brother decides (since he wants to be a psychiatrist) to psychologically look at the root of Ralph's problem. This leads to the classic Ralph Philips cartoon From A to ZZZZZ. Then we see more of the Coyote's failed attempts to catch the Roadrunner. Ralph then asks his brother why the Coyote would want to eat the Roadrunner. Wile E. Coyote breaks the fourth wall and explains to the kids about all the delicious foods, roadrunners are made of.

This is a very funny short with much of the charms of the best Roadrunner cartoons. The timing is perfect, the animation great, and the humor is fantastic. This definitely needs to be watched by all Looney Tunes fans.

Because of its length this film was cut into two shorts for TV, Road Runner A Go Go and Zip Zip Hooray. Some of the jokes from this film were reused in the theatrical cartoon To Beep or Not to Beep released the next year. The Adventures of the Roadrunner is available as a bonus feature on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Recourses Used
Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons (TV documentary)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154117/?ref_=rvi_tt