Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956)

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

While there were a few duds in the later years, when the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote series was at its best it was brilliant, even with the more-of-the-same stories they're mostly well-made, are very funny (the best gags uproariously so) and Coyote is one of Chuck Jones' best ever creations. Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z is one of my personal favourites in the series.Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z is not the best-looking Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon, the stylised minimalist backgrounds are not going to be everybody's cup of tea. They were not an issue with me because they still looked a long way from ugly and still had some nice detail, the series had much cheaper production values in the 60s. The colours are beautiful and rich, the gags and the reaction shots look great still and both characters look good, especially Coyote. The cartoon is wonderfully scored by Milt Franklyn as always. Orchestration is sumptuously lush, rhythmically it's lively but never too busy, use of instruments is clever and appropriate and it's not just a good fit but adds a good deal to what's going on too.There are some brilliant visual gags too, some of the best and funniest in the series in fact. The painted broken bridge and green bat suit gags are uproariously funny and are so different to what the viewer expects, but the highlight is the ending, one of the best endings of any Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon and a contender for the most iconic, not just because it's a hilarious and imaginatively executed gag but also because it is so refreshingly different. Roadrunner is one-dimensional but very amusing, but Coyote has always been the funnier and more interesting of the two and he's on top form here, one of those characters where even just a facial expression is enough to split the sides laughing and he is easy to empathise for even for one as cunning as he is.All in all, brilliant and one of the best of the series. Those fond of Roadrunner and Coyote will love it. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Another very funny and highly creative entry in the Road Runner series, in which even the opening credits are a hazard to Coyote. They're carried on the side of a truck which mows him down in the opening scene! And Wile E's day doesn't get any better, as he's blown up by an exhausted bullet, flattened by a flying boulder and falls into a chasm that was part of a picture he himself painted! Of course, there are the usual malfunctioning gadgets that the poor canine arms himself with, such as a telescoping arm that's supposed to deliver dynamite to Road Runner but instead slams the coyote into a rock wall, and delivers the explosive to him instead.. and the detonator plunger that refuses to go down while Road Runner is crossing the booby-trapped bridge -- but naturally it slides down all by itself once you-know-who tries to cross in pursuit. But "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z" is best known for the Acme product that finally DOES work exactly as advertised: the Acme Bat-man Outfit!! After a few frantic moments, Coyote actually manages to soar majestically through the air! But Acme can't be held responsible for operator error! Likewise the Acme Jet Motor also works perfectly, until the silly coyote turns it off after he soars off the edge of another cliff. Of course, the Laws of Cartoon Physics say he won't fall as long as no one draws his attention to the fact that he's now floating high above a deep deep canyon (now who do you suppose would do that? hehehe) A wonderful cartoon -- with the cartoonist finally cutting him a break at the very end!

"The Music Box" is the famous Laurel and Hardy film where the two struggle repeatedly to carry a piano up an endless flight of stairs up a hill. One really sympathizes with the two, until they reach the top, discover there's a road that leads up there, so they laboriously haul the piano back down the stairs to bring it up properly.In the same spirit, "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z" has us sympathizing with the Coyote, but realizing he's going to fail even if his contraptions do work - it isn't just physics he's fighting, it's his limited thinking.First, the Bat-Man costume - as he plummets to certain doom, he pulls up at the last moment and starts soaring beautifully (and the roadrunner sure can't fly!) but he gets cocky, and never sees the bluff looming in front of him.Then there's the jet engine with handlebars - it should defy working at all, but work it does (I've always wanted one of those!). He's got the roadrunner matched at last (the chase, with Raymond Scott's 'Powerhouse' playing, is such a euphoric depiction of speed), but falls for the exact same situation from the beginning of the cartoon when the roadrunner pulls a U-turn. Small wonder the coyote looks so sheepish when plummeting yet again, at least given the dignity of ending the cartoon before impact.

In this cartoon the Road Runner and the Coyote are introduced to us. After this the Coyote starts trying to catch the Road Runner but of course he fails every single time. There are some very clever moments in this cartoon, especially one that involves a painted broken bridge. The ending is also very nice. A funny cartoon from the Looney Tunes.