Hopalong Casualty
Encyclopedia
Hopalong Casualty is a 1960 Warner Brothers Looney Tunes
theatrical animated short, featuring the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Chuck Jones
directed.
In the cartoon's longest scene, the Coyote scatters some Acme Earthquake
Pills on the road, hoping that the Road Runner will mistake them for birdseed. The Road Runner obligingly eats them, but they have no effect as he zooms away. In disgust, Coyote swallows an earthquake pill himself, and then even more disgustedly swallows all of the remaining pills. After jumping up and down several times in an attempt to trigger an earthquake, he contemptuously chucks the empty bottle over his shoulder - and immediately leaps after the bottle with bulging eyes to catch it before it shatters in the middle of the road.
Too late, Coyote reads the fine print at the bottom of the bottle's label: "Not effective on Road Runners". As soon as he sees this he gulps nervously, now knowing what he is in for.
As he gingerly takes his first step to get out of the middle of the road, the product takes effect on him, causing him to shake, rattle and jerk helplessly across the landscape, getting flattened by a huge boulder and almost falling off a narrow rocky arch in the process.
When the product finally wears off the Coyote feels so relieved that he steps out without looking where he is going and strides off the edge of a cliff. The Road Runner then beeps once more and takes off, with the trail of smoke left behind him, forming the words "The End".
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
theatrical animated short, featuring the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
directed.
Summary
Wile E. Coyote (Hard-Headipus ravenus), as usual, tries various devices to try to trap the Road Runner (Speedipus rex), all of which backfire. For instance, his attempt to trick the Road Runner into an Acme Parcel-making Machine results in a neatly-packaged Coyote.In the cartoon's longest scene, the Coyote scatters some Acme Earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
Pills on the road, hoping that the Road Runner will mistake them for birdseed. The Road Runner obligingly eats them, but they have no effect as he zooms away. In disgust, Coyote swallows an earthquake pill himself, and then even more disgustedly swallows all of the remaining pills. After jumping up and down several times in an attempt to trigger an earthquake, he contemptuously chucks the empty bottle over his shoulder - and immediately leaps after the bottle with bulging eyes to catch it before it shatters in the middle of the road.
Too late, Coyote reads the fine print at the bottom of the bottle's label: "Not effective on Road Runners". As soon as he sees this he gulps nervously, now knowing what he is in for.
As he gingerly takes his first step to get out of the middle of the road, the product takes effect on him, causing him to shake, rattle and jerk helplessly across the landscape, getting flattened by a huge boulder and almost falling off a narrow rocky arch in the process.
When the product finally wears off the Coyote feels so relieved that he steps out without looking where he is going and strides off the edge of a cliff. The Road Runner then beeps once more and takes off, with the trail of smoke left behind him, forming the words "The End".
Censorship
- The ABC version of this cartoon cuts a scene where Wile E. throws a stick of dynamite attached to a string and ends up getting tangled on a cactus with the dynamite. The cut was done to make it seem that Wile E. threw the dynamite and it exploded. Also cut was the part during the earthquake pills scene where Wile E. ingests the entire bottle of pills before throwing the bottle aside and reading the warning that the pills don't work on Roadrunners. However, Wile E. swallowing the one pill before this scene was left in.
- Much like the ABC version, the Nickelodeon version also cut the part where Wile E. ingests the entire bottle of pills before throwing the bottle aside and reading the warning that the pills don't work on Roadrunners. Unlike the ABC version, Nickelodeon kept in the scene of Wile E. tangled on the cactus with the dynamite.
Credits
- Director: Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
- Story: Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
- Animation: Tom RayTom RayThomas Archer Ray was an American animator.-Career:Ray was born in Williams, Arizona. He began work at Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1937. Over the first two decades of his career, he was a junior animator who received no screen credit until Destination Earth in 1956. In 1958, he became a master...
, Ken HarrisKen HarrisKen Harris was an American animator who worked for several film studios. He is widely considered as one of the master animators of his time....
, Richard ThompsonRichard Thompson (animator)Richard "Dick" Thompson was an American animator who worked at several animated cartoon departments over a career of four decades. His longest association was with Chuck Jones at Warner Bros. Cartoons and M-G-M. He also worked at Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng.-Related link:*]]...
, Bob Bransford - Layouts: Maurice NobleMaurice NobleMaurice Noble was an American animation background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate of animation director Chuck Jones, most notably at Warner Bros. in the 1950s...
- Backgrounds: Philip DeGuard
- Film Editor: Treg BrownTreg BrownTregoweth Edmond "Treg" Brown was a motion picture sound editor who was responsible for the sound effects in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons starting in 1940. He also won the 1965 Academy Award for Sound Effects for his work on the film The Great Race.In the famous Warner...
- Voices: Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
, Paul JulianPaul JulianPaul Julian was an American artist and designer most noted for his work as a background artist for Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes cartoon shorts. He worked primarily for director Friz Freleng's Sylvester and Tweety Bird shorts...
(uncredited) - Musical Direction: Milt FranklynMilt FranklynMilton J. Franklyn was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated cartoons....