Wile E. Coyote

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Wile E. Coyote
Wile E. Coyote.png
(Looney Tunius Wikipedius)
Species Coyote
Gender Male
Member of Tune Squad
Affiliation Road Runner
Bugs Bunny
Daffy Duck
Occupation Predator
Dean[Note 1]
Science professor[Note 2]
Works for Acme[Note 3]
Father Cage E. Coyote
Mother Not mentioned
Other relative(s) One descendant, Tech E. Coyote in Loonatics Unleashed
Marital status Single
First appearance LT: "Fast and Furry-ous" (1949)
Played by Mel Blanc (1952-1989)
Joe Alaskey (1991-2003)
Maurice LaMarche (2008)
James Arnold Taylor (2014)
J.P Karliak (2015-2020)
Eric Bauza (2018)
Keith Ferguson (2022)
TBBRRM Wile E. Coyote.png
The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie
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Space Jam
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Baby Looney Tunes
File:CF Wile E Coyote.png
Coyote Falls
File:TLTS Wile E 3D.png
The Looney Tunes Show
TLTS Wile E 2D.png
The Looney Tunes Show (2D)
NLT Wile E.png
New Looney Tunes
File:ANL Wile E.png
Space Jam: A New Legacy
LTC Wile E.jpg
Looney Tunes Cartoons
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Bugs Bunny Builders
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Tiny Toons Looniversity

Wile E. Coyote is an anthropomorphic coyote and a character the Looney Tunes animated franchise. Created by Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese, he is the frequent adversary of the Road Runner, who he endlessly tries to capture by either using his elaborate schemes or with mail-in products from the Acme Corporation, but failing in each attempt. Although he doesn't usually speak, Wile E. does have a speaking voice, which was originated by Mel Blanc.

Wile's protégé in Tiny Toon Adventures is Calamity Coyote.

Character description

Wile E. is a brown coyote with a thin body frame and a fiendishly antagonistic personality. He is a creative predator who uses new methods to pursue his chase for the Road Runner, his primary target of prey. Despite this, he has never succeeded in his single mission, instead being thwarted by the Road Runner, who is sometimes unaware of Wile's plans. Wile E. has himself backfired in many of his schemes, primarly as a result of them not being made to avoid any sort of consequences. As such, he tends to get himself injured, such as getting crushed by boulders, falling off a cliff, or getting overun by oncoming vehicles. He is also shown to be rather impatient, sometimes getting through desperate means to catch the bird, no matter what it costs for him.

In many occasions, the coyote uses products from the Acme Corporation, which he often purchases from their catalog. However, the products he uses rarely work to begin with due to their absurd, unreliable quality; and when they do, they do nothing but cause him severe injury. Despite this, Wile E. is suggested to be a loyal customer of Acme and is shown to repeatedly use them for the sake of his own determination, with the false belief that the products will still work in chasing the Road Runner.

Wile E. is also proven to be very egotistical and arrogant, as seen further in his appearances with Bugs Bunny. He often looks down at others, views anyone as being inferior to him, and often goes so far as to bragging himself as a "genius" (or "super genius"). Like his run-ins with the Road Runner, Wile E. is never successful in trying to catch Bugs, who sees him as anything but a legit intellect. His overconfidence and excessive showboating are apparent weaknesses to the coyote, which make him an easy target for Bugs to foil him.

Wile E. does not usually talk; however, unlike the Road Runner (who cannot say anything but the words "Beep, beep!"), he communicates via signs to display his emotions, i.e. "ouch" or "uh-oh". When paired with Bugs Bunny or in other appearances where he is given speech (such as the Adventures of the Road-Runner featurette film), he talks eloquantly with a Mid-Atlantic accent.

Appearances

TV series

Movies

Shorts

Comics

Video games

Theme parks

Biography

Looney Tunius Wikipedius

We're All a Little Looney

Come On and Slam! And Welcome to the Jam!

Wile E. Get Modern (and 3D)

Going Down the Rabbit Hole

Back to Basics

It's Hard Hat Time

Educating at Looniverstiy

Wile E. Sells Out

Wile E. is a guest at Warner Bros.' Burbank lot for its 100th anniversary. While on the set of Friends, Cyborg claims the part of Joey Tribianni, while Foghorn Leghorn claims the part of Rachel Green, which starts a fight with Yosemite Sam, Taz, and Wile E. who also want the part.[1]

Development

According to Chuck Jones, the Coyote/Road Runner series was originally created as a means of parodying traditional "cat-and-mouse" cartoons like Tom and Jerry, which relied heavily on the chase formula.[2] He also cited the series to be influenced by Columbia Pictures' The Fox and the Crow cartoons, which fellow WB animator Frank Tashlin worked on and had done a similar chase formula but to a different extreme.[3][4]

Jones based Wile E. Coyote on Mark Twain's book Roughing It, in which Twain describes the coyote as a "long, slim, sick, sorry-looking skeleton" and a "living, breathing allegory of the desire to want. He's always hungry."[5] Additionally, Jones modeled the character on Ken Harris, an animator who worked at his unit.[6]

Gallery

Main article: Wile E. Coyote/Gallery

Toys and merchandise

Behind the scenes

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 Animal Man #5, a humanoid coyote wearing a scroll wanders through Death Valley where he ends up in an endless cycle of eternal death and resurrection, and is pursued by a truck driver who believes that he is the devil. When Animal Man takes notice of the coyote, it is later revealed through a gospel that the creature is a Wile E. Coyote-esque character named Crafty, who is exiled from his cartoon world by a cruel, god-like artist.
  • In the 1989 film UHF, a depressed George presents his audience of children with a Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner cartoon, which he describes as a "sad, depressing story about a pathetic coyote who spends every waking moment of his life in the futile pursuit of a sadistic roadrunner, who mocks him and laughs at him as he's repeatedly crushed and maimed!"
  • In the Saved by the Bell episode "The Mamas and the Papas," Jessie compares her and Slater's fake marriage to Road Runner being married to Wile E.
  • In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode "Hilary Gets a Job," Will says it isn't fair that he got cut on the news for another black guy, but Carlton says that life isn't fair, using how the coyote never gets the roadrunner as an example.
  • In the March 20, 1993 (Miranda Richardson/Soul Asylum) episode of Saturday Night Live, Rob Schneider appeared in the Weekend Update sketch defending cartoons after the FFC ruled out that they should not be considered educational. Schneider indirectly refers to Wile E. when he argues about where kids would be if they weren't ordering dangerous, ineffective mail-order products from Acme.
  • In the Beast Wars: Transformers episode "Feral Scream (Part 1)," Megatron is hit by a feline creature (later revealed to be Cheetor) and he spins uncontrollably like the Tasmanian Devil, before falling down a cliff in a similar fashion to Wile E. Coyote.
  • In "Episode Two" (series 5) of the BBC Radio 4 impressionist sketch program Dead Ringers, Elton John is replaced by Phil Collins in singing for Disney's animated movies, so the former goes to other cartoons that need the "Elton John magic," such as covering all the unfortunate blunders of Wile E. Coyote gets himself into despite trying his best to succeed, set to the tune of "Candle in the Wind."
  • In the Sabrina the Teenage Witch episode "Bada-Ping," Sabrina gets carried away with her fear of death attempts by a gangster, becoming concerned about getting a boulder dropped on, but then calms down and remembers that this is something from the Road Runner. Roxie then interjects that if Wile E. Coyote flattens her with an Acme anvil, don't come running to her.
  • In the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "New Mexico, Old Monster," Wile E. and the Road Runner make a brief cameo doing their usual chase, outside of the Mystery Machine's window. After a failed attempt by Wile E., Scooby turns to the camera and says "Beep, beep?"
  • In the Teen Titans episode "Don't Touch That Dial," Beast Boy and Control Freak take on the roles of Wile E. and Road Runner, respectively, when they are zapped into the TV world.
  • In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification," Leonard makes a joke about Sheldon's whiteboard equations by saying that he plans to capture the Road Runner, to which Sheldon acknowledges this by likening himself to Wile E. Coyote and then analyses Leonard's joke by describing a typical Wile E. trope.
  • In the second half of the Mad episode "Pooh Grit/Not a Fan a Montana," Miley Cyrus baits Justin Beiber in the middle of the desert road with "Beib Seed" so the distracted Beiber would get run over by a bus. When Beiber stops on the road to eat it, there isn't a bus in sit, forcing Cyrus to test it and be run over. Eventually, their feuding destroys the planet, but Beiber survives in a Jetsons-like space car, and ends the short by saying, "Beep, beep!"
  • In The Amazing World of Gumball episode "The Safety," Gumball and Darwin watch a parody of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.
  • In the Teen Titans Go! episode "Squash & Stretch," Cyborg teaches the other Titans the humour in cartoon violence, showing them a Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon, but the title characters are substituted with eratzes of Gumball and Darwin from the aforementioned Amazing World of Gumball, which is also aired on Cartoon Network.
  • In the Sugar and Toys episode "The Every Damn Internet Challenge Challenge," there is a parody of the Laff-A-Lympics TV series, but it is called L-O-Lympics and is about Hollywood screw-ups competing, instead of Hanna-Barbera characters. Like in Laff-A-Lympics, Snagglepuss (called Strugglepuzz) hosts, but with Wile E. Coyote (now called Grimy Coyote) as his co-host, replacing Mildew Wolf.
  • In the 2019 film Doctor Sleep, Wile E. and Bugs Bunny's appearances in Rabbit's Feat are used when young Danny and his mother Wendy watch the short on the TV, before Danny tells her that he would leave to the bathroom.
  • In the 2023 film The Flash, the alternate 2013 version of Barry Allen has a Looney Tunes background screen on his computer, which includes Wile E., Tweety, Sylvester, Bugs, Daffy, and Road Runner.

3rd Rock from the Sun

  • "Much Ado About Dick:" Harry refuses to take Tommy out for a drive, so Tommy wagers a bet with Harry that if the Roadrunner wins, Harry will drive him, but if he loses, Tommy will never ask Harry again. Harry takes the bet because he believes Wile E.'s next scheme is too good to fail him again.
  • "Romeo & Juliet & Dick:" Harry watches the TV, with the intimating sound that Wile E. has just crashed to the ground with an anvil on his head, which Harry humorously noting, "He got touched by anvil," alluding to the TV series Touched by an Angel.

Drawn Together

Main article: Drawn Together
  • "Gay Bash:" The love tester was produced by Acme, which is the company that supplies Wile E. Coyote with all his devices to capture Road Runner.
  • "Requiem for a Reality Show": At the beginning of the episode, Wooldor runs around like the Road Runner and interrupts Spanky who was in the middle of watching porn. Spanky is then given the Latin name "Pornus Interruptus."
  • "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist Part II:" Among the wreckage on the beach is a Wile E.-shaped crater.
  • The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie: The gang accidentally runs over and kills the Road Runner with their van while in the desert. Wile E., upon seeing his target dead, declares that his life has no meaning and shoots himself in the head with a Bang flag gun. Wile E. is voiced by Jess Harnell.

Family Guy

Main article: Family Guy
  • "I Never Met The Dead Man:" When Peter wants to drive, Brain reminds him of his trip to the south west. The scene cuts to the Road Runner running to the screen before Peter runs him over. Peter asks his passenger, Wile E., if he hit "that ostrich", Wile E. tells him no and tells him to keep driving.
  • "PTV:" When Peter might get his own TV show, he recalls that he once owned a business before. The scene cuts to Peter working at Acme, where Wile E. tries to get a refund. Wile E.'s wife comes in to tell him to hurry up.
  • "Coma Guy:"
  • "Partial Terms of Endearment": Peter attempts to have Lois get an abortion by dropping an anvil on her Wile E Coyote style. In Wile E style, it fails.

Full House

  • "A Fish Called Martin:" Joey tries to use Wile E.'s fall from a cliff after his encounter with Road Runner, as an analogy to explain the death of Martin the fish to Michelle.
  • "Matchmaker Michelle:" On a Saturday morning, Michelle enters D.J.'s room to wake her up to watch a Road Runner cartoon, saying "Meep meep." Joey then follows behind telling Michelle she's missing it and that they have to go back to see Wile E. while he is still midair.

Robot Chicken

Main article: Robot Chicken
  • "Acme CEO Remembered:"
  • "Executed by the State:" In the skit "Wile E. Piphany", After the last attempt to kill Road Runner fails, Wile E. Coyote decides to end his own life.
  • "Unnamed Robot Chicken Episode:" In "How to Get Away with Murder," Wile E. attempts to teach a class how to solve crime. However, his students find out he was responsible for the crime and he is executed via electric chair.
  • "Toon Trauma:"
  • "Sweet J Presents:"

Mad

Main article: Mad
  • "Pooh Grit/Not a Fan a Montana:" in the segment "Not a Fan a Montana," Miley Cyrus baits Justin Beiber in the middle of the desert road with "Beib Seed," so the distracted Beiber gets run over by a bus. When Beiber stops at the road to eat the seeds, there isn't a bus in sit, forcing Cyrus to test it and get run over. Eventually, their feuding destroys the planet, but Beiber survives in a Jetsons-like space car, ending the short by saying, "Beep, beep!"
  • "TwiGH School Musical/Avenger Time:" In "Meep! My Dad Says", Road Runner is the father of a kid who only says "Meep Meep".
  • "Rioa/Thomas the Ustoppable Tank Engine": In "Rioa", Road Runner is chosen as one of the Green Lanterns and uses his power to smash Wile E with an Anvil.
  • "Outtagascar/F.I.E.N.D.S.:" In "Body of Pwoof", Road Runner's body is being inspected by Elmer Fudd, who discovers the Wile E was the one who killed him.
  • "Alfred's Game/We Are X-Men:" In a segment called "Wile E Coyote and Road Runner Both Get Arrested", Wile E Coyote and Road Runner....both get arrested.

Ted Lasso

  • "Goodbye Earl:" Dani accidentally kills Earl the dog after it runs in front of the goal post, leading to him having a nightmare of another penalty kick where he kicks the ball right into an anthropomorphic cartoon dog acting as a goalkeeper, who holds up a sign that reads "This is Gonna Hurt," right before the death blow.
  • "Sunflowers:" To try to prompt a text response from his boss on her whereabouts, Ted uses a GIF of Wile E. using his binoculars from the Fast and Furry-ous theatrical short.

Notes

Reference

  1. Teen Titans Go!: "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary," season 8, episode 24 (2023).
  2. Barrier, Michael (November 6, 2003). Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. United States: Oxford University Press. p. 672. ISBN 978-0-19-516729-0.
  3. Maltin, Leonard (1980). "Columbia: Charles Mintz and Screen Gems". Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, p. 214. New American Library. ISBN 9780452259935.
  4. Lenburg, Jeff (1991). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (1991 edition), page 114. Facts on File, Inc., New York NY. ISBN 0-8160-2252-6.
  5. Collins, Glen (November 7, 1989). "Chuck Jones on Life and Daffy Duck". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023.
  6. Wroe, Nicholas (April 19, 2013). "Richard Williams: the master animator". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020.
  7. Evanier, Mark (Febuary 20, 2006). "The Name Game". News From Me. Retrieved from original on March 4, 2007.