| To Beep or Not to Beep | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Chuck Jones Maurice Noble Tom Ray (uncredited) (co-directors) |
| Story by | John Dunn Chuck Jones Michael Maltese (uncredited) |
| Produced by | David H. DePatie (uncredited) |
| Starring | Paul Julian Mel Blanc (both uncredited) |
| Music by | Bill Lava |
| Animation by | Richard Thompson Bob Bransford Tom Ray Ken Harris Harry Love (effects animation) |
| Layouts by | Maurice Noble (uncredited) |
| Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 minutes |
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[1] (albeit uncredited), and directed by Jones, Maurice Noble and Tom Ray were the co-directors (albeit the latter is left uncredited).[2] 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Almost all of the footage was originally made as part of a 1962 television pilot named Adventures of the Road Runner.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).[3][4] A whole new soundtrack was crafted by musician Bill Lava and editor Treg Brown.
- ^ "Adventures of the Road-Runner". Super Cartoons. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney tunes and merrie melodies : a complete illustrated guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 345–346. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Animator Breakdown: “The Adventures of the Road-Runner” (1962)
- ^ Jones, J.R. (2004-07-01). "Idiots Savants". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2022-07-18.