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Chuck Jones’ Rules for Writing the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote



Wile E. Coyote v. Acme Company Mr. Coyote states that on December 13th he received of Defendant via parcel post one Acme Rocket Sled. The intention of Mr. Coyote was to use the Rocket sled to aid him in pursuit of his prey. Upon receipt of the Rocket Sled Mr. Coyote removed it from its wooden shipping crate and sighting his prey in the distance, activated the ignition. As Mr. Coyote gripped the handlebars, the Rocket Sled accelerated with such sudden and precipitate force as to stretch Mr. Coyote’s forelimbs to a length of fifty feet. Subsequently, the rest of Mr. Coyote’s body shot forward with a violent jolt, causing severe strain to his back and neck and placing him unexpectedly astride the Rocket Sled. Disappearing over the horizon at such speed as to leave a diminishing jet trail along its path, the Rocket Sled soon brought Mr. Coyote abreast of his prey. At that moment the animal he was pursuing veered sharply to the right. Mr. Coyote vigorously attempted to follow this maneuver but was unable to, due to poorly designed steering on the Rocket Sled and a faulty or nonexistent braking system. Shortly thereafter, the unchecked progress of the Rocket Sled brought it and Mr. Coyote into collision with the side of a mesa.

Paragraph One of the Report of Attending Physician (Exhibit B), prepared by Dr. Ernest Grosscup, M.D., D.O., details the multiple fractures, contusions, and tissue damage suffered by Mr. Coyote as a result of this collision. Repair of the injuries required a full bandage around the head (excluding the ears), a neck brace, and full or partial casts on all four legs.

Hampered by these injuries, Mr. Coyote was nevertheless obliged to support himself. With this in mind, he purchased of Defendant as an aid to mobility one pair of Acme Rocket Skates. When he attempted to use this product, however, he became involved in an accident remarkably similar to that which occurred with the Rocket Sled. Again, Defendant sold over the counter, without caveat, a product which attached powerful jet engines (in this case, two) to inadequate vehicles, with little or no provision for passenger safety. Encumbered by his heavy casts, Mr. Coyote lost control of the Rocket Skates soon after strapping them on, and collided with a roadside billboard so violently as to leave a hole in the shape of his full silhouette.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • ambiguousfrog February 25, 2018, 1:57 PM

    My reason for getting up early on a Saturday morning. Another staple destroyed by Marxists because it was said to be too violent. Give me a break compared to what’s out there today. Thanks for reminding me of a great childhood.

  • Monty James February 25, 2018, 6:16 PM

    Ambiguousfrog, are you old enough to have watched Jonny Quest? The ultimate panic fuel for all the vinegar-drinking, sandal-wearing, vegetable-eating wagfingers of Sixties society. Characters died violently in that glorious Saturday morning children’s cartoon. Triggers? Sure, on the Tommy guns and bazookas, but also enough ‘triggers’ for seven times seven generations of today’s sorry degenerate liberal Eloi.

    Some Roadrunner cartoons. When you click on one to watch it, you have to scroll down a ways to find the player on the browser page.

  • ghostsniper February 25, 2018, 7:08 PM

    Road runner – Coyote is the only cartoon I ever seen my dad watch and the only one he laughed right out loud at.

  • Schill MacGuffin February 25, 2018, 7:28 PM

    2. No outside force can harm the Coyote – only his own ineptitude, or the failure of Acme products.

    I think they stretched that one on occasion. I seem to recall him being run over by unexpected trucks or trains on occasion, though I guess you could file that under ineptitude.

    9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.
    Only because he appears to be immortal.
    Now that I think about it, perhaps the conceit of the cartoon is all the stories unfold in Coyote hell, where the Road Runner is his eternal punishment…

  • Rob De Witt February 25, 2018, 7:46 PM

    This is the funniest cartoon I’ve ever seen – Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc, early enough (1950) that the faces of the characters were still really expressive, and the whole thing is full of topical references that you had to be hip to catch, radio cliches (“Audience?” “RIGOLETTO!”,) WWII gags (“You’ll be Sooorrry!,”) Daffy fiddling with the mike stand, etc.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S93Qd5CUpY

    A friend discovered this 30 or more years ago, and the two of us watched it one evening with his wife. Our howls of laughter necessitated numerous rewinds just so we could catch all the dialogue. This is adult humor of the best kind, with no pretenses that it was made for kids. The smart kids all couldn’t wait to grow up so we could get in on it. This was the world before television, essentially the world before the lowest common denominator was discovered.

  • ambiguousfrog February 25, 2018, 7:52 PM

    @Monty: No. I was a 68′ baby and only had like 3-5 good channels on UHF/VHF. Oh the days of actually getting your ass out of the chair to change the channel. Mid 70’s they started with the fruitcake shows that Sid and Marty Krofft created. Loved the westerns around that time along with some Untouchables. The Road Runner was like one of those kids in school that never seemed to ever have anything go wrong in his world. Very frustrating.

  • PointyEaredVarmint February 28, 2018, 6:15 AM

    Best cartoon ever. Spawned more engineers than the space race. I loved and still love to watch the Coyote and Road Runner. My 6 yr old son watches all the old stuff that I grew up with that I can find. I keep him away from most of the “new” stuff. What we need is to bring back the old toons….and maybe John Wayne.