Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z

Seriously, if I had the ability, I would waste all my days watching Looney Tunes cartoons. Another perfect example as to why I would pursue such an extreme case of slothfulness is this cartoon here, which features more of Wile E. Coyote's attempts to catch his beloved Road Runner. Here we see yet more of Michael Maltese's ingenuity as our coyote continues his fixation on dynamite and many Acme products to get his bird.

Wile E. Coyote (Eatius Birdius), goes for Road Runner (Delicius Delicius) yet again.

Honestly, for the Jones/Maltese combo, this had become nearly standard fare. This is heightened with another foursome of excellent animators, who started together on the Pepe short, Wild Over You, a mere few years earlier. Does anyone know what Wile E. was going to accomplish with that bat costume? One of the better parts involve poor Wile E. holding up a steel plate to stop the Road Runner. If you love Looney Tunes, this is yet another mark on your checklist you must cross off!

In this cartoon the Road Runner and the Coyote are introduced to us. After this the Coyote starts trying to catch the Road Runner but of course he fails every single time. There are some very clever moments in this cartoon, especially one that involves a painted broken bridge. The ending is also very nice. A funny cartoon from the Looney Tunes.

Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956)

*** (out of 4)

The eighth pairing of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner is yet another winner, although the beatings poor Wile takes keep getting worse. This time out we don't even get past the opening credits when Mr. Wile is run down by a truck but we then get other attacks including large rocks, falling from cliffs and various bombs. One of the best sequences in the film is when the coyote dressing up as "bat-man" and tries to fly after his dinner. This plan works for a while but what makes the joke so funny is that you're expecting one gag but instead we get something else. Another great gag is the painted version of a broken bridge, which of course comes back to hurt Wile.

GEE WHIZ-Z-Z-Z! is yet another of the classic cartoons starring Road Runner and the Coyote of the 1950's. The Coyote constantly tries to capture the speedy Road Runner, who inevitably escapes leaving the predator humiliated, hurt and simply furious, though he never shows it. In GEE WHIZ-Z-Z-Z! he generally misses the Road Runner when the bird turns suddenly, while the Coyote keeps running dead ahead, usually off a cliff.

Some of the funniest moments in the series appeared in this cartoon, such as the bat-costume and the handheld dynamite launcher. The animation is smooth, detailed and makes watching new cartoons in the series, like WHIZZARD OF OW, seem all the more disappointing. Yet for all the great things about GEE WHIZ-Z-Z-Z!, it isn't any better than the usual Chuck Jones run-of-the-mill cartoon in the series. That's how good they all are. The only thing that really makes this a bit different is the layouts, by Ernie Nordli. Maurice Noble had been art director for a couple of years before this cartoon, so why Nordli was working on it, and making the backgrounds look like Peter Alvarado is beyond me. It's not a fault, it just puzzles me. All in all, you can miss this or watch this, any classic in the series will do.

More of Wile E. Coyote - aka Eatius Birdius - trying unsuccessfully to catch Road Runner - aka Delicius Delicius. Among his Acme devices are a Batman suit, a rocket, and a fake destroyed bridge. Sure enough, they all backfire on him. I guess that "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z" doesn't really add anything new; although, they occasionally have Road Runner quickly turn around while Wile E. keeps zooming straight ahead...most likely off of a cliff.

So, even if there's nothing new here, it's always great to see what happens to Wile E. Among other things, it shows that you don't need words to be funny. And it shows that the classic cartoons are the gold standard (the more recent Looney Tunes cartoons just can't reach the quality set by their forbears). So check it out. You're sure to like it.