47.202.4.32: /* Plot */

2025-06-24T21:53:07Z

Plot

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{{Short description|1965 film directed by Friz Freleng}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Wild Chase
| image = TCWildChaseLT.png
| director = [[Friz Freleng]] [[Hawley Pratt]]
| story = Friz Freleng [[Cal Howard]]
| editing = Lee Gunther
| animator = [[Norman McCabe|Norm McCabe]] Don Williams [[Manuel Perez (animator)|Manny Perez]] [[Warren Batchelder]] [[Laverne Harding|LaVerne Harding]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |title=I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety |date=1991 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-1644-9 |page=153}}</ref>
| layout_artist = Dick Ung
| background_artist = Tom O'Loughlin
| music = [[William Lava|Bill Lava]]
| cinematography =
| starring = [[Mel Blanc]] [[Paul Julian (artist)|Paul Julian]]
| producer = [[David H. DePatie]] Friz Freleng
| writer =
| studio = [[DePatie–Freleng Enterprises]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] [[Vitaphone|The Vitaphone Corporation]]
| released = {{Film date|1965|02|27}}
| color_process = [[Technicolor]]
| runtime = 6:29
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''The Wild Chase''''' is a [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' short directed by [[Friz Freleng]] and [[Hawley Pratt]].<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=351}}</ref> The short was released on February 27, 1965, and stars [[Speedy Gonzales]], [[Sylvester the Cat|Sylvester]] and [[Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312 |url-access=registration |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/137 137]}}</ref>

==Plot==
[[Speedy Gonzales]], the fastest mouse in all [[Mexico]], races against the [[Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner|Road Runner]], the [[Texas]] road burner, in the [[Mexico–United States border]] zone. During the race, [[Sylvester the Cat]] and [[Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner|Wile E. Coyote]] join forces in an attempt to catch their speedy opponents, with predictable results. Often they mistakenly end up injuring each other in comical fashion.

Initially, Wile E. Coyote descends precipitously from a cliff in his endeavor to capture the Road Runner, an occurrence subsequently replicated by Sylvester subsequent to an encounter with Speedy. Their strategy to launch rocks at their competitors goes awry, resulting in the rocks descending upon themselves. Subsequently, they covertly position iron pellets beneath birdseed and cheese, attaching a grenade to a magnet on a roller skate; however, this scheme concludes with the grenade detonating in Wile E.'s visage. Moreover, their attempt to dislodge a flat rock from a cliff results in both characters plunging over the edge. In their endeavor to demolish a culvert, they mishandle the detonator, precipitating the detonation of the dynamite upon themselves. Finally, they employ a rocket car to pursue the racers, ostensibly achieving victory, but are subsequently disqualified as only Speedy Gonzales and the Road Runner are duly registered participants.

The cartoon culminates with Sylvester and Wile E. being propelled into the atmosphere as the rocket car erupts in a pyrotechnic display.

==Crew==
* Co-Director: Hawley Pratt
* Story: Friz Freleng & Cal Howard
* Animation: Norm McCabe, Don Williams, Manny Perez, Warren Batchelder, Laverne Harding
* Layout: Dick Ung
* Backgrounds: Tom O'Loughlin
* Film Editor: Lee Gunther
* Voice Characterizations: Mel Blanc
* Music: Bill Lava
* Produced by: David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng
* Directed by: Friz Freleng

==Production notes==
This cartoon represents the sole Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner production directed by Friz Freleng or Hawley Pratt, who were predominantly known for their work on Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester the Cat cartoons (Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner had largely been the province of [[Chuck Jones]] until his 1963 firing;<ref name="endofstudio">Barrier, Michael (1999). ''Hollywood Cartoons''. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 562–563; {{ISBN|0-19-516729-5}}</ref> [[Format Films]]' [[Rudy Larriva]] would take over that series after this). It serves as a notable crossover between the Sylvester/Speedy and Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner series. This short is unique as the only Speedy Gonzales cartoon to feature Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, and conversely, the only Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner short to include Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

Additionally, it marks the final appearance of Speedy Gonzales with Sylvester the Cat and the last classic-era cartoon directed by Freleng. The content of the cartoon primarily comprises recycled animation and comedic gags from earlier Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner productions.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059911/ The Wild Chase] at [[Internet Movie Database]]

{{Sylvester the Cat in animation}}
{{Speedy Gonzales in animation}}
{{Coyote and Road Runner}}
{{Friz Freleng}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Chase, The}}
[[Category:Merrie Melodies short films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films]]
[[Category:Short films directed by Friz Freleng]]
[[Category:Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner films]]
[[Category:Films scored by William Lava]]
[[Category:DePatie–Freleng Enterprises short films]]
[[Category:1960s Warner Bros. animated short films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:American animated short films]]
[[Category:Speedy Gonzales films]]
[[Category:Sylvester the Cat films]]
[[Category:American comedy short films]]
[[Category:Films produced by David H. DePatie]]
[[Category:Films directed by Hawley Pratt]]
[[Category:English-language short films]]
[[Category:1965 animated short films]]

The Wild Chase - Revision history

47.202.4.32: /* Plot */