Good job the cartoon ended, he could have got seriously hurt. Great collection of antics with that green outfit looking funny.
Cinemas
Directed by Chuck Jones
Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z
A funny, rewatchable animation.
Animation
Comedy
1956
7m
3.7(1.3k)via LetterboxdPaul Julian
Wile E. Coyote unsuccessfully chases the Road Runner using such contrivances as a rifle, a steel plate, a dynamite stick on an extending metal pulley, a painting of a collapsed bridge (which the Coyote falls into while Road Runner passes right through), and a jet motor.
Where to watch
Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z isn't screening in cinemas right now.
Follow the film in the app to get notified when showtimes are added.
Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z showtimes, refreshed every morning
Pick your cinema, get a nudge before it leaves screens.
Cast & crew
2What people say
Gun to my head, this is my pick for the best Coyote & Road Runner short. It doesn't have the best gags necessarily, though it has a couple of good surprises (managing to pack two different subversions of our expectations into the Bat-Man gag, and then an unusual twist on the "one animal can run into the fake painted road and the other animal cannot" routine). But it does have some of the most interesting timing on the gags of any short in the series up to this point: an almost Tex Avery-esque acknowledgement that since we know exactly what the punchline is and when it's coming, the cartoon can simply jump ahead to the next gag after announcing the punchline moreso than depicting it. So it feels punchy and fast-paced even by the standards of a series where they're all punchy and fast-paced. And then a couple of times it turns that around, and does show us the end of a gag, which makes the same-old visuals of the exploded Coyote feel fresh and new.And then, this is the one where the backgrounds get wild: Ernie Nordli and Philip DeGuard have finally gone all the way into florid anti-realism, including some stunning background paintings where the desert is represented by an empty yellow space with purple buttes floating in it, or a scene of rocks and cacti scrawled in shaggy pencil, loose and frenetic to match the speed of the chase. It's strong, bold, almost more like graphic art than cartooning, and it makes this stunning to look at on top of being hilarious.Last and definitely not least: the fourth-wall break at the end of this one is perfect, a morbid meta-joke on par with Duck Amuck and Rabbit Rampage that also suggests that unlike Bugs and Elmer in those shorts, Chuck Jones is ultimately a kind and loving god.
Introduced my 3 year old nephew to Looney Tunes today. Started with a personal favourite—and dare I say my spirit animal—Wile E Coyote. He was totally enraptured by it. At one stage he turned to me while eating an ice cream and leaning in for a snuggle and said: “this is nice.” 😭Bless his heart, he kept wanting to watch more episodes hoping old Wile E would eventually catch the RoadRunner. Never lose that hope little man.
Common questions
What is Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z about?+
This animated short follows Wile E. Coyote's determined and ultimately failed attempts to capture the Road Runner using a series of elaborate and hazardous contraptions.
Who directed Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z?+
The film was directed by Chuck Jones, an American animator and director noted for his extensive work on the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series.
