Scrambled Aches

The Roadrunner shorts are an example of a "formula" series-a very well done "formula". My comments about this short in particular will be a relatively small portion of this comment, because I want to talk a bit about the series itself.

This short is actually fairly representative of the series and why it works so well and why the shorts are generally very good, even though they follow a formula. The viewer knows going in that certain things will (or won't) happen: The two primary characters, as a rule, do not speak. They will occasionally hold up signs, but they don't talk in these shorts-unless you stretch a point and call the Roadrunner's "Beep Beep" dialog.

Each short shows ersatz Latin "names" for both characters. The ones for Wile E. Coyote usually revolve around hunger and the Roadrunner's usually revolve around speed and his edibility.

No matter what happens to Wile E. in a scene, after fade out, in the next scene, he's fine and plotting again.

His equipment generally comes from Acme. Here it's dehydrated boulders, among other things.

His attempts to capture the Roadrunner (at least in the theatrical releases) always fail. They invariably end badly for the Coyote. Some attempts are very brief, lasting seconds, like a dehydrated boulder which expands almost instantly, crushing Wile E. Sometimes, Wile E. doesn't think his plots through to their logical conclusion, which invariably hurts him.

In addition to these basics, there are things which occur in most of the shorts which are a large part of the success of the series, in spite of its predictability.

The reactions by Wile E. make him an incredibly sympathetic character. There's a melancholy air about him that is conveyed by his facial expressions as his well-laid plans explode (often literally) in his face. There are a number of set situations which are made successful because of Wile E.'s reactions.

First, there's the "astonishment piece. Wile E. almost always gets very close to the Roadrunner (usually in the first minute or two in a short) and seems close to his goal, only to have the Roadrunner kick in an extra gear and leave him eating dust and gaping in surprise and astonishment. He then begins plotting out how to catch his prey.

Then there's the occasional "relief which transmutes into horror" which happens when Wile E. either thinks he's been successful or thinks he's escaped disaster, only to discover that he's in deep trouble. There's a "puzzlement turning to horror" plot device which follows the same arc.

There's the long and intricate trap that either fails to work or unfolds slowly which starts in the middle of a short which comes back later with spectacularly devastating consequences for its initiator. In this short, for example, a steamroller used to trick the Roadrunner into a trap has negative consequences for Wile E. later on.

Most importantly, there is often a moment where a situation develops where Wile E. has advance knowledge that he is soon going to suffer something calamitous and very painful, with enough time for it to register that this really was a day he should not even have bothered waking up that morning. It is these situations where the animators knock one out of the park, as the expressions and body language shown in these moments almost always convey a mixture of resignation, sorrow and the dawning realization that he's failed-again-and must pay some cosmic penalty. It's a look of doom, sometimes accompanied by a sign which is both poignant and heartbreakingly funny. These moments make Wile E. a character the viewer can actually care about, because we all understand that sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs we get when something goes WRONG and we're powerless to stop it, or even slow it down. A mix of persistent and dogged futility.

This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 2, along with a number of other Coyote and Roadrunner shorts. It and the Collection are well worth having. Recommended.

Scrambled Aches (1957)

*** (out of 4)

Tenth film in the series has Wile E. Coyote up to the same old stuff but this time out we get a few new tricks with the best one being the dehydrated boulder. This is a pretty routine entry in the series but you can't expect too much out of the tenth film especially considering this was pretty much a one-joke series with the same type of jokes being used over and over again. The action is certainly top-notch as our beloved coyote finds one way after another to hurt himself. The small steam roller and escape hatch are very well done. Another thing to mention is the colors used here, which are extremely warm from start to finish. I'm going to guess this was done on purpose and isn't just the work of the remastered DVD since this short is on the same disc as the others.

This is a perfect example of Road runner at the height of his career. Every joke has an unexpected twist or two and there is a natural progression in Wile E. Coyote's traps. At first the Coyote tries to stop the Runner in his tracks by tripping him up or felling him with a dynamite bolo. When that fails he does his best to match the speed of his prey, by combining roller skates with a sail and propeller, riding a giant firecracker or using a wall mounted spring.

A brief word about the backgrounds. They are simple but very stylized. The artists deliberately neglected to colour between the lines of the purple rocks and just about every pebble and cactus is left unpainted, making them appear translucent. W. E. and double R. on the other hand are perfectly animated. Even in a couple of filler scenes where we see Coyote getting inspiration for another trap, his expressions are priceless.

Obviously getting more and more frustrated, the Coyote becomes intent on destroying his nemesis regardless how much will be left over to eat. Therefore he tries boulder flipping, anvil dropping and best of all makes use of Acme dehydrated boulders (just add water). Finally, his genius level intellect entices him to combine sly deception with brute force. An elaborate double trap uses both the junior size outboard steamroller and a cannon disguised as an escape tunnel. But just like Tom Cruise can use an exploding helicopter to his advantage in Mission Impossible, so can Road runner use a cannon ball as a means of escape.

8 out of 10

Fun Road Runner & Coyote short from Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. This one has Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner with dynamite on a string, a homemade windsurfing contraption, a rocket, an anvil, a steam roller, and the classic ACME Dehydrated Boulder. As usual with this series when Jones was at the helm, the gags are funny and well-executed. The animation is great, with well-drawn characters and backgrounds. Love the colors. The music is also very nice and suits the action perfectly. Some will criticize this series as being formulaic and repetitive, and it certainly does "return to the well" sometimes, but I find that Jones and Maltese do try and do different things with the gags even if they are similar to previous ones. This moves along at a quick pace and probably doesn't linger on a couple of the gags as long as it should. It's fun, though, and definitely worth a look.

After the disappointing 'There They Go-Go-Go', Chuck Jones's 'Scrambled Aches' is an improvement. The cartoon which saw the Road Runner series entering double figures with its tenth outing, 'Scrambled Aches' is another fairly standard Road Runner cartoon but with better gags than its predecessor. What also makes 'Scrambled Aches' notable is that there are a couple of cases in which it looks like the Coyote might finally be successful in his attempts to capture the Road Runner. An early attempt involving a falling anvil seems to be going according to plan but for the Road Runner's keen senses, but it is the climactic, extended gag involving a steam roller in which the Coyote seems to have outwitted the Road Runner with an elaborate bluff. It's a funny but frustrating final sequence which employs an elaborate twisted logic to bilk the Coyote out of his rightful meal. Aside from these gags, 'Scrambled Aches' is not especially worthy of praise but it's certainly worth seeing and guarantees a couple of belly laughs at the very least.