To Beep or Not to Beep

This entry into the Roadrunner series of cartoons which began in 1949 with 'Fast And Furry-ous' is one of my favourites. It runs along at a frenetic pace after the initial decision by Wile E Coyote to catch Roadrunner and eat him for lunch. As usual Wile never succeeds, but the ways he tries to do it are genius.

I mean, just how many times can you think of where using a giant catapult to hurl a boulder (in an attempt to squash the fleet little bird) has gone so hilariously wrong in so many different ways?

This cartoon rocks!

Chuck Jones's 'To Beep or Not to Beep' is one of my least favourite Road Runner cartoons. My favourite thing about the Road Runner series isn't the gags (although they are frequently great) but the way in which they are so beautifully animated. The reactions of the Coyote and his fourth-wall-breaking relationship with the audience turn standard gags into great ones. 'To Beep or Not to Beep' is extraordinarily minimal in its animation and look and, frankly, its ugly. The few genuinely funny gags are underworked, grabbing their quick laughs and moving on. There's no hopeful or sly looks to camera from the Coyote, he simply gets on with the job in a workmanlike fashion, refusing to acknowledge our existence. The cartoon ends with an extended set of gags all based around the same catapult. These longer sequences would often make the Road Runner cartoons more interesting but, like everything else in 'To Beep or Not to Beep', the gags are just knocked out with no energy or flair. The final catapult gag experiments with prolonging the inevitable but, without the usual sense of Jones timing, when the inevitable arrives it's not funny. 'To Beep or Not to Beep' appeared late on in the Road Runner series and it almost feels like Jones is tired and can't be bothered to meet anything but the most minimal requirements. Financial constraints or a failed experiment are more likely reasons for the cartoon's atrocious visuals and pacing but, whichever way you look at it, 'To Beep or Not to Beep' is feeble.

I remember that I first saw the catapult gags in the compilation movie "The Great American Chase" (more commonly known as "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Chase Movie"). Now, I've finally gotten to see "To Beep or Not to Beep" in its entirety. The catapult scenes are the best, but there are other treats here too. Clearly, Wile Ethelbert* Coyote is a fanatic according to George Santayana's definition (redoubling your efforts after you've forgotten your aim), but he always comes just close enough to catching Road Runner so that he thinks that he'll succeed next time. One of the many classics, even if it doesn't give them fake scientific names.

*Yes, the E stands for Ethelbert.

"To Beep or Not to Beep" is one of my all-time favorite cartoon shorts, and possible my favorite of all the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons.

There is only one reason why I say so: the music. Now, people would say that Bill Lava's music keeps this far from perfect. I strongly disagree to those who think so. I think it is most wonderful, especially, and I mean, ESPECIALLY all of the music of the final catapult gag. (It gets better when it nears the end.) It's my favorite moment of one of my all-time favorite cartoons.

I first saw this on the Warner Home Video VHS release of "Warner Bros. Cartoons Golden Jubilee 24-Karat Collection: Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote: The Classic Chase" (Anyone else have this tape?) And while all the cartoons on it stuck inside my head for my entire life, this is the one that is probably the best of the pack, and probably the perfect way to end a video.

A classic Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote short directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble. Most of the material from this short was originally made as part of a Road Runner TV pilot. It's a very funny cartoon with some memorable layered gags that play off one another more than the usual Road Runner & Coyote cartoon that goes from one gag to another with little or no connection. The highlight of these gags is the final one involving Wile E. using different types of catapults with each one failing in hilariously different ways. The animation is excellent with nice, bright colors and great action. The energetic score from Bill Lava is quite possibly his best work on this series, for which he is known for producing some truly awful music. It's a fantastic short that, like another reviewer says, is probably the best Road Runner & Coyote short from the '60s.