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To Beep or Not to Beep

 To Beep or Not to Beep
type
TVTItem
 To Beep or Not to Beep
label
To Beep or Not to Beep
 To Beep or Not to Beep
page
ToBeepOrNotToBeep
 To Beep or Not to Beep
comment
"To Beep or Not to Beep" was a Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner Merrie Melodies cartoon released at the end of 1963. Almost all scenes except the very opening and The Reveal at the very end were taken from the 1962 full-length TV pilot Adventures of the Road Runner which was not picked up by a network. The pilot would be released to theatres alongside the largely forgotten Warner Bros. family film Lad, A Dog before being recycled into three shorts, of which this is the first (and the only one director Chuck Jones directly oversaw). This cartoon is therefore notable for having two versions, each with their own distinct musical scores. Milt Franklyn composed the music for the original pilot shortly before his death, while his successor as series music director William Lava wrote a new score for the short, with the latter being more familiar to viewers as that is the version that would be aired on television for decades afterward. It's also notable for having no explosions or instances of Ash Face at all, a rarity in the Road Runner canon.The cartoon begins with the coyote perched on a stump reading a "Western Cookery," when the Road Runner moves up behind him to find out what's in the book. This is followed by their usual antics, which involve a lasso in the road, a large Spring Coil attached to a boulder, a construction crane, and an ever-backfiring catapult.
 To Beep or Not to Beep
fetched
2023-07-18T17:30:26Z
 To Beep or Not to Beep
parsed
2023-07-18T17:30:27Z
 To Beep or Not to Beep
isPartOf
DBTropes
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_16fef97b
type
Binomium ridiculus
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_16fef97b
comment
Binomium ridiculus: Averted in the Lava variant (and the only Jones cartoon that does). In the Franklyn variant, the taxonomy appears in the opening credits (similar to the credits for Adventures of the Road Runner).
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_16fef97b
featureApplicability
-1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_16fef97b
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_16fef97b
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3cd71723
type
Acme Products
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3cd71723
comment
Acme Products: Averted this time. The catapult comes from "The Road Runner Manufacturing Company."
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3cd71723
featureApplicability
-1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3cd71723
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3cd71723
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3eb0f889
type
Pun-Based Title
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3eb0f889
comment
Pun-Based Title: Taken from "To Be or Not to Be," a line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3eb0f889
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3eb0f889
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_3eb0f889
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_4856ac40
type
Stock Footage
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_4856ac40
comment
Stock Footage: A bulk of the animation from this short is from an unsold pilot directed by Chuck Jones for a series entitled The Adventures of the Road Runner. Other portions of the pilot were repurposed into the shorts Zip Zip Hooray and Road Runner a-Go-Go.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_4856ac40
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_4856ac40
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_4856ac40
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_57a70347
type
Homing Boulders
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_57a70347
comment
Homing Boulders: The core of the Overly-Long Gag. No matter where he stands as he pulls the lanyard, the boulder on the catapult arm always lands directly on the Coyote. Then he moves out to where the boulder can't reach him, with the wagon facing outward. The wagon flips over, with the boulder still attached to the catapult arm. Guess where it lands?
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_57a70347
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_57a70347
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_57a70347
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_5a502557
type
Accordion Man
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_5a502557
comment
Accordion Man: When a stump is pulled down via the rope the Coyote was carrying, we see it on the top of his head. His arms are dragging behind him as he moves.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_5a502557
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_5a502557
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_5a502557
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a188ac4b
type
Overly Long Gag
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a188ac4b
comment
Overly-Long Gag: The final catapult gag. Wile E. is hiding inside a manhole as he triggers the catapult, and then... nothing. At first Wile E. is skittish that the catapult will smash him at any moment, jolting it briefly before diving for cover. Then, as it becomes obvious that the catapult won't work, he gets more frustrated and attempts to force it to work, until it finally fires right when he's jumping on top of the boulder. He doesn't notice until he smashes into another rock, and is now sandwiched between two boulders. Then the boulder runs into some power lines, which slingshot it back to the catapult. Wile E. hits the catapult arm, and it springs back and slams him into the asphalt, just in time for the boulder to fall on him.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a188ac4b
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a188ac4b
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a188ac4b
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a68d74b1
type
Pain-Powered Leap
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a68d74b1
comment
Pain-Powered Leap: During the chase segment, the Road Runner uproots six cactus plants, which are whisked by his gust to a not-yet seen bridge. Once he passes over, the bridge contracts in the form of a slide. The first five cacti rapidly clear the bridge, while the last one slides off and follows the Coyote down to the ground far below. We don't see what actually happens, but the Coyote's response (shown in the video example) clearly indicates where the cactus caught him.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a68d74b1
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a68d74b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_a68d74b1
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_abfe3213
type
Seesaw Catapult
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_abfe3213
comment
Seesaw Catapult: The portion of the outcropping that the Coyote was holding onto for dear life during his mishap with the coil spring. As the boulder recoils, taking this section with it, it flips across the landscape. Once the parts detach, this piece lands on a stump, with the Coyote falling to one end, the boulder falling to the other, upon which the Coyote rebounds and takes the boulder with it — right into the mouth of a narrow canyon.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_abfe3213
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_abfe3213
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_abfe3213
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_b4eff8a8
type
Epic Fail
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_b4eff8a8
comment
Epic Fail: Wile E's catapult plan fails in ways that break the laws of physics, six times.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_b4eff8a8
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_b4eff8a8
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_b4eff8a8
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c04b1231
type
Jump Scare
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c04b1231
comment
Jump Scare: A face to face version during the reading scene, as the Road Runner responds to the Coyote licking his chops by doing likewise. Surprised, the Coyote turns around to find himself snout to beak with his nemesis. BEEP BEEP!
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c04b1231
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c04b1231
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c04b1231
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c97314e3
type
Eat the Camera
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c97314e3
comment
Eat the Camera: The ending of the chase scene and result of the Pain-Powered Leap described downward.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c97314e3
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c97314e3
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_c97314e3
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_e8e3807
type
Aside Glance
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_e8e3807
comment
Aside Glance: When the Coyote puts a thumb in the direction of the not yet seen overpass where the chase scene will reach its climax.
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_e8e3807
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_e8e3807
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_e8e3807
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_name
type
ItemName
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_name
comment
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
To Beep or Not to Beep / int_name
 To Beep or Not to Beep / int_name
itemName
To Beep or Not to Beep

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
Cactus Cushion / int_4c959e4
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
Eat the Camera / int_4c959e4
 To Beep or Not to Beep
hasFeature
Pain-Powered Leap / int_4c959e4