''Beep Prepared'' is a 1961

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' American theatrical cartoon short directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

and designer

Maurice Noble Maurice James Noble (May 1, 1911 – May 18, 2001) was an American animation production designer, background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate and right-hand man ...

. The short was released on November 11, 1961, and stars

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short '' Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, ...

. The title is a play on the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

motto " Be Prepared".

Plot

While getting ready to chase the roadrunner, Wile E. is startled by the Roadrunner's Beep Beep and falls backward off a cliff; he remains suspended in space until the roadrunner fires a starter pistol in the air; Wile E. falls to the canyon floor.After being run off the edge of the cliff, Wile E. Coyote begins his typical plotting of various methods to catch the bird. First, Wile E. tries to trip the Road Runner with his own foot, only to have it flattened by a passing delivery truck. Taking higher ground, Wile E. uses a bow and arrow to skewer the Road Runner, only to have the bow hit him in the nose instead (he ends up being flattened by two rocks). He tries to trap the Road Runner in a manhole, which the Road Runner uses as a portable hole (Wile E. falls through a bridge to a riverbank). Other traps include a rocket-powered flying suit (which explodes), a box of "ACME Iron Bird Seed" and a big magnet (which pulls him into the path of a train), a spring-loaded block of pavement (which ends up crushing him), a pair of

machine guns A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

connected by a

trip wire A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. Military applications Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines – especially fragm ...

(which the Roadrunner cuts; Wile E gets blasted by bullets), and an ACME Rocket-Sled Kit (which blasts off too early; Wile E goes off into space and explodes and turns into a giant firework in the sky of himself about to fire a arrow).

Awards

The film was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

, being the only Coyote/Road Runner short to receive this.

Crew

*Co-Director & Layouts:

*Animation:

Bob Bransford Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

Tom Ray Thomas Archer Ray (August 2, 1919 – April 6, 2010) was an American animator. Career Ray was born in Williams, Arizona. He began work at Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1937, working under Tex Avery for six months. He applied for a job at MGM and wa ...

Ken Harris Karyl Ross "Ken" Harris (July 31, 1898 – March 24, 1982) was an American animator best known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons under the supervision of director Chuck Jones. Life and career Ken Harris was born in Tulare County, Calif ...

& Richard Thompson *Backgrounds:

Philip DeGuard Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

*Effects Animation: Harry Love *Film Editor:

Treg Brown Tregoweth Edmond "Treg" Brown (November 4, 1899 – April 28, 1984) was an American motion picture sound editor who was responsible for the sound effects in Warner Bros.' ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons from 1936 to 1963. ...

*Music: Milt Franklyn *Produced by

David H. DePatie David Hudson DePatie (December 24, 1929 – September 23, 2021) was an American film and television producer who was the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio and the longest-living until his death. He also formed ...

& John W. Burton *Story by John Dunn &

*Directed by Chuck Jones

References

External links

* * {{Chuck Jones 1961 short films Merrie Melodies short films Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1961 animated films Short films directed by Chuck Jones Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner films Films scored by Milt Franklyn Films directed by Maurice Noble 1960s Warner Bros. animated short films Animated films without speech American animated short films Films about Canis Animated films about mammals Animated films about birds