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Going! Going! Gosh! (1952)

*** (out of 4)

Third in the series has the Coyote using all sorts of extremes to try and capture the Road Runner. This time out we get a hot air balloon, a cliff falling and even cross dressing. My one complaint for this series is that the same stuff just keeps happening over and over and perhaps this isn't as noticeable in only the third film but it is something that has kept this duo off my favorites list. Even with that said this is still en enjoyable cartoon that manages to fly by because you just can't help but feel sorry for Wile E. Coyote. No matter how dumb he is or how many times he fails, you can't help but admire him for the effort. The highlight has to be the two scenes where he meets a truck head on.

Chuck Jones's 'Going! Going! Gosh!', the third cartoon in the Road Runner series, has the invigorating feel of a series coming to life. 'Fast and Furry-ous' established the characters and 'Beep Beep' experimented with different forms and lengths of joke but 'Going! Going! Gosh!' feels like the first classic Road Runner. The quality of gags has risen significantly in this outing and the animation is also a cut above. There are a couple of reused gags even at this early stage but the sheer vivaciousness of the animation and direction breathe new life into them. This may be my favourite example of the oft used logic-defying painted landscape gag, for instance. This is Road Runner as it is most fondly remembered: quick fire, fast paced and very funny, even when you can see the punch line coming a mile away. 'Going! Going! Gosh!' provides an equal amount of gags where you go "I knew that was going to happen" and ones where you go "Oh, I didn't see that coming". It keeps the viewer on their toes, ensuring there's never a chance to get bored. It's the thrilling moment that the Road Runner series really found its feet.

The third pairing of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner is still good and features many gags that work, including the Coyote dressing up as a woman hitch-hiker, a hot-air balloon, and the old paint a road gag. The ending is a tad too much like the ending to the first cartoon, but I can simply watch ANY cartoon with the pairing of these two and be endlessly entertained every single time. It's something that I can't truly explain to anyone who isn't a fan. But those who get it know what I'm talking of. This animated short can be seen on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: A-

Early Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote short, directed by Chuck Jones with a story by Michael Maltese. As you might expect from this series, there isn't much of a plot, just Coyote trying and failing to capture Road Runner over and over. The gags are funny, though. Some of the methods used by Coyote this time include a dynamite arrow misfire, quick-drying cement that isn't quite quick enough, and the old standby "fun with boulders." But the best and my absolute favorite bit from the whole cartoon (and one of my faves from ANY Road Runner cartoon) is when the Coyote dresses up in drag as a female hitchhiker. The animation is beautiful, with well-drawn characters and backgrounds and exciting action scenes. Really love the colors in this, too. Carl Stalling's music is energetic and fits the action perfectly. A fun cartoon that will surely please fans of the series. The gags are great and the animation is creative, which is all you can ask for from a Road Runner and Coyote short.

It's amazing the number of ploys that Wile E. Coyote tries - and has backfire - in just a s six- and-a-half half minute cartoon. The beating the poor guy takes each time is unbelievable, but have you seen a more determined character in a cartoon? One that doesn't let defeat discourage him? I'd like to see him win, just one time.

In this cartoon, he gets blasted by not just one, but two big trucks, along with an assortment of other things including the ever-present anvil.

For some reason, I laughed loudest at the quick-drying cement routine.

This cartoon is part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2, and can be seen on disc 2.