Fast and Furry-ous 1949 ( Dir Chuck Jones)

Finally, the first non Bugs Bunny cartoon in this collection. The fast and Furry-ous is the first official Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner film. Although Wile E is a slightly fatter version than the one we know and the desert backgrounds are quite plain, the template of the series is established : A hungry coyote tries to chase his prey, who is faster and luckier than he is but nonetheless and fails constantly, either through his inability to outrun the roadrunner or to the fact that the gadgets that he orders do not work.

Loads of cartoons thrive on the idea of the chase, Sylvester and Tweety, Elmer and Bugs, Tom and Jerry ( Jones directed a few Tom and Jerry flicks as well), early Droopy. In a way you can also say that Donald is in constant pursual of his nephews (but it is stretching it a bit) but I think it was Chuck Jones who put it on an entire new level, not only with his Road Runner series, but with Pepe Le Pew , Bert and Hubie, Sam and Ralph and those awful Frisky Puppy shorts.

What fascinates me about the Road Runner films is that there is one single idea, yet many different ones as well. I personally want to know how each plan will fail and send the coyote to some impending doom. True it is annoying that the Road Runner will never be caught but then it would spoil the series.

Anyway the cartoon starts with Wile E looking at the Road Runner, smacking his lips and rushes off to chase him with a knife and fork.

And it all begins.

The Fast and Furry-ous gags actually start slowly and build up to a climax, something Jones ditched in later cartoons but works perfectly here. Plus the level of violence is not as bad as in later cartoons either. As it would be tedious to mention all the gags in one long paragraph I will list them down and follow the same process with every Road Runner cartoon from now on.

1. A steel plate which should stop the road Runner. RR brakes. Coyote begins chase. RR picks up steel plate and Coyote crashes into it.
2. Coyote uses a boomerang. After throwing it he gets hit by one thrown by Road Runner. A short pause and he gets hit by the one he threw earlier.
3. Coyote creates a school crossing. RR crashes into him with a sign stating that Road Runners can't read,
4. Coyote straps himself to a rocket. Upon lighting it he goes stright up and crashes into a cliff ledge.
5.Coyote plans to push boulder on roadrunner. Boulder falls in opposite direction, crushing coyote.
6.Coyote paints a road and draws a tunnel on a rack face, hoping that the RR crashes into it. RR runs through tunnel easily. Coyote tries to to the same. He gets hurt. RR runs out of tunnel hitting coyote.
7.Coyote plans to blow up RR from a distance. However the detonator blows up.
8.Coyote buys a Super Hero costume, thinking that when he jumps off a cliff he will fly. Coyote jumps off cliff. Does not fly.
9.Coyote buys a fridge and machine that spews snow. He also buys skies. This is so the snow produced by the fridge will make the ground slippery, thus increasing Coyote's speed. Just as he is about to catch RR , he brakes and coyote falls off a cliff.
10.Coyote buys jet propelled shoes, which work however they run out of fuel.
11.Coyote hides behind a billboard, ready to leap out at RR. When he hears the familiar meep meep he jumps out, only to find a bus, which runs him over. RR is in the back of the bus.

so there you go the first of the most elaborate chase films ever.