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| The '''Road Runner''' cartoons were a series of ] cartoons created by ] for ]. | The '''Road Runner''' cartoons were a series of ] cartoons created by ] for ]. | ||
| They are very simple in their premise: the Road Runner, a cartoon bird, is chased down the highways of the Southwestern United States, by |
They are very simple in their premise: the Road Runner, a cartoon bird, is chased down the highways of the Southwestern United States, by a hungry coyote, named ] ("wily coyote"). The coyote never catches the Road Runner, and there is never any dialogue save the Road Runner's "beep beep". (later, post-Chuck Jones cartoons allowed the coyote to speak, and he once had the Road Runner in his grasp.) | ||
| Wile E. Coyote often obtains complex and ludicrous devices from the ] |
Wile E. Coyote often obtains complex and ludicrous devices from a mail-order company, the fictitious ], which he hopes will help him catch the Road Runner. The devices invariably backfire in improbable and spectacular ways (or is it operator error?). How the coyote acquires these products without any money is never explained. The coyote usually ends up burnt to a crisp, squashed flat, or at the bottom of a ravine. | ||
| == Acme == | |||
| Among the products produced by the Acme Corporation are: | Among the products produced by the Acme Corporation are: | ||
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| * Acme super leg vitamins | * Acme super leg vitamins | ||
| Like in other cartoons, characters violate laws of ]. The Road Runner has the ability to enter painted caves, which the Coyote cannot. Sometimes the Coyote is allowed to hang in midair until he realizes that he is about to plummet into a chasm. The coyote can overtake rocks which fell before him, and end up being squased by them. | |||
| == The Rules == | |||
| In his book ''Chuck Amuck'', ] explains some of the rules the artists followed in making the Coyote-Road Runner series: | In his book ''Chuck Amuck'', ] explains some of the rules the artists followed in making the Coyote-Road Runner series: | ||
Revision as of 15:53, 9 October 2002
The Road Runner cartoons were a series of Looney Tunes cartoons created by Chuck Jones for Warner Brothers.
They are very simple in their premise: the Road Runner, a cartoon bird, is chased down the highways of the Southwestern United States, by a hungry coyote, named Wile E. Coyote ("wily coyote"). The coyote never catches the Road Runner, and there is never any dialogue save the Road Runner's "beep beep". (later, post-Chuck Jones cartoons allowed the coyote to speak, and he once had the Road Runner in his grasp.)
Wile E. Coyote often obtains complex and ludicrous devices from a mail-order company, the fictitious Acme Corporation, which he hopes will help him catch the Road Runner. The devices invariably backfire in improbable and spectacular ways (or is it operator error?). How the coyote acquires these products without any money is never explained. The coyote usually ends up burnt to a crisp, squashed flat, or at the bottom of a ravine.
Acme
Among the products produced by the Acme Corporation are:
- Acme catapults
- Acme earthquake pills
- Acme rocket sled kits
- Acme portable holes
- Acme Burmese tiger trap kit
- Acme jet-propelled roller skates
- Acme super leg vitamins
Like in other cartoons, characters violate laws of physics. The Road Runner has the ability to enter painted caves, which the Coyote cannot. Sometimes the Coyote is allowed to hang in midair until he realizes that he is about to plummet into a chasm. The coyote can overtake rocks which fell before him, and end up being squased by them.
The Rules
In his book Chuck Amuck, Chuck Jones explains some of the rules the artists followed in making the Coyote-Road Runner series:
- The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "Beep-beep!"
- No outside force can harm the Coyote - only his own ineptitude or the failure of the Acme products.
- The Coyote could stop any time - if he were not a fanatic. (Repeat: "A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim." - George Santayana)
- No dialogue ever, except "Beep - beep!"
- The Road Runner must stay on the road - otherwise, logically, he would not be called Road Runner.
- All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters - the southwest American desert.
- All materials, tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the Acme Corporation.
- Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.
- The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.