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Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner |
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The Road Runner Show is an animated anthology series which compiled theatrical Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoons from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, which were produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons between 1949 and 1964. Several of the shorts, especially the ones produced from 1965 onward, were produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises after Warner Bros. closed their animation studio. The Road Runner Show also ran for two seasons on CBS (1966–68), and then on ABC for two seasons (1971–73). Each show would feature one Road Runner/Coyote cartoon, with a Tweety and Sylvester cartoon in the middle segment, and other WB animated character(s) in the third segment (usually Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales, Pepe Le Pew and Hippety Hopper). |
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Creation |
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Jones based the Coyote on Mark Twain's book Roughing It,[6] in which Twain described the coyote as "a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton" that is "a living, breathing allegory of Want. He is always hungry." Jones said he created the Coyote-Road Runner cartoons as a parody of traditional "Cat and mouse" cartoons such as MGM's Tom and Jerry, which Jones would work on as a director later in his career.[7] Jones modelled the Coyote's appearance on fellow animator Ken Harris.[8]
The Coyote's name of Wile E. is a pun of the word "wily." The "E" stands for "Ethelbert" in one issue of a Looney Tunes comic book.[9] The Coyote's surname is routinely pronounced with a long "e" (/kaɪˈoʊtiː/ ky-OH-tee), but in one cartoon short, To Hare Is Human, Wile E. is heard pronouncing it with a diphthong (/kaɪˈoʊteɪ/ ky-OH-tay). Early model sheets for the character prior to his initial appearance (in Fast and Furry-ous) identified him as "Don Coyote", a pun of the name Don Quixote. |
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| The Road Runner Show |
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| Genre |
Comedy |
| Country of origin |
United States |
| Original language(s) |
English |
| Production |
| Running time |
30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Warner Bros. Television |
| Distributor |
Warner Bros.
Television Distribution |
| Release |
| Running time |
CBS (1966-1961)
ABC (1971-1973) |
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