Most of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons are great fun to watch, although the series generally ran out of gas in the 60s. Fast and Furry-ous is their debut and to this day is still one of their best and funniest cartoons.
The animation is great, some of the best of the series in fact. The colours are beautiful and vibrant, the backgrounds are simple but still very detailed and attractive, the physical comedy is all tightly edited and the character designs, while more elaborate for Coyote here than with his later and more famous look, are very nicely done and smooth. Music is courtesy of the consistently brilliant Carl Stalling, it doesn't disappoint here and I prefer his livelier and more richly orchestrated scoring to that of Bill Lava's in the later cartoons.
Fast and Furry-ous is also incredibly funny, one of the funniest of the entire Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons and this is all with no dialogue at all. The physical comedy is impressively animated and is never less than amusing, at its best hilarious, while the sight gags are equally terrific, the highlight being the refrigerator gag, one of the most original, elaborate and ingenious gags of any of the Roadrunner and Coyote series. The painting-the-tunnel-on-the-stone-wall gag works well too, even if it was repeated numerous other times throughout the series, and the razor sharp pacing helps. Who can't help love the Oliver Hardy-esque looks into the camera too? The story avoids being too repetitive or formulaic and the fresh material, as well as that it's their first cartoon, helps give a sense of originality.
Both characters work great together. Roadrunner is one-dimensional, but amusing and never annoying, but it is Coyote who is the funnier and more interesting character. Cunning yet very easy to sympathise for and with priceless facial expressions, he's one of Chuck Jones' best creations. Overall, a wonderful cartoon in all regards, and one of the best of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. 10/10 Bethany Cox
