Mexicali Shmoes

Last updated
Mexicali Shmoes
Mexicali Shmoes title card.png
Title card
Directed by Friz Freleng
Story by Warren Foster
Produced by John W. Burton
Starring Mel Blanc
Dal McKennon
Edited by Treg Brown
Music by Milt Franklyn
Animation by Virgil Ross
Gerry Chiniquy
Art Davis
Layouts by Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds byTom O'Loughlin
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • July 4, 1959 (1959-07-04)
Running time
6 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Mexicali Shmoes is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon short directed by Friz Freleng. [1] The short was released on July 4, 1959, and stars Speedy Gonzales and the singing cats Jose and Manuel. [2] Voice actors include Mel Blanc as the voices of Speedy Gonzales and Jose plus an uncredited Dal McKennon as the voice of Manuel.

Contents

The Academy Award-nominated cartoon has Jose and Manuel chasing Speedy Gonzales in Mexico. This cartoon introduces Slowpoke Rodriguez, Speedy's cousin. Slowpoke would appear in only one other classic Looney Tunes short, 1962's Mexican Boarders .

Plot

Two sombrero-wearing cats, Jose and Manuel, are singing while relaxing on the "Avenida de Gatos" when they are taunted by Speedy Gonzales. After Manuel fails to catch Speedy, Jose informs Manuel that Speedy is "the fastest mouse in all Mexico" and that they will have to use their brains, not their feet, to catch him. The pair set off for Speedy's home in Guadalajara where they again fail to capture him. During their struggles, Manuel gets hit on the head by Jose with a guitar, Jose hooks Speedy with a fishing line and gets towed to Los Angeles, Manuel gets blown up by dynamite, and both cats get blown up in a minefield that they constructed.

Jose and Manuel are sitting on top of a wall after failing to outsmart and catch Speedy. Manuel laments they should have gone after Speedy's cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez, the "slowest mouse in all Mexico". Jose is convinced to go after him and runs off. Manuel desperately tries to catch up to warn him about Slowpoke and his reputation. No sooner than Jose arrives at the mouse house and catches him, Slowpoke shoots him. Manuel finally catches up and tells Jose exactly what he was trying to warn him about Slowpoke: "He pack a gun". Slowpoke blows steam off his gun and returns to his mouse hole, leaving the charred Jose to lament, "Now he tolls me."

Reception

Animation historian David Gerstein writes, "In Mexicali Shmoes, stocky Jose is more serious and calculating than geeky Manuel, but in their attempts to catch Speedy Gonzales, both cats provide equal hilarity. The treatment easily transcends the characters' feline nature and Mexican culture: Rocky and Mugsy ( Bugs and Thugs ) and Henry Bear and Junyer ( A Bear for Punishment ) follow flawlessly in the same tradition. It's amazing how, outside of Warner Bros., so many cartoon studios' straight man-funny man pairings flopped." [3]

Awards and honors

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedy Gonzales</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

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, being quick-witted and heroic while speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent. He usually wears a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief, similar to that of some traditional Mexican attires. To date, there have been 46 theatrical shorts made either starring or featuring the character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slowpoke Rodriguez</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

José "Slowpoke" Rodríguez is a fictional animated cartoon mouse, part of the Looney Tunes' cast.

Tortilla Flaps is a 1958 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on January 18, 1958, and stars Speedy Gonzales.

<i>Birds Anonymous</i> 1957 short film directed by Friz Freleng

Birds Anonymous is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster. The short was released on August 10, 1957, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.

The Wild Chase is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt. The short was released on February 27, 1965, and stars Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester and Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. This cartoon was the only Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon to be directed by Freleng or Pratt, who specialized in Speedy and Sylvester cartoons. It is also noted as a crossover between the Sylvester/Speedy and Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoons.

Tabasco Road is a 1957 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob McKimson. The short was released on July 20, 1957, and stars Speedy Gonzales.

<i>Speedy Gonzales</i> (film) 1955 American film

Speedy Gonzales is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng from a story by Warren Foster. The short was released on September 17, 1955, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

<i>Gonzales Tamales</i> 1957 film

Gonzales' Tamales is a 1957 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated film directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on November 30, 1957, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

Daffy Rents is a 1966 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on March 26, 1966, and stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales.

It's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the House is a 1965 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon animated short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on January 16, 1965, and stars Daffy Duck, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester and Granny. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc and Ge Ge Pearson.

West of the Pesos is a 1960 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on January 23, 1960, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

Chili Weather is a 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on August 17, 1963, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

<i>Quacker Tracker</i> 1967 film

Quacker Tracker is a 1967 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Rudy Larriva. The short was released on April 29, 1967, and stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. It was the first of three "buffer cartoons" produced by Format Productions in between Warner Bros. ending its contract with previous Looney Tunes producers DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and re-establishing its own cartoon studio.

Feather Finger is a 1966 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. It was released on August 20, 1966, and stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales.

Mucho Locos is a 1966 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on February 5, 1966, and stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales.

A Taste of Catnip is a 1966 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on December 3, 1966, and stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales with cameos by Sylvester the Cat and Hector the Bulldog. It was the final overall theatrical classic-era Warner Brothers cartoon featuring Sylvester and Hector during the golden age of American animation.

<i>Mexican Boarders</i> 1962 film

Mexican Boarders is a 1962 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on May 12, 1962, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester. Voice actors are Mel Blanc, and Tom Holland as the narrator.

Here Today, Gone Tamale is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short, directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on August 29, 1959, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

Cats and Bruises is a 1965 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt. The short was released on January 30, 1965, and stars Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

Road to Andalay is a 1964 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt. The short was released on December 26, 1964, and is one of the last shorts to feature Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 317. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 137. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. p. 116. ISBN   978-1-64722-137-9.
  4. ↑ "9 Shorts Named for Oscars". The New York Times . February 11, 1960. p. 38. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.