''Mexican Boarders'' is a 1962

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

cartoon short directed by

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

. The short was released on May 12, 1962, and stars

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

and

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

. Voice actors are

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

(doing the voices of Sylvester and Speedy), and Tom Holland as the narrator. The cartoon has Sylvester trying to catch Speedy in a house they share in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Sylvester switches targets when

Slowpoke Rodriguez Slowpoke Rodríguez ("Lento Rodríguez" in Spanish, though some more recent translations call him "Tranquilino") is a fictional animated cartoon mouse, part of the Looney Tunes' cast. History and personality He is described as "the slowest mouse ...

, Speedy's cousin, comes to visit. This is the second and final classic Looney Tunes short (after ''

Mexicali Shmoes ''Mexicali Shmoes'' is a 1959 Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on July 4, 1959, and stars Speedy Gonzales and the singing cats Jose and Manuel. Voice actors include Mel Blanc as the v ...

'') to feature Slowpoke Rodriguez.

Plot

, "the fastest mouse in all Mexico", is living in the "fine

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

of José Álvaro Meléndez" in an unnamed "big city" in Mexico where fellow resident

Sylvester the Cat Sylvester Pussycat, Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic tuxedo cat in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. He appea ...

(dubbed "Sylverro Gato" here) is "the most pooped cat in all Mexico" from his futile attempts to catch Speedy. He eats

pep pill Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and in ...

s for energy to catch the mouse, to no effect. Their pursuit is interrupted when Speedy's country cousin,

, knocks on the door. Taller, thinner, and slower talking than Speedy, Slowpoke arrives carrying a bindle stick and singing "

La Cucaracha La Cucaracha ("The Cockroach") is a popular Mexican folk song about a cockroach who cannot walk. The song's origins are unclear, but it dates back at least to the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution. The song belongs to the Mexican genre. The s ...

". Sylvester, seeing easier prey, lets Slowpoke into the hacienda where he is quickly rescued by Speedy. Complaining of hunger, Slowpoke sets out for the kitchen to get food only to be rescued again by Speedy. Speedy successfully raids the kitchen for cheese but Slowpoke complains that his cousin forgot the

Tabasco sauce Tabasco is an American brand of hot sauce made from vinegar, tabasco peppers (''Capsicum frutescens'' var. ''tabasco''), and salt. It is produced by McIlhenny Company of Avery Island in south Louisiana, having been created over 150 years ago by ...

. During this second raid, Sylvester paints the floor with glue and actually catches Speedy but winds up swallowing the hot sauce, not the mouse, and Speedy escapes. After a very large meal, Slowpoke announces that he's ready for dessert. An incredulous Speedy makes another raid on the pantry where Sylvester has put up a

wire mesh Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

to stop the mice. Speedy runs right through the large holes with Sylvester right behind, stretching the mesh but passing through apparently unharmed. As the chase continues, Sylvester falls to pieces one cube at a time. That night, as Slowpoke and Speedy go to sleep in

bunk bed A bunk bed is a type of bed in which one bed frame is stacked on top of another, allowing two or more beds to occupy the floor space usually required by just one. They are commonly seen on ships, in the military, and in hostels, Dormitory, dor ...

s made from

match box Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designed ...

es, Slowpoke says he's still hungry and gets up to stage his own kitchen raid over Speedy's objections. Slowpoke reassures him, "maybe Slowpoke is pretty slow downstairs in the feet, but he is pretty fast upstairs in the

cabeza In Mexican cuisine, ''cabeza'' (''lit.'' 'head') is the meat from a roasted head of an animal, served as taco or burrito fillings. Typically, the whole head is placed on a steamer or grill, and customers may ask for particular parts of the body ...

." Sylvester does swiftly capture Slowpoke but the mouse instantly mesmerizes the cat, making him an unwilling servant to bring them food and cool them with a fan. ("I like your pussycat friend. He's nice and stupid.")

Other media

Portions of this short were edited into the 1964 short ''

Road to Andalay ''Road to Andalay'' is a 1964 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' animated short directed by Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt. The short was released on December 26, 1964, and is one of the last shorts to feature Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is ...

'' and the 1982 feature film '' Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales''.

Home media

The unedited cartoon was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in November 2006 on the third disc of '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4''. This DVD release includes a commentary track by animator

Greg Ford Greg Ford is an animator, director, historian and consultant to Warner Bros. Animation. He is perhaps best known for directing the films ''Daffy Duck's Quackbusters'', ''Weezer Slander: The Movie'', and '' (Blooper) Bunny''. Biography During ...

References

External links

* * {{Friz Freleng Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1962 films Films scored by Milt Franklyn 1962 animated films 1962 short films Short films directed by Friz Freleng Speedy Gonzales films Sylvester the Cat films Animated films about cats Animated films about mice Films set in Mexico 1960s Warner Bros. animated short films 1960s English-language films Films about hypnosis

Plot

Other media

Home media

See also

References

External links