On the most part, the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons are very enjoyable, with many charms and much entertainment. One can go far to say that the best of them are brilliant.
Sadly from the mid-late-60s, when budgets got smaller and deadlines tighter, the quality of Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers cartoons in general declined, quality was cheaper in animation and music, the humour was tired, repetitive and not very funny save for one or two amusing gags in some, Roadrunner was annoying and Coyote while faring much better wasn't as interesting as before.
'Zip Zip Hooray' is neither among the best or the worst of the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons. It departs from the usual formula, with trying to answer what has been on our minds every time we watch a cartoon of theirs which it does with giving Coyote the rare ability to speak. It is certainly an interesting cartoon and idea, but while it could have been executed far more cheaply than it turned out 'Zip Zip Hooray' doesn't completely work.
It could have benefited from more laughs and less talk. Neither component are done disastrously, far from it (individually they are done pretty reasonably), just that the balance could have been more even. The gags are quite amusing, timed well and the animation is good enough, though they're not among the most hilarious and imaginative of the series, due to there being more of it in the first half (the cartoon's concept gets slightly in the way in the second half) the first half is funnier. Likewise, Coyote's explanations are cleverly written and delivered brilliantly in a suitably distinguished voice by Mel Blanc, but as well as being introduced a little weirdly and jarringly takes up too much of the second half which renders 'Zip Zip Hooray' a little too talky.
The very abrupt ending is another big issue, the gag was reasonably rushed and predictable to begin with and then just ends, a shame to have a cartoon with this sort of concept peter out just like that. Roadrunner is basically a plot device character that's not as interesting, fun (his funniest bit is at the end, and even for him it was predictable) or as easy to root for as Coyote in the cartoon. And while a good deal of the animation is good (ironically so it is especially so in the re-used footage) there is some odd editing here and there and some will and have done use the use of reused animation, something that tends to cheapen a cartoon but actually it wasn't so bad in 'Zip Zip Hooray', as a strike against it.
However, there is some simple but colourful and very nicely drawn and detailed animation, and a great job is done on Coyote's wide range of expressions. Milt Franklyn's music is vibrantly orchestrated, used cleverly and with boundless characterful energy, adding a lot to the action if not quite enhancing it quite as effectively as Carl Stalling does. The cartoon does entertain, just wish there was more, and all the explanations of Coyote justifying his actions and such is clever stuff and quite informative, the two components as said are done quite well individually it just comes over as imbalanced.
Coyote is a lot of fun, his classic personality comes through very strongly and you do feel sympathy for him (a good thing as that is somewhat a rule that Coyote is the character that one sympathises with). Mel Blanc does a characteristically brilliant job, and the two boys achieve the balance of not being annoying or cloying, in fact they are cute and amusing while careful not to steal the show from Coyote.
All in all, uneven but decent that could have been better with a few more laughs and a less talky second half. Not a classic, but light years away from being a series low-point. 6/10 Bethany Cox
