Fast and Furry-ous
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| Fast and Furry-ous | |
|---|---|
 Title card of Fast and Furry-ous. |
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| Directed by | Chuck Jones |
| Produced by | Eddie Selzer |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc Paul Julian (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Ken Harris Phil Monroe Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam A.C. Gamer (effects animation) |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | Peter Alvarado |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | September 16, 1949 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 6:55 min |
| IMDb profile | |
Fast and Furry-ous is a 1948 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, released on September 16, 1949, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. It was later reissued as a Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies cartoon in the beginning opening, with the original Looney Tunes ending sequence. As a result, the Loony Tunes theme (The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down) plays over the Merrie Melodies title card.
This was the first cartoon to feature Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. It set the template for the series, in which Wile E. Coyote (here given the ersatz Latin name Carnivorous Vulgaris) tries to catch Roadrunner (Accelleratti Incredibus) through many traps, plans and products, although in this first cartoon not all of the products are yet made by the Acme Corporation.
The title is a play on the old expression "fast and furious".
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[edit] Running gags
A major running gag throughout the cartoon series is the fact that Wile E. Coyote (an ironic pun on "Wily") is continually defeated by his own gadgets, often obtained through a fictitious mail-order company called "ACME". A commentator in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection pointed out that what keeps Wile E. going is his perception that the gadgets typically almost work.
[edit] Plot
The sign that shows the title of a cartoon is blown away when the Road Runner whips by, and the pair whip past the camera to change the credits.
The Road Runner is zoomed in and frozen: Accelleratii Incredibus. He continues in strides, then moves into superspeed and briefly pulls up the road. Wile, on a cliff, watches with binoculars as the Road Runner tears across the roads. He licks his lips. Carnivorous Vulgaris.
The Coyote puts on a napkin, grabs a knife and fork, and rushes down the mountain and onto the road behind the Road Runner. However, his attempts to stab the Road Runner cause the Road Runner to dash off. Wile stops and drops his utensils (and his mouth). He paces until he comes up with his new scheme.
As the Road Runner approaches, Wile is hiding between large rocks with a steel lid. He holds it out and the Road Runner stops just short. Wile, wondering why the Road Runner hasn't hit himself, moves the lid and glances at the Road Runner, who promptly sticks his tongue out and speeds away. Wile drops the lid and gets ready to bound, but the Road Runner returns as quickly as he left and holds out the lid, causing the coyote to smash into it.
Wile takes delivery of One genuine BOOMERANG: guaranteed to return. He throws it over his hiding place, but is quickly hit by Another genuine BOOMERANG: guaranteed to return thrown by the Road Runner directly behind him. Wile brims with rage, but before he can move towards the Road Runner, he is hit again by his own boomerang.
The Coyote now paints white lines on the gravel and brings out a SLOW: School Crossing sign. Wile imitates a schoolgirl and prances in front of the sign, but the Road Runner blasts by and causes his opponent to wind himself onto the sign. The Road Runner returns with the wig and a sign that says "ROAD RUNNERS CAN'T READ". Beep-beep.
The Road Runner is now spiraling up another mountain, while Wile is preparing a rocket-launcher contraption. Instead of launching towards the Road Runner, however, it launches straight up into an outcropping, lodging the Coyote inside.
The miffed Coyote now intends to squash the passing Road Runner with a massively huge boulder. Instead of falling over the cliff and onto the Road Runner, however, it flattens its owner.
Wile draws a curve in the right lane of the road, and continues it across the steppe into a rock face. He then paints a lifesize painting of a tunnel on the face, hoping for the Road Runner to smash into it. Instead, however, the bird runs directly through it. Wile, annoyed, makes a stride towards the face, but flattens himself against it. Wile gears up for a second attempt, but then the Road Runner runs back out and knocks the Coyote down again.
Wile leaves a raggedy-looking bag in the middle of the road and connects a TNT detonator to the other end, but when he pushes down on the switch, the detonator explodes directly on the Coyote.
The Coyote puts on an ACME Super Outfit and leaps off the edge of a cliff. He remains airborne for a few seconds, then plummets directly to the ground.
Wile now makes a puzzling contraption out of a meat grinder, a refrigerator, and an electric motor, and skis downhill. He runs directly over the road...but narrowly misses the Road Runner. He continues across the floor...and off the edge of another cliff. Wile's expression changes slowly as the power begins to run out of the refrigerator, and then falls to the ground again. More "fake ice" is ground onto Wile's head, who holds up a "MERRY XMAS" sign.
Having tried most everything, Wile now puts on Fleet-Foot Jet-Propelled TENNIS SHOES and tests them out: He can now move at the speed of the Road Runner. Happy with himself, Wile returns to base, but then the Road Runner turns up directly in front and beeps. A chase ensues...but when the dust clears, it is revealed that the Road Runner didn't even move! Wile turns around and brakes in fury. He speeds directly in front of the Road Runner, who taunts him and dashes off. The chase begins again...but this time, Wile doesn't move. Wile's eyes pop out and he initiates the chase again.
They come to a circular elevated roadway, where they circle around and around, constantly changing directions, until they meet in the center stretch. The chase continues down the road until the tennis shoes give up the ghost. Failing to spot the Road Runner, Wile's eyes then spot a sign that says "SHORT CUT".
Wile hides behind a billboard, and hearing the beeps, steps out into the middle of the road with an axe. Before he can swing, instead of the Road Runner, a large bus flattens the Coyote. Road Runner fans himself from the back seat. Word appears: "The End."
[edit] Censorship
- When this cartoon aired on ABC, the part where Wile E. Coyote uses dynamite and a detonator to get the Roadrunner and gets blown up by the detonator (as pictured on this page) was cut.
[edit] Music
This short uses music from the Bedřich Smetana opera The Bartered Bride.
