Underplayed Gems

To Beep or Not to Beep (1963)

To Beep or Not to Beep poster
Directed by
Chuck Jones
Genre
animation, comedy
Country
United States
Runtime
7 min
Rated
NR
Rating
7.2 of 10 from 31 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like this

How it feels

Wile E. Coyote tries to catch the Road Runner using elaborate traps that backfire on him. The chase takes place in a desert landscape.

playfulfast-pacedslapstickwhimsicallightheartedcartoonishnostalgicsimple

What happens

To Beep or Not to Beep is a Merrie Melodies animated short starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Released on December 28, 1963, the cartoon was written by Chuck Jones, John Dunn, Michael Maltese (albeit uncredited), and directed by Jones, Maurice Noble and Tom Ray were the co-directors (albeit the latter is left uncredited). This is the penultimate Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote short that Chuck Jones directed at Warner Bros. during the original "classic" era. This is also the final Warner Bros. cartoon released in 1963. The title is a play on the famous line in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. This installment of the Coyote-Road Runner series marked the first time that no Latin-esque terms are used to indicate who each character is. Almost all of the footage was originally made as part of a 1962 television pilot named Adventures of the Road Runner. The pilot was rejected by ABC, and several gags from the short were rearranged into this cartoon in a cost-cutting measure (a similar practice was used in the Three Stooges two-reelers of the mid-to-late 1950s). A whole new soundtrack was crafted by musician Bill Lava and editor Treg Brown. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.