The Wild Chase

This is particularly for those who would criticize this cartoon because it doesn't quite meet your expectations.

Get over it. It is, after all, a cartoon.

If you want an Academy Award winning performance, by all means, watch an Academy Award winning film. This is a cartoon. I mention that again just in case it has escaped your observation up until now.

And this cartoon combines the two best elements from cartoons gone by - specifically the Road Runner and Speedy chases. Not only does it combine the two best pairs of good guy vs. bad guy, but also some of the best gags from past shows.

If you still don't think it's up to par, go back and watch an hour of the shows from the early 1930s, and then watch this one again. And remember, it's only a cartoon.

Face it, unless you're over 60, you've been watching re-runs of these guys your whole life, so if you're gonna complain about re-runs, then don't watch them. There's plenty of brand new much-lower-quality cartoons out there for you to complain about.

The fastest mouse from Mexico, Speedy Gonzalez, finally in a race against the Texas road burner, Road Runner. They are gonna decide who is the fastest but of course Sylvester and Wile E. Coyote try to catch the two racers before they reach the finish. They do not succeed, of course, but there is a nice little surprise in the end.

This cartoon could have been hilarious, considering the possibilities. Instead they have chosen to use the best gags from earlier and better cartoons. I recognized all the gags from previous Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote cartoons, but I have to say that I still smiled. The reason for that was Sylvester who simply added to the gags. Still, he made sure this cartoon was pretty enjoyable.

Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales are the two competitors in a road race to decide, finally, who is the fastest. However their race risks being disrupted by two unwelcome spectators who are out to get some food - Sylvester and Wily E Coyote. The two do all they can to catch their prey.

When I found out that this film brought together the two fastest characters and the two unluckiest characters, I hoped that it would be as good as one would have hoped that it would be. Sadly, the film marks itself out to be a poor, late cartoon by virtue of it's cheap animation. This puts it firmly in the territory of the nasty, cheap little shorts made in the 60's that really showed a lack of care in production.

This cheapness extends through the whole short in all aspects. The plot has promise but really it is the usual jokes as you have seen before. This is not in a good way either - they are carbon copies of gags I have seen in other films; no new ideas or fresh feel, it is all very stale and, as a result, the mixing of the characters smacks of desperation rather than imagination. Roadrunner is OK when he is with Coyote, but Speedy is poor no matter what he does. The combination of Coyote and Sylvester had potential but it adds nothing to the mix without the material - both are poorly drawn both in terms of animation and character.

Overall this was a big letdown considering the potential. The animation is rubbish, the action is stale, the characters are just graphics without personalities and the whole film is just a cheap attempt to make money without making effort.

Admittedly, the idea of Speedy Gonzales and the Roadrunner having a foot race is a great idea.

While it's not as bad as most shorts from that era, it's nothing to write home about either. The fact is that is recycles animation (and, by extension, gags) from previous Roadrunner cartoons. This also results in a jarring contrast between Sylvester (who is drawn in the DePatie-Freleng style) and Wile E. Coyote (who is drawn in Chuck Jones' distinctive style).

That being said, it could be pretty enjoyable if you haven't seen "Zoom and Bored" (which the short recycles its animation from) and the ending was decent.

For years, Wile E. Coyote had unsuccessfully chased Road Runner, and Sylvester had unsuccessfully pursued Speedy Gonzales. With RR racing against the Fastest Mouse in Mexico, it's no surprise that WEC and Sylvester try to catch them...whether they cooperate or get on each other's nerves.

I should identify that despite the overall plot, "The Wild Chase" is not a particularly original cartoon. Many of the traps were lifted out of previous cartoons. I also felt that the cartoon ended sort of abruptly. But in the grand scheme of things, I liked the idea of what would happen if these two most accelerated Looney Tunes had to race against each other. If it brings up the continuing immigration debate in our country (a Mexican and an American as opponents), then so be it. This is still a pretty interesting cartoon.