There They Go-Go-Go!

We come to the ninth pairing of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, starts a bit like Stop! Look! and Hasten!, in that it shows that Wile E. will eat pretty much anything, in that short it was the little gag of the coyote eating a fly, in this one it's a chicken that he made out of mud. He uses a rope, a sling-shot, a gun on a spring, a rotating circle of spiked balls, a booby-trapped ladder, and a load of rocks that refuse to fall down at the right time. Very funny stuff. as always ANY short with Wile E. in it is so VERY much worth watching, as he's one of my absolute favorite cartoon personalities of all time. This animated short can be seen on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. This cartoon also has an optional music only track.

My Grade: A

Typically wonderful Chuck Jones Road Runner & Coyote short. The opening scene, where Wile E. Coyote shapes a pile of mud to resemble a turkey and then "cooks" it, is pathetic in the most hilarious way. What follows is another funny gag, then another, and another. It's fun from start to finish. Some of the Coyote's attempts at catching the Road Runner in this one include a tree catapult, a mace contraption that has to be seen to be believed, a ladder bridge, and a tire full of dynamite. All of these attempts backfire, of course. There's also one of the better sign gags the series ever used. The animation is quite nice, with slightly sketchy backgrounds and lovely colors. The desert never looked as colorful as it does in the Road Runner cartoons. Carl Stalling's music is whimsical and fun. It's a solid cartoon all the way around. Perhaps not the best of the lot but it's up there.

Chuck Jones's 'There They Go-Go-Go', the ninth Road Runner cartoon, is the inevitable moment when this excellent series finally hits a snag. Having managed to sustain genuine brilliance across the last four cartoons, 'There They Go-Go-Go' feels like a very tired entry into the series. Even the title seems to indicate a dearth of ideas. Many people, when they think of the Road Runner shorts imagine a repetitive and not especially funny set of predictable gags. If they wanted proof to back up this argument then 'There They Go-Go-Go' would be the ideal candidate. Set against the more stylised backgrounds introduced in the previous cartoon, 'Gee Whiz-z-z', 'There They Go-Go-Go' fails to offer enough funny gags to distract attention away from the less sumptuous scenery and the impression I am left with is that of an unattractive and unamusing cartoon. There's a couple of chuckles but that can be said of practically any Road Runner cartoon (bar the dire later ones). All in all, 'There They Go-Go-Go' is a disappointment but is easily excused as an inevitable hiccup in a series that managed to sustain the same premise for an astonishing amount of time.

Everybody knows While E. Coyote is the real star of the Road Runner cartoons (after all, he has more of a personality) and occasionally we get a moment alone with him at the start of `his' cartoons. The starving superstar attempts to bake some mud (shaped in the form of a chicken) in his home-made oven. This inspired gag features the first of several elaborate punchlines that set `There they Go-go-go' apart from other R.R. shorts.

Out of all the Loony tunes, Wile E. and Road Runner probably break the fourth wall the most (presumably because they don't speak). The knowing looks While E. constantly throws at the camera are classic. At one point he even gestures to the audience to come closer, as if to let us in on his next cunning plan. After all, he is a selfproclaimed genius.

It is especially good to see Wile E. relying on his own wits and inventions instead of the usual Acme products for a change. He is able to use lots of left over material from the local abandoned mines and army bases (including a ladder, a wheel, some dynamite and even a unused rocket shell). But where did he find that tiny pink umbrella? Perhaps he should try to sell some of his ideas to the Acme company. They might give him a discount on their products.

8 out of 10

There They Go-Go-Go! (1956)

*** (out of 4)

Poor ol' Wile E. Coyote is so hungry the film starts off with him cooking mud to eat but he even messes that up. Then the Road Runner goes pass him and an all new hunt begins. This time out we see Wile try using a sling, a gun, spiked balls and even a rope on a tree but, of course, we know what's going to happen. I'm watching these shorts in order and I must say that I've love to see Wile take one big chunk out of the Road Runner. Considering this is the ninth attempt of Wile you can't help but wish he could just eat one time. If not the Road Runner I wish he could eat anything the right way. The series was certainly starting to repeat itself but there's enough action and explosions here to make it worth watching.