" . . . hit (the canyon floor in my Death Plunge)?" Wile E. Coyote plaintively pleads with his presumed creators as the Warner Bros. animated short GEE WHIZ-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z wraps up. The main purpose of GEE is to illustrate the primary aspects of The Future's Quantum Physics and String Theory for the General Public of the 1950s. For instance, earlier in this cartoon Wile E. Coyote paints a mural of a fallen bridge over an imaginary canyon where neither exists, in an attempt to give the Roadrunner pause. Naturally, the mythical bird races right through this mirage, which doesn't even exist in the Mweep-Mweeper's Dimension. However, when Wile E. attempts to resume the Chase, he plunges into the canyon, since his own mind created it within HIS Dimension. Einstein could not have explicated String Theory any better. Just before Wile E.'s final travails in WHOA, he's chasing the Uncatchable Prey created by his own over-active Imagination while zooming along on an Acme Co. Wind Rider Jet, which Wile inadvertently shuts down to leave himself--and his ride--suspended over a chasm. This inert hunk of metal hangs motionless, defying the Law of Gravity, until the Roadrunner Mirage waves "Bye, bye" to Wile E., whose immediate plunge downward captures Quantum Physics in a nutshell.

Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956) *** (out of 4) The eighth pairing of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner is yet another winner, although the beatings poor Wile takes keep getting worse. This time out we don't even get past the opening credits when Mr. Wile is run down by a truck but we then get other attacks including large rocks, falling from cliffs and various bombs. One of the best sequences in the film is when the coyote dressing up as "bat-man" and tries to fly after his dinner. This plan works for a while but what makes the joke so funny is that you're expecting one gag but instead we get something else. Another great gag is the painted version of a broken bridge, which of course comes back to hurt Wile.

Seriously, if I had the ability, I would waste all my days watching Looney Tunes cartoons. Another perfect example as to why I would pursue such an extreme case of slothfulness is this cartoon here, which features more of Wile E. Coyote's attempts to catch his beloved Road Runner. Here we see yet more of Michael Maltese's ingenuity as our coyote continues his fixation on dynamite and many Acme products to get his bird.Wile E. Coyote (Eatius Birdius), goes for Road Runner (Delicius Delicius) yet again.Honestly, for the Jones/Maltese combo, this had become nearly standard fare. This is heightened with another foursome of excellent animators, who started together on the Pepe short, Wild Over You, a mere few years earlier. Does anyone know what Wile E. was going to accomplish with that bat costume? One of the better parts involve poor Wile E. holding up a steel plate to stop the Road Runner. If you love Looney Tunes, this is yet another mark on your checklist you must cross off!

"The Music Box" is the famous Laurel and Hardy film where the two struggle repeatedly to carry a piano up an endless flight of stairs up a hill. One really sympathizes with the two, until they reach the top, discover there's a road that leads up there, so they laboriously haul the piano back down the stairs to bring it up properly.In the same spirit, "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z" has us sympathizing with the Coyote, but realizing he's going to fail even if his contraptions do work - it isn't just physics he's fighting, it's his limited thinking.First, the Bat-Man costume - as he plummets to certain doom, he pulls up at the last moment and starts soaring beautifully (and the roadrunner sure can't fly!) but he gets cocky, and never sees the bluff looming in front of him.Then there's the jet engine with handlebars - it should defy working at all, but work it does (I've always wanted one of those!). He's got the roadrunner matched at last (the chase, with Raymond Scott's 'Powerhouse' playing, is such a euphoric depiction of speed), but falls for the exact same situation from the beginning of the cartoon when the roadrunner pulls a U-turn. Small wonder the coyote looks so sheepish when plummeting yet again, at least given the dignity of ending the cartoon before impact.