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Chuck Jones’ Rules for Writing Road Runner Cartoons
Mental Floss ^ | March 4, 2015 | Rich Barrett

Posted on 03/04/2015 9:35:28 PM PST by beaversmom

This tweet from film director Amos Posner blew up across social media
yesterday. It's a photo taken at the What’s Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck
Jones exhibit at the American Museum of Moving Image in New York:

Jones' rules, first made public when he published them in his 1999
autobiography Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist, are
probably pretty familiar to animation students and Road Runner and Wile E.
Coyote fanatics. They are a fascinating testament to the need for clearly defined
systems within a wacky creative process.

Fun fact: In an interview for the book Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation
in its Golden Age
, Michael Maltese, a writer who worked for Jones on the
Roadrunner series, said that he had never heard of these rules.

Here's a slightly longer version of the rules that Jason Kottke shared a few
years back:

1. The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "meep, meep."

2. No outside force can harm the Coyote -- only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme products. Trains and trucks were the exception from time to time.

3. The Coyote could stop anytime -- if he were not a fanatic.

4. No dialogue ever, except "meep, meep" and yowling in pain.

5. The Road Runner must stay on the road -- for no other reason than that he's a roadrunner.

6. All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters -- the southwest American desert.

7. All tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the Acme Corporation.

8. Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.

9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.

10. The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote.

11. The Coyote is not allowed to catch or eat the Road Runner.


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Humor; Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: animation; cartoon; cartoons; chuckjones; roadrunner; wileecoyote
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To: beaversmom

The Coyote finally did catch the Road Runner, however

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj78yCaumpc

(yes I know, a fake...but a darned good one... ha ha!... as long as we overlook the one anti-religious line sorry about that... its amazing how well outsiders can draw and make these great cartoons I grew up with these and they are STILL so funny!)


21 posted on 03/04/2015 10:40:45 PM PST by faithhopecharity
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To: beaversmom

>>4. No dialogue ever, except “meep, meep” and yowling in pain.

What about “Wile E. Coyote...Suuupergenius!”?

It wasn’t dialogue in the strict sense, but it was a speaking part.


22 posted on 03/04/2015 10:40:48 PM PST by oblomov
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To: beaversmom

I was waiting for someone to post that one.

Then there’s the one Seth did with Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny.


23 posted on 03/04/2015 10:44:29 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: beaversmom

of course eventually Coyote met a lawyer and they sued Acme Products...

http://www.jamesfuqua.com/lawyers/jokes/coyote-acme.shtml

or

https://la.utexas.edu/users/jmciver/357L/WileECoyoteVACME.htm

and you can do a search and find more about this important law case!

one result has been that Acme has been redesigning its products with more attention to user safety questions
..
http://www.core77.com/posts/26324/safety-first-pentagram-cleverly-absolves-acme-in-a-design-fiction-starring-wile-e-coyote-26324


24 posted on 03/04/2015 10:46:49 PM PST by faithhopecharity
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To: dfwgator

Would love to see if you have a link.


25 posted on 03/04/2015 10:47:54 PM PST by beaversmom
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To: piasa

Right.


26 posted on 03/04/2015 10:51:11 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: beaversmom

Here you go.....

Elmer gets Bugs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeRMOOg9ztw


27 posted on 03/04/2015 10:57:16 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

Oh my! That neck crunching at the end is a terrible coup de grâce! Poor Bugs! ;)


28 posted on 03/04/2015 11:19:32 PM PST by beaversmom
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To: Secret Agent Man

Road Runners “paranormal” abilities seems to indicate that the Road Runner is a metaphor for God and the Coyote, mans obsessive defiance of him. ;-)


29 posted on 03/04/2015 11:38:20 PM PST by Axenolith (Government blows, and that which governs least, blows least...)
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To: oblomov
What about “Wile E. Coyote...Suuupergenius!”?

That was a Bugs Bunny cartoon (Operation Rabbit), not Coyote v. Roadrunner.

30 posted on 03/04/2015 11:43:29 PM PST by Cincinatus (Omnia relinquit servare Rempublicam)
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To: beaversmom

1. The Democrats will not harm The Republican Elite except by going “meanie, meanie.”

2. No outside force can harm The Republican Elite — only its own ineptitude or the media. Trains and trucks are the exception from time to time.

3. The Republican Elite could stop losing anytime — if they were not fanatic about making media friends.

4. No dialogue ever, except “meanie, meanie” and yowling in pain.

5. The Republican Elite must stay on the road to big government — for no other reason than that they are the Elite.

6. All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two parties — Washington DC.

7. All Republican Elite tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the media.

8. Whenever possible, make elitism the Republican Elite’s greatest enemy.

9. The Republican Elite is always more humiliated than harmed by its failures.

10. The media’s sympathy must remain with the Democrats.

11. The Republican Elite is not allowed to restrain or criticize the Democrats.


31 posted on 03/05/2015 1:26:49 AM PST by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: beaversmom
Rule 12.

The Coyote must only receive mail order catalogs from the Acme Corporation, never from Omaha Steaks.

32 posted on 03/05/2015 2:00:07 AM PST by BikerTrash
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To: Pelham

correction: Wile E. Coyote...not Wily Coyote. You’ll thank me after you win that bar bet.


33 posted on 03/05/2015 3:53:56 AM PST by driftless2 (For long term happiness, learn how to play the accordion.)
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To: Pollster1

Very well done......


34 posted on 03/05/2015 4:15:48 AM PST by Paladin2
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To: FredZarguna

> -sub-rule: Any actual harm caused by gravity, explosives, trains, malfunctioning ACME® devices, or misadventure is merely temporary.

He must’ve had ObummerCare.


35 posted on 03/05/2015 4:20:41 AM PST by dayglored (Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is...sounding pretty good about now.)
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To: FredZarguna

> -sub-rule: Any actual harm caused by gravity, explosives, trains, malfunctioning ACME® devices, or misadventure is merely temporary.

He must’ve had ObummerCare.


36 posted on 03/05/2015 4:20:51 AM PST by dayglored (Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is...sounding pretty good about now.)
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To: beaversmom
How about when the roadrunner steps into a garage and changes into SUPERBIRD.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

37 posted on 03/05/2015 5:27:51 AM PST by Cowman (How can the IRS seize property without a warrant if the 4th amendment still stands?)
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To: beaversmom

Those cartoons frustrated me to no end.

Why couldn’t the coyote, just once, have been allowed to enjoy a nice meal of roadrunner?

I was always rooting for the coyote to catch that annoying bird.

On a related topic, I finally saw a real live roadrunner a few years ago. I recognized it because I had seen Roadrunner so many times in the cartoons. It ran into the freeway in front of me, and I had no time to stop. Since it was running left, I decided to swerve right to try to miss it. When it saw me coming, it decided to turn around and run back off the freeway. So I ended up hitting it square on. The poor bird was vaporized in a cloud of feathers. After killing the only roadrunner I have ever seen, I am probably jinxed against ever seeing another one.


38 posted on 03/05/2015 10:23:21 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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To: CharlesOConnell

I love that movie.


39 posted on 03/05/2015 1:23:46 PM PST by Disambiguator
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To: exDemMom

Road runners are stupid like that. Armadillos even more so.


40 posted on 03/05/2015 1:28:17 PM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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