Cartoon a Day: Stop! Look! And Hasten!

Stop! Look! And Hasten!
1953
Directed by Chuck Jones
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2



My first selection for "A Cartoon a Day" is a classic Road Runner short, "Stop! Look! and Hasten!" This short definitely has a progression to it. Starting slowly with several long takes from the coyote and building to a quick succession of gags.

Of all the bits I think my favorite is the one where the Coyote uses a book called How to Build a Burmese Tiger Trap. Also great is a gag involving a retractable wall that doesn't work early in the film, but that pays off later as the film's closing gag.

Like many of the Road Runner series, this one features some beautiful background paintings and you can start to see hints of some of the unique design styles that would be used for elements such as rocks and bushes that would be taken to greater extremes later in the series.

It's hard to go wrong with a Road Runner short. This one is a favorite!