La Constelación del Coyote

I didn't always like the "Road Runner" cartoons - I always felt he was a bit too smug as he constantly outwitted the not very "Wile E. Coyote". This time, the increasingly frustrated cat tries just about everything to entrap the racing bird, and goodness only knows how much he was paying the "Acme" company for dynamite, rockets, railroad track - even magnetic birdseed. This is essentially a dozen or so quickly edited escapades that sees an entertaining, if entirely predictable series of failures on the part of a very determined coyote. Maybe try glue next time - it almost worked for "Sylvester" with "Speedy".

If I were asked whether Beep Prepared deserved its Oscar nomination, it would definitely be yes. It's a wonderful cartoon and one of the best of an entertaining series(apart from a few duds in the mid-late 60s), admittedly it is very formulaic but in all honesty that is true of pretty much all the cartoons in the series. The animation is colourful and has fluidity in the backgrounds, it's not flashy but it's definitely not sparse either. The music is full of energy and character and is lushly orchestrated, none of it sounding canned, the music is a component that is always looked out for by me and it didn't disappoint. The gags are hilarious and wonderfully weird, the arrow and hole-in-the-ground ones faring the best. Beep Prepared's not the first time Coyote has used a rocket or magnet to try and capture the Road Runner but they are still very funny here and not as predictable as you might think. Beep Prepared is never dull and is nicely rounded off. Road Runner is amusing enough in his own right and somewhat cute, he and Coyote work well together, though he can be described as a "plot-device" character(though that might seem unfair). Coyote has always been the much funnier and more interesting character, and he as always is delightful. Especially enjoyable are his facial expressions- something that you don't always pick up upon when you're a child and notice more as an adult, I felt the same way with the humour of the Foghorn Leghorn and particularly Pepe LePew cartoons-, which are always beautifully and cleverly drawn as well as very expressive whether cunning, frustrated or shocked, they even manage to be just as funny and even funnier than the gags themselves. All in all, Beep Prepared's a wonderful cartoon and among the best of the Road Runner/Coyote series, its Oscar nomination justified. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Once again, Wile E. Coyote comes up with a series of schemes to catch Road Runner, but they all backfire on him. Although I just saw "Beep Prepared" for the first time, I remember the whole end scene from the compilation film "The Great American Chase" (more commonly known as "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Chase Movie").

Why does WEC keep at it? The people behind these cartoons say that he comes just close enough to catching RR so that he believes that he'll succeed next time. It's George Santayana's description of fanaticism (redoubling your efforts after you've forgotten your aim). All in all, a really good one.

Nominated for an Academy Award, there is nothing especially novel or intriguing about this short. It's just a good example of the series as a whole. Wile E. spends the bulk of the cartoon trying to catch the Roadrunner and giving his insurance agent the ulcer to end all ulcers. It also serves as a warning not to buy anything from Acme unless you are desperate and/or a masochist. Cartoon Network runs this with some frequency. Recommended.

I just rewatched this Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon as an extra on the Splendor in the Grass DVD. It's yet another one in which the Coyote tries to catch the Road Runner and, well, I don't think I need to tell you whether he succeeds or not. It's hilarious from beginning to end and it was the only one to get an Oscar nomination. So that's a high recommendation for Beep Prepared.