Speedy Gonzales (character)

This article is about the character, for other uses see Speedy Gonzales.

Speedy Gonzales
Mexico's favorite non-stereotype.
Species	Mouse
Gender	Male
Member of	Tune Squad
Affiliation	Bugs Bunny Daffy Duck Porky Pig Sylvester
Occupation	Pizza shop owner in The Looney Tunes Show
Father	Not mentioned
Mother	Unnamed mother in The Looney Tunes Show
Cousin(s)	One cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez
Marital status	Single
First appearance	MM: Cat-Tails for Two (1953)
Played by	Mel Blanc (1953-1989) Joe Alaskey (1990-2008) Greg Burson (1994) Eric Goldberg (2003) Billy West (2003) Bob Bergen (2006) Fred Armisen (2011-2015) Tim Dabado (2014) Eric Bauza (Since 2014) Dino Andrade (2018) Gabriel Iglesias (2021)
Robert McKimson's early Speedy
Space Jam
File:TLTS Speedy Gonzales.png The Looney Tunes Show
File:NLTS Speedy Gonzales.png New Looney Tunes
File:Space Jam New Legacy Speedy.png Space Jam: A New Legacy

Speedy Gonzales is an anthropomorphic mouse from Mexico, and a main character of the Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts. He is recognized in his home country as the "fastest mouse in all of Mexico," and is often hailed for his heroic deeds. His voice was originated by Mel Blanc using a Mexican accent.

Speedy first appeared in prototype form in the 1953 short by Robert KcKimson, Cat-Tails for Two. After a redesign in the 1955 short Speedy Gonzales, the character showed up in further theatrical shorts during the Golden Age of American animation, appearing in a total of 45 entries during the period.

Character description

Speedy is often characterized for having cheerful and energetic personality. He tends to be both clever and resourceful, and exhibits qualities that make him courageous, which include aiding the help of fellow mice. Due to his reputation as a hero in Mexico, Speedy is often praised by the mice of his country, including his friends and those who know him.

As his name suggests, Speedy is known to accelerate at rapid speeds, outrunning his opponents in an instant. His cunning intelligence also puts him in advantage when it comes to outsmarting them, usually at a point of notice where they don't recognize his trickery. Speedy is often the target of larger prey, including cats such as Sylvester, although he manages to easily defeat them with minimal effort.

Speedy's usual catchphrase is a barrage of repeated cries consisting of the words "¡Ándale! ¡Ándale!" (roughly meaning "Go on!" or "Hurry up!" in Spanish) and "¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!" ("Up! Up! Up!"), followed up by "Yeehaw!" He also spurts out the word "¡Epe!" repeatedly for his cries, although the word itself doesn't have any real meaning in Spanish.

Appearances

TV series

• The Bugs Bunny Show
• Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends
• Tiny Toon Adventures
• Bugs 'N' Daffy
• Duck Dodgers (mentioned)
• The Looney Tunes Show
• New Looney Tunes
• Looney Tunes Cartoons

Movies

• The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
• Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales
• Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island
• Space Jam
• Tweety's High-Flying Adventure
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action
• Bah Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
• Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run
• Space Jam: A New Legacy

Shorts

• Merrie Melodies
  • Cat-Tails for Two
  • Speedy Gonzales
  • West of the Pesos
  • Chili Weather
  • Road to Andalay
  • Cats and Bruises
  • The Wild Chase
  • Asssault and Peppered
  • Go Go Amigo
  • Mucho Locos
  • Snow Excuse
  • Feather Finger
  • A Taste of Catnip
  • Daffy's Diner
  • The Music Mice-tro
  • Speedy Ghost to Town
  • Go Away Stowaway
• Looney Tunes
  • Tabasco Road
  • Gonzales' Tamales
  • Tortilla Flaps
  • Mexicali Shmoes
  • Here Today, Gone Tamale
  • Cannery Woe
  • The Pied Piper of Guadalupe
  • Mexican Boarders
  • Mexican Cat Dance
  • A Message to Gracias
  • Nuts and Volts
  • Pancho's Hideaway
  • It's Nice to Have A Mouse Around The House
  • Moby Duck
  • Well Worn Daffy
  • Chili Corn Corny
  • The Astroduck
  • Mexican Mousepiece
  • Daffy Rents
  • A-Haunting We Will Go
  • A Squeak in the Deep
  • Swing Ding Amigo
  • Quacker Tracker
  • The Spy Swatter
  • Rodent to Stardom
  • Fiesta Fiasco
  • Skyscraper Caper
  • See Ya Later, Gladiator
• The Fright Before Christmas
• The Chocolate Chase

Comics

• Looney Tunes (DC Comics)

Video games

• Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Banditos
• Cheese Cat-tastrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales
• Speedy Gonzales: Aztec Adventure
• Looney Tunes Collector
• Looney Tunes Dash!
• Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem

Biography

Original Shorts

The Sylvester Days

In many of the classic shorts, Speedy Gonzales is mostly paired with his nemesis Sylvester the Cat (often referred to as "Pussygato" or "Pussycat(s)" by Speedy). The typical format of these shorts revolve around Speedy helping the mice of Mexico and outwitting Sylvester, foiling the cat's plans in all sorts of humiliation, from mousetraps to large quantaties of Tabasco hot sauce.

In two of his classic entries, Mexicali Shmoes and Mexican Boarders, Speedy is revealed to have a cousin named Slowpoke Rodriguez, the "slowest mouse in all Mexico."

The Daffy Daze

In the later 1960s cartoons produced during the DePatie–Freleng and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts era, his main antagonist was switched to Daffy Duck, instead of Sylvester in prior cartoons. Speedy's role in these remains relatively consistent with his appearances in the earlier Warner Bros. Cartoons entries.

Back in Action

Speedy appeared briefly alongside Porky Pig in a scene on Looney Tunes: Back in Action, during which the latter laments their politically incorrect status at a restaurant.

Speedy Gets Modern

In The Looney Tunes Show, Speedy is an occasional resident in Bugs and Daffy's home and runs a pizza parlor called Pizzarribba.

Development

Speedy first appeared in prototype form in the 1953 short Cat-Tails for Two, directed by Robert McKimson, and bears no resemblance to his later counterpart apart from his name and super speed. In it, Speedy was different in appearance, as he wore a red short-sleeve shirt and buckteeth with a single gold tooth. For his next appearance in the 1955 short Speedy Gonzales, the character was given redesign by director Friz Freleng and layout artist Hawley Pratt, who both made Speedy look cuter and dressed him in traditional Mexican attire. Speedy's design for that short would serve as a basis for his physical appearance moving forward, while the plot became the format of his subsequent cartoons.

While Speedy's surname was spelled "Gonzalez" for his debut in Cat-Tails, this later changed to "Gonzales" in subsequent cartoons; although the earlier spelling is still used on occasion.

Concerns on stereotypes

In 1999, Cartoon Network shelved the airing of Speedy's shorts when they gained the exclusive rights to broadcast them, due to concerns of the shorts perpetuating negative Mexican stereotypes (namely other characters like Slowpoke Rodriguez). In a 2002 interview with Fox News, Cartoon Network spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg remarked, "It hasn't been on the air for years because of its ethnic stereotypes."

The League of United Latin American Citizens deemed Speedy a cultural icon, and as a result of the network's push to not air the films, thousands of users voiced their support of the character on the HispanicOnline.com message boards. The support of the campaign resulted Cartoon Network to finally air the cartoons in 2002.

Despite such controversy, Speedy is highly regarded as a positive icon among Mexican Americans and people in Latin America, with many fondly remembering him for his quick-witted, heroic personality. In a 2021 essay, Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano wrote, "I love Speedy so much, I keep a large painting of him in my home office. His kind smile and brown skin takes me back to my childhood — and reminds me of where we as Mexicans exist today."

Gallery

Main article: Speedy Gonzales/Gallery

In popular culture

WARNING: The following section contains content that may be seen as mature or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

• In the Robot Chicken skit "Illegal Alien Problems" of the episode "Werewolves vs. Unicorns," Speedy runs through a highly guarded fence after Sylvester explains on the US-Mexico border, much to the latter's disappointment.
• In the Family Guy episode "Padre de Famillia," Peter makes a new American character called Rapid Dave, after finding out that Speedy Gonzales is an immigrant and bad influence. In Peter's cartoon, Dave finds himself cornered with Sylvester and tells him to go "up your ass" before narrowly escaping with cries of "Quickly, quickly, quickly! Run fast, run fast!"
• In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Weekend Vortex," when Penny acted upset about Leonard spending a weekend of playing an online Star Wars game and then accepting it would turn her on, she added, "Ay, papi," which Leonard questioned and asked if becoming aroused turned her into Speedy Gonzales.
• In the 2015 comedic documentary Half Like Me, an elderly version of Speedy (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) was given a fictional interview by host Al Madrigal. Speedy's participation in social activism and his abscense in Cartoon Network during 1999 were also discussed during this portion of the documentary.
• In the 2023 film The Flash, the alternate 2013 Barry did the trademark pose of Speedy before the first time he properly used his super speed.

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