| Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters | |
 The duo as seen in the shortTo Beep or Not to Beep (1963) | |
| First appearance | Fast and Furry-ous (September 17, 1949; 76 years ago (1949-09-17)) |
| Created by | Chuck Jones Michael Maltese |
| Voiced by | Wile E. Coyote: Mel Blanc (1949–1989)[1] Joe Alaskey (1990–2001)[2] Bob Bergen (1997–1998)[3] Dee Bradley Baker (2003)[4] Maurice LaMarche (2008)[5] James Arnold Taylor (2014)[6] J. P. Karliak (2015–2020, 2024–present) Eric Bauza (2018, 2026) Keith Ferguson (2022–present) The Road Runner: Paul Julian (archival recordings; 1949–present) Mel Blanc (1964, 1973–1974, 1978)[7][8] Jeff Bergman (1990)[9] Joe Alaskey (2008)[2] Eric Bauza (2018, 2023) (see below) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Wile E. Coyote:Coyote The Road Runner:Greater roadrunner |
| Gender | Male (both) |
| Relatives | Wile E. Coyote: Tech E. Coyote (descendant) The Road Runner: Rev Runner (descendant) |
Wile E. Coyote and theRoad Runner are fictionalcartoon characters from theLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies series ofanimated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical shortFast and Furry-ous. In each film, the cunning, devious and constantly hungrycoyote repeatedly attempts to catch and eat theroadrunner, but is humorously unsuccessful.[10] Instead of using animal instinct, the coyote deploys absurdly complex schemes and devices to try to catch his prey. They comically backfire, with the coyote invariably getting injured inslapstick fashion. Many of the items for these contrivances aremail-ordered from theAcme Corporation and other companies.TV Guide included Wile E. Coyote in its 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time".[11]
The characters were created forWarner Bros. in 1948 byChuck Jones and writerMichael Maltese, with Maltese also setting the template for their adventures. The characters star in a long-running series of theatrical cartoon shorts (the first 16 of which were written by Maltese) and occasional made-for-television cartoons. Originally meant to parody chase-cartoon characters such asTom and Jerry,[12] they became popular in their own right. By 2014, 49 cartoons had been made featuring the characters (including the fourCGI shorts), the majority by Jones.
Jones based the coyote onMark Twain's bookRoughing It,[13] in which Twain described the coyote as "a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton" that is "a living, breathing allegory of Want. He isalways hungry." Jones said he created the Wile E. Coyote-Road Runner cartoons as aparody of traditional "cat and mouse" cartoons such asMGM'sTom and Jerry.[14] He also citesFrank Tashlin's1941 adaptation ofThe Fox and the Grapes as inspiration due to its use ofblackout gags.[15] Jones modelled the coyote's appearance on fellow animatorKen Harris.[16]
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.[17] The coyote's surname is routinely pronounced with a long "e" (/kaɪˈoʊtiː/ky-OH-tee), but in two cartoon shorts,To Hare Is Human andRabbit's Feat, Wile E. is heard pronouncing it with adiphthong (/kaɪˈoʊteɪ/ky-OH-tay). Early model sheets for the character prior to his initial appearance (inFast and Furry-ous) identified him as "Don Coyote", a pun onDon Quixote.[18]
The Road Runner's"beep, beep" sound was inspired by background artistPaul Julian's imitation of acar horn.[19] Julian voiced the various recordings of the phrase used throughout the Road Runner cartoons, although he was not credited for his work on screen. According to animation historianMichael Barrier, Julian's preferred spelling of the sound effect was either "hmeep hmeep"[20] or "mweep, mweep."[21]
In the main series, Wile E. does not speak, instead portrayed as a mute character who communicates with the use of signs. However he does speak in a few cartoons; when he does, he has a notably upper-class American accent, and often refers to himself as a genius or super-genius. The 1965 shortZip Zip Hooray!, is his first speaking appearance, where he explains his desire to eat the Road Runner, and in another 1965 shortRoad Runner a Go-Go, where he explains how he sets up his cameras in the desert, as well as the first four cartoons where he is pitted againstBugs Bunny—Operation: Rabbit,To Hare is Human,Rabbit's Feat, andCompressed Hare.[22]
The desert scenery in the first three Road Runner cartoons,Fast and Furry-ous (1949),Beep, Beep (1952), andGoing! Going! Gosh! (also 1952), was designed byRobert Gribbroek and was quite realistic. In most later cartoons the scenery was designed byMaurice Noble and was far moreabstract, especially after 1955. It is based on the deserts of theSouthwestern United States.
In his bookChuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist,[23] Chuck Jones claimed that he and the artists behind the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons adhered to some simple but strict rules:
These rules were not always followed, and in an interview years after the series was made, principal writer of the original 16 cartoons Michael Maltese stated he had never heard of these or any "rules" and dismissed them as "post production observation".[24][25]
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In many of the shorts, a cartoon typically starts with Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner in a desperate attempt to catch him, only for the Road Runner to zip away in breakneck speed, much to the Coyote's surprise and utter amazement. Also, most pre-1965 shorts assign both the Coyote and the Road Runner fakeDog Latin names such as "Carnivorous Vulgaris" and "Accelleratti Incredibus".[26]
One notable running gag involves the Coyote falling from high cliffs; after momentarily being suspended in midair, as if the fall is delayed until he realizes that there is nothing below him. The rest of the scene, shot from abird's-eye view, shows him falling into a canyon so deep that his figure is eventually lost to sight, with only a small puff of dust indicating his impact. In Chuck Jones' cartoons the coyote usually tumbles or falls face up. Either way, he is more fully animated than in hisD-FE-era falls, which always show him falling face down and stiff. TheFormat Productions cartoons cheapen the falls even more by showing the coyote already most of the way down when the overhead shot begins.
The coyote is notably a brilliant artist, capable of quickly painting lifelike renderings of such things as tunnels and roadside scenes, in further (and equally futile) attempts to deceive the bird. Additionally, another running gag involves the coyote trying, in vain, to shield himself against a great falling boulder that is about to crush him.
Wile E. Coyote often obtains various complex and ludicrous devices from a mail-order company, the fictitiousAcme Corporation, which he hopes will help him catch the Road Runner. The devices invariably fail in improbable and spectacular fashion.
In August, September and October 1982, theNational Lampoon published a three-part series chronicling the lawsuit Wile E. filed against the Acme Corporation over the faulty items they sold him in his pursuit of the Road Runner. Even though the Road Runner appeared as a witness for the plaintiff, the coyote still lost the suit.[27]
The originalChuck Jones productions ended in 1963 afterJack L. Warner closed theWarner Bros. animation studio.[28][29]War and Pieces, the last Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner short directed by Jones, was released on June 6, 1964.[30][31] By that time,David H. DePatie and directorFriz Freleng had formedDePatie–Freleng Enterprises, moved into the facility just emptied by Warner, and signed a license with Warner Bros. to produce cartoons for the big studio to distribute.[28][29]
The first DePatie–Freleng cartoon to feature the Road Runner wasThe Wild Chase, directed by Freleng in 1965.[32][33] The premise was a race between the bird and "the fastest mouse in all México",Speedy Gonzales, with the Coyote andSylvester the Cat each trying to make a meal out of their respective usual targets. Much of the material was animation wasrotoscoped from earlier Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales shorts, with the other characters added in. Additionally, the studio produced two cartoons (Zip Zip Hooray! (1965) andRoad Runner a Go-Go (1965)) that reuse footage from Chuck Jones' 1962 television pilotAdventures of the Road Runner, with the original audio kept intact.[34] DePatie-Freleng went on to produce 13 moreRoad Runner cartoons. Two of these shorts were produced in-house and were directed byRobert McKimson (Rushing Roulette (1965) andSugar and Spies (1966)), while the remaining eleven, directed byRudy Larriva, were outsourced toFormat Films.[35][36]
Format'sRoad Runner cartoons, nicknamed the "Larriva Eleven", were characterized for its poorer production quality when compared to DePatie-Freleng, with animation often being reused in nearly every cartoon. The music was also of poorer quality, as the soundtrack (composed byBill Lava) was relegated to the use of pre-composed music cues rather than a proper score, the only exception of this beingRun Run, Sweet Road Runner (1965) as it was produced with a proper soundtrack. In addition, except for the planet Earth scene at the end ofHighway Runnery (1965), there was only one clip of the Coyote's fall to the ground, used over and over again. Jones' previously described "laws" for the characters were not followed with any significant fidelity, nor were Latin phrases used when introducing the characters. These 11 shorts have been considered inferior to the other Golden Age shorts, garnering mixed to poor reviews from critics.[37][38][39]Leonard Maltin, in his bookOf Mice and Magic, calls the shorts "witless in every sense of the word".[40]
All theseRoad Runner cartoons can be easily distinguished from Chuck Jones'Road Runner cartoons because they utilize the "Abstract" WB logo opening and closing sequences, which ironically was the original idea of Jones himself.
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The Road Runner and the Coyote appeared on Saturday mornings as the stars of their own TV series,The Road Runner Show, from September 1966 to September 1968, onCBS.[41][42] At this time it was merged withThe Bugs Bunny Show to becomeThe Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Show, running from 1968 to 1985.[43] The show was later seen onABC until 2000, and onGlobal until 2001.
In the 1970s,Chuck Jones directed some Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner short films for the educational children's TV seriesThe Electric Company. These short cartoons used the Coyote and the Road Runner to display words for children to read.[44][45]
In 1979,Freeze Frame, in which Jones moved the chase from the desert to snow-covered mountains, was seen as part ofBugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales.[46]
At the end of Bugs Bunny'sPortrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny (the initial sequence ofChuck Jones' TV specialBugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over), Bugs mentions to the audience that he andElmer Fudd may have been the first pair of characters to have chase scenes in these cartoons, but then a pint-sized baby Wile E. Coyote (wearing a diaper and holding a small knife and fork) runs right in front of Bugs, chasing a gold-colored, mostly unhatched (except for the tail, which is sticking out) Road Runner egg, which is running rapidly while some high-pitched "Beep, beep" noises can be heard. Earlier in that story, while kid Elmer was falling from a cliff, Wile E. Coyote's adult self tells him to move over and leave falling to people who know how to do it and then he falls, followed by Elmer. This short was followed by the full-fledged Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote shortSoup or Sonic.[47]
In the 1980s, ABC began showing manyWarner Bros. shorts, but in highly edited form. Many scenes integral to the stories were taken out, including scenes in which Wile E. Coyote landed at the bottom of the canyon after falling from a cliff, or had a boulder or anvil actually make contact with him. In almost all WB animated features, scenes where a character's face was burnt and black, some thought resemblingblackface, were removed, as were animated characters smokingcigarettes.[48] Some cigar-smoking scenes were left in. The unedited versions of these shorts (with the exception of ones with blackface) were not seen again untilCartoon Network, and laterBoomerang, began showing them again in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the release of the WB library of cartoons onDVD, the cartoons gradually disappeared from television, presumably to increase sales of the DVDs. However, Cartoon Network began to air them again in 2011, coinciding with the premiere ofThe Looney Tunes Show (2011), and the shorts were afterward moved to Boomerang, where they have remained to this day.
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner appeared in several episodes ofTiny Toon Adventures. In this series, Wile E. (voiced in theJim Reardon episode "Piece of Mind" byJoe Alaskey) was thedean of Acme Looniversity and the mentor ofCalamity Coyote. The Road Runner's protégé in this series wasLittle Beeper. In the episode "Piece of Mind", Wile E. narrates the life story of Calamity while Calamity is falling from the top of a tallskyscraper. In the direct-to-video filmTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, the Road Runner finally gets a taste of humiliation by getting run over by a mail truck that "brakes for coyotes".
The two were also seen in cameos inAnimaniacs. They were together in twoSlappy Squirrel cartoons: "Bumbie's Mom" and "Little Old Slappy fromPasadena". In the latter, the Road Runner gets another taste of humiliation when he is out-run by Slappy's car, and holds up a sign saying "I quit" — immediately afterward,Buttons, who was launched into the air during a previous gag, lands squarely on top of him. Wile E. appears without the bird in aThe Wizard of Ozparody, dressed in hisbatsuit from one short, in atwister (tornado) funnel in "Buttons in Ows". Also, in the extended version of the segment "Newsreel of the Stars", an artist (a caricature of Chuck Jones) is seen drawing the Road Runner.
The Road Runner appears in an episode of the 1991 seriesTaz-Mania, in which Taz grabs him by the leg and gets ready to eat him, until the two gators are ready to capture Taz, so he lets the Road Runner go. In another episode ofTaz-Mania, the Road Runner cartoons are parodied, with Taz dressed as the Road Runner and the character Willy Wombat dressed as Wile E. Coyote. Willy tries to catch Taz with Acme Roller Skates but fails, and Taz even says "Beep, beep."
Wile E. and the Road Runner would also make an appearance in the 1996 filmSpace Jam, where they, along with the read of theLooney Tunes characters, must win against invading aliens through basketball with the help ofMichael Jordan.[49][50] They would also appear in its 2021 sequelSpace Jam: A New Legacy.[51]
Wile E. and the Road Runner would return to theatrical shorts in toddler form in the 2000 theatrical shortLittle Go Beep,[52] and later inBaby Looney Tunes, but only in songs. However, they both had made a cameo in the episode "Are We There Yet?", where the Road Runner was seen out the window of Floyd's car with Wile E. chasing him.
Wile E. Coyote had a cameo as the true identity of an alien hunter (a parody ofPredator) in theDuck Dodgers episode "K-9 Quarry", voiced byDee Bradley Baker. In that episode, he was hunting Martian Commander X-2 and K-9. He is also temporary as a member of Agent Roboto's Legion of Duck Doom from the previous season in another episode.
InLoonatics Unleashed, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner's 28th century descendants are Tech E. Coyote (voiced byKevin Michael Richardson) and Rev Runner (voiced byRob Paulsen). Tech E. Coyote was the tech expert of the Loonatics (influenced by the past cartoons with many of the machines ordered by Wile E. fromAcme), and has magnetic hands and the ability to molecularly regenerate himself (influenced by the many times in which Wile E. painfully failed to capture the Road Runner and then was shown to have miraculously recovered). Tech E. Coyote speaks, but does not have a transatlantic accent as Wile E. Coyote did. Rev Runner is also able to talk, though extremely rapidly, and can fly without the use ofjet packs, which are used by other members of the Loonatics. He also has sonic speed, also a take-off of the Road Runner. The pair get on rather well, despite the number of gadgets Tech designs in order to stop Rev from talking, also they have their moments where they do not get along. When friendship is shown it is often only from Rev to Tech, not the other way around, this could, however, be attributed to the fact that Tech has only the barest minimum of social skills. They are both portrayed as smart, but Tech is the better inventor and at times Rev is shown doing stupid things. References to their ancestors' past are seen in the episode "Family Business" where the other Road Runners are wary of Tech and Tech relives the famous falling gags done in the Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner shorts.
The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote feature in 3D computer-animated cartoons or cartoon animation in theCartoon Network TV seriesThe Looney Tunes Show. The CGI shorts were only included in Season 1, but Wile E. and the Road Runner still appeared throughout the series in 2D animation.
Wile E. Coyote also appears in the TV seriesWabbit, voiced byJ. P. Karliak, in a similar vein to his previous pairings with Bugs Bunny. He appears as Bugs' annoying know-it-all neighbor who always uses his inventions to compete with Bugs. The Road Runner began making appearances when the series was renamedNew Looney Tunes in 2017.[48]
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner both appear in their own cartoon shorts in theHBO Max streaming seriesLooney Tunes Cartoons.
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner make occasional appearances in the preschool educational seriesBugs Bunny Builders. Wile E. (voiced byKeith Ferguson) has a minor supporting role in the series in which he often helps the Looney Builders out with their plans, often using some of his inventions. In the episode "Looney Science", Wile E. has the Looney Builders build him a science museum to show off his inventions, but the Road Runner keeps constantly distracting him.[53]
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner appear in theTiny Toon Adventures reboot,Tiny Toons Looniversity, as well as their protégés from the original series Calamity Coyote and Little Beeper. In this series Wile E. is the science professor at Acme Looniversity rather than the dean. In the episode "General Hogspital", Wile E. develops a potion that makes toons lose their looney DNA to try and finally catch the Road Runner, only for it to backfire and pollute the campus water supply.
The characters appeared in seven 3-D shorts attached to Warner Bros. features.[54] Three have been screened with features, while the rest serve as segments inseason 1 ofThe Looney Tunes Show. A short calledFlash in the Pain was shown on the web in 2014, but was not shown in theaters until 2016, when the movieStorks premiered.[55][56]
In late 2018, it was announced thatWarner Bros. Pictures were developing alive-action animated film centered on Wile E. Coyote titledCoyote vs. Acme, produced byWarner Animation Group, withThe Lego Batman Movie directorChris McKay on board to produce.[57][58] The film is said to be based onThe New Yorker short story "Coyote v. Acme" by authorIan Frazier.[59] Published in 1990, the piece imagined a lawsuit brought about by Wile E. Coyote against the Acme Company who provided him with various devices and tools to aid in his pursuit of the Road Runner. The devices frequently malfunctioned, leading to the humorous failures, injuries, and sight gags for which the Road Runner cartoons are known.[60] Jon and Josh Silberman were originally set to write the screenplay.[57] On December 18, 2019, it was reported thatDave Green would direct the project.[58] It was also reported that the project was looking for a new writer, with Jon and Josh Silberman instead co-producing the film alongside McKay.[58] However, by December 2020, McKay departed the project, while Jon and Josh Silberman left their roles as producers and resumed their screenwriting roles, with Samy Burch,Jeremy Slater, andJames Gunn scheduled to write its screenplay. Gunn would have also co-produced the project alongsideChris DeFaria. It was later announced that the film was scheduled to be released on July 21, 2023.[61]
In February 2022, it was announced that professional wrestlerJohn Cena would star in the film.[62] In March 2022,Will Forte andLana Condor were added to the cast.[63] On April 26, 2022, it was taken off the release schedule withBarbie taking over its original release date.[64] Despite its completion by November 9, 2023, it was announced that its theatrical and public release would be cancelled, with the company taking an approximately US$30 milliontax write-off for the film. Consistent with its long-termproduction issues and delays, Green later expressed his views on the decision:
I am beyond proud of the final product, and beyond devastated by WB's decision. But in the spirit of Wile E. Coyote, resilience and persistence win the day.[65][66]
However, four days later, the decision was reversed. Later that day, it was reported that Warner Bros. would instead allow the crew behindCoyote vs. Acme to shop out the film to other possible distributors, withApple TV+,Netflix, andAmazon MGM Studios being among its potential buyers.[67] Due to the company's handling of the matter, U.S. CongressmanJoaquin Castro called for a federal investigation regarding the film's initial cancellation and tax-write off plan, stemming from possible violations ofantitrust guidelines.[68]
On December 8, it was reported that the film had been screened toParamount Pictures, Netflix, Apple, Amazon, andSony Pictures. Netflix and Paramount made bids for the rights to the film, with the latter planning to release it theatrically. Amazon considered making a formal bid, while Sony and Apple declined the offer to bid.[69]
On December 31,Eric Bauza unveiled an official screenshot of the film on social media, depicting Wile E. Coyote and his lawyer seated in the courtroom, all while the film continued to search for a new distributor.
In March 2025,Ketchup Entertainment acquired the rights to the film after previously doing so withThe Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. The film is set to be released on August 28, 2026.[70]
The coyote appears separately as an occasional antagonist ofBugs Bunny in five shorts from 1952 to 1963:Operation: Rabbit,To Hare Is Human,Rabbit's Feat,Compressed Hare, andHare-Breadth Hurry. While he is generally silent in the Wile E. Coyote – Road Runner shorts, he speaks with arefined accent in these solo outings (except forHare-Breadth Hurry), beginning with 1952'sOperation: Rabbit, introducing himself as "Wile E. Coyote, (Super) Genius", voiced byMel Blanc.Hare-Breadth Hurry in particular stands out as the short uses the framework of a typical Road Runner cartoon, but with Bugs as the substitute since the former had "sprained a giblet cornering a sharp curve the other day."
In another series of Warner Bros.Looney Tunes cartoons,Chuck Jones used the character design (model sheets and personality) of Wile E. Coyote as "Ralph Wolf". In this series, Ralph continually attempts to stealsheep from a flock being guarded by the eternally vigilant Sam Sheepdog. As with the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote series, Ralph Wolf uses all sorts of wild inventions and schemes to steal the sheep, but he is continually foiled by thesheepdog. In a move seen by many as a self-referential gag, Ralph Wolf continually tries to steal the sheep not because he is a fanatic (as Wile E. Coyote was), but because it is his job. In every cartoon, he and Sam Sheepdog punch a timeclock and exchange pleasantries, go to work, stop what they are doing to take a lunch break, go back to work and pick up right where they left off, and clock out to go home for the day and exchange pleasantries again, all according to a factory-like blowing whistle. The most obvious difference between the coyote and thewolf, aside from their locales, is that Wile E. has a black nose and Ralph has a red nose.
Wile E. Coyote was called Kelsey Coyote in his comic book debut, aHenery Hawk story inLooney Tunes and Merrie Melodies #91 (May 1949). He only made a couple of other appearances at this time and did not have his official name yet, as it was not used until 1952 (inOperation: Rabbit, his second appearance).[71]
The first appearance of the Road Runner in a comic book was inBugs Bunny Vacation Funnies #8 (August 1958) published byDell Comics. The feature is titled "Beep Beep the Road Runner" and the story "Desert Dessert". It presents itself as the first meeting between Beep Beep and Wile E. (whose mailbox reads "Wile E. Coyote, Inventor and Genius"), and introduces the Road Runner's wife, Matilda, and their three newly hatched sons (though Matilda soon disappeared from the comics). This story established the convention that the Road Runner family talked in rhyme, a convention that also appeared in early children's book adaptations of the cartoons.
Dell initially published a dedicated "Beep Beep the Road Runner" comic as part ofFour Color Comics #918, 1008, and 1046 before launching a separate series for the character numbered #4–14 (1960–1962), with the three try-out issues counted as the first three numbers. After a hiatus,Gold Key Comics took over the character with issues #1–88 (1966–1984). During the 1960s, the artwork was done byPete Alvarado andPhil DeLara, from 1966 to 1969, the Gold Key issues consisted of Dell reprints. Afterward, new stories began to appear, initially drawn by Alvarado and De Lara before Jack Manning became the main artist for the title. New and reprinted Beep Beep stories also appeared inGolden Comics Digest and Gold Key's revival ofLooney Tunes in the 1970s. During this period, Wile E.'s middle name was revealed to be "Ethelbert"[17] in the story "The Greatest of E's" in issue #53 (cover-dated September 1975) ofGold Key Comics' licensed comic bookBeep Beep the Road Runner.[72]
The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote also make appearances in theDC ComicsLooney Tunes title. Wile E. was able to speak in some of his appearances in the DC comics.
In 2017, DC Comics featured aLooney Tunes and DC Comics crossovers that reimagined the characters in a darker style. The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote had a crossover with the intergalactic bounty hunterLobo inLobo/Road Runner Special #1. In this version, the Road Runner, Wile E., and other Looney Tunes characters are reimagined as standard animals who were experimented upon with alien DNA at Acme to transform them into their cartoon forms. In the back-up story, done in more traditional cartoon style, Lobo tries to hunt down the Road Runner, but is limited by Bugs to be more kid-friendly in his language and approach.[73][74]
Many Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner-themed video games have been produced:
The series consists of:
1 Re-edited fromAdventures of the Road Runner by Chuck Jones and with new music direction from Bill Lava
2 Re-edited fromAdventures of the Road Runner by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
3 These cartoons were each shown with a feature-length film.Chariots of Fur was shown withRichie Rich,Coyote Falls was shown withCats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,[75]Fur of Flying was shown withLegend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole,[80] andRabid Rider was shown withYogi Bear.Flash in the Pain was shown at theAnnecy International Animated Film Festival on June 10, 2014.[55][56]
The voice artistPaul Julian originated the character's voice. Before and after his death, his voice was appearing in various media until 1994, other voice actors have replaced him at that time. These voice actors are:
In 1959,Bo Diddley recorded a song titled "Road Runner" with the female background singers singing "beep-beep". The song was released in 1960.[102]
The pictorial sleeves forJunior Walker & the Allstars' 1966 albumRoad Runner and the single "(I'm a) Road Runner" depict a running bird similar to the Road Runner character.[103]
A clip from the cartoonWhoa, Be-Gone! was featured in the 1974Steven Spielberg filmThe Sugarland Express, during a scene at a drive-in theater.[104][105]
In theFraidy Cat episode "Choo-Choo Fraidy", Fraidy Cat meets a coyote named Smile E. Coyote who prefers to not eat Fraidy and instead goes after an overweight jogging roadrunner, clearly parodying the iconic duo.
The 1979 Western comedy filmThe Villain is a tribute to the cartoons, reconstructing several famous gags in live action.[106][104]
There are two scenes inStanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation ofThe Shining whereDanny Torrance and his mother,Wendy Torrance, are watchingThe Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Show. The chase between Danny and his father,Jack Torrance, is even reminiscent of the Road Runner cartoons, with the former putting his escape tactics (which he learns from watching the cartoons) to good use, and the chase ending with the latter frozen in ice, in a similar manner to Wile E. Coyote's failed attempts to catch the Road Runner.[107][108][109][104] Both Danny and Wendy also watch the cartoonRabbit's Feat inMike Flanagan's 2019 adaptation ofDoctor Sleep.[104]
A Wile E. Coyote doll is seen amongstElliott Taylor's toys in the 1982 filmE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[104]
The music videos forTwisted Sister's signature songs "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" were based heavily on the cartoon.[110][111][105]
The Dutch Euro disco/Italo disco duoVideo Kids' song "Sky Rider", from their 1984 albumThe Invasion of the Spacepeckers, includes samples of the Road Runner's "beep, beep" sound throughout.
In theG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero episode "Lights! Camera! Cobra!",Shipwreck kicks away a coyote before saying, "Beep, beep!"
The 1986 albumBares y Fondas from the Argentine rock groupLos Fabulosos Cadillacs included a track called "Tus Tontas Trampas" ("Your Foolish Traps"), which is sung from the Road Runner's perspective on how Wile E. Coyote is going to kill himself in his attempts to catch him.[112]
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner appeared in the 1988 Touchstone/Amblin filmWho Framed Roger Rabbit. They are first seen silhouetted by the elevator doors in Toontown, and then in full in the Acme Factory during the final scene with other characters.[105]
Issue #5 ofGrant Morrison's run onAnimal Man contains a story titled "The Coyote Gospel", in which the character, a thinly veiled parody of Wile E. Coyote named Crafty, decides to leave the "cartoon world" as an attempt to escape the seemingly endless cycle of violence. He is also pursued by a deceased truck driver's vengeful friend, who believes that he is the devil.[113][114][115] It was nominated for anEisner Award forBest Single Issue.
InWeird Al Yankovic's filmUHF, a depressed George Newman introduces a Road Runner cartoon on "Uncle Nutsy's Clubhouse" as a "sad and depressing tale of a pathetic coyote in the futile pursuit of a sadistic roadrunner, who mocks him and laughs at him as he's repeatedly crushed and maimed!"[116]
HumoristIan Frazier created the mock-legal prose piece "Coyote v. Acme",[117] which is included in a book of the same name.[118]
Wile E. Coyote appeared in an episode ofNight Court (Season 7, Episode 22:Sill Another Day in the Life) in which Judge Harold T. Stone (Harry Anderson) found him guilty of harassment and told him to leave the Road Runner alone.[119][120]
In 1990, Brazilian thrash metal bandChakal recorded the song "Acme Dead End Road" as part of their album,The Man Is His Own Jackal. The song begins with the Road Runner's "beep, beep" sound.[121][105]
InThe Simpsons episode "Homer Alone",Homer Simpson chasesBart Simpson around the house. During the chase, they are each freeze framed and subtitled with their mock Latin names, reading "BART (Brat'us Don'thaveacow'us)" and "HOMER (Homo Neanderthal'us)". In the episode "Bart's Inner Child", Homer is trying to push a trampoline off a cliff, an obvious reference to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The episode "Realty Bites" featured attempts bySnake to recover his car from Homer; one of these is to set up a wire across a road to decapitate Homer as he drives by. The wire is supplied by "Acme". The episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" featured the voice actress forItchy and Scratchy, June Bellamy (a parody ofJune Foray), who claimed to have done the "Beep!" for the Road Runner, being paid for only one, which the producers then doubled up. Wile E. Coyote appeared during thecouch gag in the episode "Smoke on the Daughter" in which he paints a fake couch on the living room wall which theSimpson family run into.Maggie Simpson then zooms in and imitates the Road Runner's "beep, beep" noise. The Road Runner appeared in the episode "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion" during a dream sequence in which he is attacked and eaten by theSpace Coyote.
In 1992–1998, French-Italian dance project Cartoons used Wile E. Coyote on the covers of their albums. They also released the song "Beep-Beep", which contains samples from the cartoons. The song was produced by Pin-Occhio and written by Giuliano Saglia.[122][123]
In the 1992 filmUnder Siege, "Road Runner" is the code name of the renegade former CIA operative William Strannix, played byTommy Lee Jones, in a reference to the fact that the character is never captured.
Wile E. Coyote has appeared twice inFamily Guy: his first episode, "I Never Met the Dead Man", depicts him riding in a car withPeter Griffin. When Peter runs over the Road Runner and asks if he hit "thatostrich", Wile E. tells him to keep going.[124] His second appearance was in "PTV", in which Wile E. attempts to get a refund for a giant-sized slingshot at an Acme retailer where Peter works. The DVD-exclusive episode "Partial Terms of Endearment" features a gag that parodies the Wile E./Road Runner cartoons where Peter attempts to drop a boulder on Lois to terminate her pregnancy; in place of the usual free bird seed, he lures her with freeGrey's Anatomy DVDs.
TheTom Smith song "Operation: Desert Storm", which won aPegasus award for Best Fool Song in 1999, is about the different ways Wile E. Coyote's plans fail.[125][105] GuitaristMark Knopfler recorded a song called "Coyote" in homage to Wile E. and the Road Runner on the 2002 albumThe Ragpicker's Dream.[105]
In the bookThief of Time byTerry Pratchett, a character performs "the Stance of the Coyote": stopping a fall in mid-air.[126]
In theDoctor Who novelThe Crooked World, one of the inhabitants of the planet is the Watchamacallit, a parody of the Road Runner.[127]
In theBounty Hamster episode "Just Deserts", Marion is seen flipping through an Acme (here referred to as "Acmee") catalogue, and uses its products to get Cassie back, only to fail. Wile E. Coyote (coloured grey here) shows up and comments that after 30 years, he has finally learnt not to buy from the same brand; however, one of the Acmee products, a giant catapult, falls onto him immediately after, followed by a boulder.
In the 2004 filmKung Fu Hustle, the scene in which Sing is chased by the Landlady as he flees from Pigsty Alley is a homage to the cartoons.[128][105]
In theWhat's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "New Mexico, Old Monster," Wile E. and the Road Runner make a cameo appearance where they are seen outside the Mystery Machine's window. The Road Runner beeps atScooby-Doo, and following a failed attempt by Wile E., a confused Scooby turns to the camera and says "Beep, beep?"
In theTeen Titans episode, "Episode 257-494", which featured the heroes trapped in a television world,Beast Boy, having morphed into a perfect Wile E. Coyote look-alike and described "Animalus Switcheroonus", chases Control Freak, or "Couchus Potaticus". In the subsequent sequence, the disguised Beast Boy falls off a cliff just as Wile E. frequently does, complete with a "Help" sign.[129]
Bell X1's song "One Stringed Harp" from their 2009 albumBlue Lights on the Runway includes the lyric"Like Wile E. Coyote/As if the fall wasn't enough/Those bastards from Acme/They got more nasty stuff".
The Road Runner appeared in thepilot episode ofThe Cleveland Show in which Peter Griffin straps a rocket to his back in a similar fashion of Wile E. Coyote and attempts to catch the Road Runner, only to wreckCleveland Brown's house again, prompting Cleveland to finally decide to leave Quahog.
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner appeared inSeth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy in the short "Die, Sweet Roadrunner, Die". In this short, Wile E. crushes the Road Runner with a large boulder and eats him, but then struggles to find purpose in life, having not trained for anything else other than chasing the Road Runner. Ultimately, after a short-lived job as a waiter in a local diner, and a suicide attempt (by way of catapulting himself into a mountain at close range), Wile E. finally realizes what he is to do with his life, and reveals he is now an advocate for Christianity.
During a scene inThe Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!, theDrawn Together cast accidentally run over and kill the Road Runner withFoxxy Love's van. Upon noticing this, Wile E. Coyote runs up to the Road Runner's corpse and declares "Without you, my life really has no meaning", before shooting himself with a"Bang!" flag gun.
The French-South Korean television seriesOscar's Oasis is heavily inspired by the cartoons, with the action taking place in a desert and containing several chase scenes; the characters also often fall off a cliff in a similar manner to Wile E.[130]
The French slapstick animated seriesZig & Sharko is also heavily inspired by the cartoons, with Zig the Hyena constantly trying to catch and eat Marina the Mermaid by using various contraptions similar to Wile E.'s plans, but his plans are always foiled by Sharko. Zig even imitates the Road Runner's "beep, beep" noise in the episode "Run Sharko, Run".
Both Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner have appeared inRobot Chicken on multiple occasions. One sketch sees Wile E. faking his own suicide and then torching the Road Runner with a flamethrower when he shows up at Wile E.'s "funeral".[131] Another sketch shows Wile E. teaching a college course onhow to get away with murder, using the Road Runner's murder as an example, the students trace the mail orders for the Acme products used to commit the murder to Wile E., who is executed by electric chair for the crime. Another sketch sees Wile E. presenting his iconic "fake tunnel" at an art auction, and another reveals why Wile E.'s Acme products always fail - the Acme Corporation is run by multiple Road Runners.
In theTeen Titans Go! episode "Squash & Stretch",Cyborg teaches the other Titans about the humor in cartoon violence, and shows them a Road Runner cartoon, with the characters replaced with parodies of Gumball Watterson and Darwin fromThe Amazing World of Gumball. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner appear in the episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary". They are among theLooney Tunes characters as guests for the Warner Bros. centennial celebration.[132] They also made a cameo appearance in the Season 9 premiere episode "Stickiest Situation", in which Sticky Joe is teleported into the cartoon. The scene was animated by Hayk Manukyan.[133]
In theDino Dana episode "Get That Incisivosaurus!", Dana Jain tries getting the feather of the Incisivosaurus, but her plans keep failing. Her inspirations come from her stepfather Aman Jain's old cartoon show,The Fox and the Hare, a parody of Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner.[134]
In theSugar and Toys episode "The Every Damn Internet Challenge Challenge", Wile E. (here named "Grimy Coyote") appears in a parody ofLaff-A-Lympics called "L-O-Lympics" as a co-host (replacingMildew Wolf), along withSnagglepuss (called Strugglepuzz).[135]
A handler-dog team called Road Runners Beep Beep were competitors in the 2023 annual televised UK dog showCrufts.[136]
Wile E. appears in the 197th episode of the web seriesDeath Battle, to face off againstTom Cat himself in a battle of unsuccessful cartoon chasers.[137] This episode was selected to happen by votes from fans, beating out several other popular ideas as well. The episode was initially slated for 2024, but was canceled afterDeath Battle's companyRooster Teeth was shut down by its parent company Warner Bros.[138][139] However, show creators Ben Singer, Chad James, Austin Harper and Sam Mitchell managed to secure theDeath Battle intellectual property, and started aKickstarter to continue the show.[140] The episode released on June 22, 2025, and declared Wile E. the winner due to his superior physical stats, arsenal, and "toonliness."[141][142]
"Coyote time" is a term used in the video game community to describe a situation in some games where a character is able to move and jump slightly further beyond the apparent graphical edge of a cliff or building, named for Wile E. Coyote's tendency to run off the edge of a cliff without initially falling.[1]
ThePlymouth Road Runner was a performance car produced by thePlymouth division ofChrysler between 1968 and 1980. An official licensee of Warner Bros. (paying $50,000 for the privilege), Plymouth used the image of the cartoon bird on the sides and the car had a special horn (with "Voice of Road Runner" labels) that sounds like the bird's "beep, beep" sound.[143][144] Some engine options (notably the426 Hemi) included Road Runner "Coyote Duster" graphics on theair cleaner. The 1970 PlymouthSuperbird version of the Road Runner, arguably one of the most spectacular cars of themuscle car era, included a graphic of the Road Runner holding a crash helmet on its massive rearspoiler and one of its headlight covers. The commercials were directed byAlex Lovy andRobert McKimson.[145][146]
In 1985-1987,General Motors used the Road Runner on its marketing campaign in 1985 for itsHolden Barina inAustralia.[147][144] The campaign's slogan, "Beep beep Barina", is still known as a catchphrase by many Australians to this day.
In 1994-1996, Wile E. appeared in a fewEnergizer commercials trying to capture theEnergizer Bunny.[148]
In 1995, the Road Runner became themascot forTime Warner'scable internet service, also namedRoad Runner. Interestingly, one commercial involved Wile E. as the "mascot" ofDSL. The Road Runner was also the mascot of Time Warner's car sales website, BeepBeep.com, and appeared in commercials on Time Warner cable systems in several television markets.[149][150]
In 1996, Wile E. Coyote appeared alongside football starDeion Sanders in aPepsi commercial.[151][152]
In 1998, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote appeared in aPontiac Wide Track commercial. Wile E. chases the Road Runner while driving the car, but the commercial ends before he can catch him.[153]
In 2004, Wile E. and the Road Runner appeared (along withBugs Bunny andDaffy Duck) in anAflac commercial, in which the former is shown as being a prime candidate for the company's services. Before he plummets, taking an animated version of the Aflac duck with him, he holds up a sign reading the company's tagline, "Ask About It At Work." The commercial was directed by Frank Molieri at Acme Filmworks[154] and animated by Bill Waldman.[155]
Since 1981, over the past 30 years, I've been doing Bugs, Daffy, and the other characters. I'm the only guy in the talent pool who has played all of the major characters, including... yes, including Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, but also Porky. You have to hunt for some of these credits, but I have done them all at one point, Hubie and Bertie, and Henery Hawk, all those characters.
The original model sheet for the character bears a label referring to the character as "Don Coyote", in reference to Miguel Ceverantes'Don Quixote.
Actually the title is somewhat of a misnomer, the actual 'beep beep' sound you just heard the Road Runner make was made by a background painter named Paul Julian, who used to make it in the hallways at Warner Brothers when he was carrying a large painting along, so people would get out of his way. Chuck Jones heard him make that - orTreg Brown I guess, actually, the sound effects wizard at Warner Brothers - heard him make that noise and suggested that they record that for the Road Runner, and it's been the standard Road Runner noise ever since.
Even though the expression was spelled 'beep beep' on the screen, and that the word 'beep' was used in many subsequent Road Runner cartoon titles, Paul Julian insisted that the correct spelling was 'H-M-E-E-P", 'hmeep hmeep', rather than 'beep beep'. But obviously after dozens of Road Runner cartoons, and other appearances of the Road Runner and Coyote in other media, with the word 'beep' attached, it's much too late to make any change in that spelling.
Paul Julian said that the actual spelling of that should be something more like 'M-W-E-E-P', 'mweep mweep' as opposed to 'beep beep'. But 'beep beep' it is on screen here and 'beep beep', as far as 99.9% of the world is concerned, it still is.
Peil wrapped up the presentation with the 6th installment in the series ofLooney Tunes shorts "Flash in the Pain".
Mel and WB were/are inseparable. In 1982 he and Noel began a massive recording project at JEL Recording Studios in which Mel recorded the audio for fifty automated stage shows featuring Bugs, Daffy, and the gang, full of dialogue and song. It stemmed from a long-term contract between Warner-Blanc Audio Associates and JEL, under the direction of Noel and Bill Baldwin, Jr. For years, on a weekly basis, these new recordings of Mel's voices were also given to a variety of toys, watches, video games, websites, etc.
In 1994, the Blanc estate and Warner Bros. forged a new alliance: the Warner-Blanc Audio Library, which consisted of approximately 550 songs and voices of every character in Mel's repertoire, which he had begun setting down at his multi-track studio in 1958 amid fears of a future when he'd be around no longer to record. 15 hours of new tapes of Mel's material had been discovered in 1996, and Noel expected to find more soon. Of course Mel's death never did diminish his impact on society as a cult icon. New technology has made him fresh for each generation. Around 1998 a line of talking watches featuring Warner characters were released under a joint venture from Warner-Blanc, digitizing some of Mel's vast back catalog to use in new items. The Mel Blanc Voice Watch Collection by Armitron was produced to celebrate what would have been his 90th birthday. Daffy spitting, "You're desthpicable", Tweety chirping, "I tawt I taw a puddy tat", and the ever popular Bugs asking the eternal question, "What's up, doc?" were a few choices emanating for 10 or 15 seconds from a small computer chip and miniature speaker at the press of a button. The price for each: $50.
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