''Speedy Gonzales'' is a 1955

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

animated short Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

directed by

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (; August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons ...

from a story by

Warren Foster Warren Foster (October 24, 1904 – December 13, 1971) was an American writer, cartoonist and composer. He was best known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons, contributing prominently (mostly stories) towards the Looney Tunes, ''Looney ...

. The short was released on September 17, 1955, and stars

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

and

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

Plot

The short opens on a small, worried group of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

mice thinking of how to get cheese from the AJAX cheese factory across the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

that is guarded by Sylvester. Sylvester has eaten any mice who have tried. The leader comes up with a brilliant idea: Gain the services of the aptly named "Speedy Gonzales". The group agrees, so the leader goes to the carnival where Speedy resides. Speedy Gonzales is at the carnival attraction "Shoot Speedy" in which people try to shoot Speedy with bullets from a gun in order to "win a beeg prize." The leader tells Speedy, in Spanish, about the dire situation the mice are in, not having access to the cheese guarded by Sylvester. Speedy agrees to help and runs through the field between the mice and Sylvester to fetch an armful of cheese with each turn. After failing to catch Speedy by hand, Sylvester employs a hand net, mousetraps, landmines, baseball equipment, and a pipe to funnel Speedy right into his mouth, but Speedy manages to thwart him every time. Finally getting fed up, Sylvester gets all the cheese from the factory, stacks it, and uses dynamite to blow it all up (in the hopes of destroying it). However, all the cheese ends up raining down on the mice, causing Sylvester to cry and bang his head on an electric pole in vexation. Speedy ends the short by saying: "I like this pussycat fellow; he's silly!"

Production notes

''Speedy Gonzales'' won the

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. This short marks the first appearance of a redesign for Speedy, after his initial appearance in '' Cat-Tails for Two''.

Home media

''Speedy Gonzales'' can be found on Disc 4 of the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1'' DVD, and Disc 1 of the '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1'' Blu-ray. * Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners (restored)

References

External links

* 1955 films 1955 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films American animated short films Merrie Melodies short films Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Speedy Gonzales films Sylvester the Cat films Animated films set in the United States Animated films set in Mexico Short films directed by Friz Freleng Films scored by Carl Stalling Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Mexico–United States border Films with screenplays by Warren Foster Films produced by Edward Selzer English-language short films 1955 animated short films {{1950s-US-film-stub

Plot

Production notes

Home media

See also

References

External links