Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner
| Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters | |
The duo as seen in To Beep or Not to Beep (1963) | |
| First appearance | Fast and Furry-ous (September 17, 1949) |
| Created by | Chuck Jones Michael Maltese |
| Voiced by | Wile E. Coyote: Mel Blanc (1949–1989) Joe Alaskey (1990–2001) Bob Bergen (1998) Dee Bradley Baker (2003) Maurice LaMarche (2008) James Arnold Taylor (2014) J. P. Karliak (2015–2020, 2024–present) Eric Bauza (2018, 2023–present) Keith Ferguson (2022–present) The Road Runner: Paul Julian (1949–1994, 1996–present, vocal archives only) Mel Blanc (1964, 1973–1974, 1978) Jeff Bergman (1990, 2014, 2018) Joe Alaskey (2008) Eric Bauza (2018, 2023) (see below) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Wile E. Coyote: Coyote The Road Runner: Greater roadrunner |
| Gender | Male (both) |
| Relatives | Wile E. Coyote: Tech E. Coyote (descendant) The Road Runner: Rev Runner (descendant) |
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 short Fast and Furry-ous. In each film, the cunning, devious and constantly hungry coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and eat the roadrunner, but is humorously unsuccessful. Instead of using animal instinct, the coyote deploys absurdly complex schemes and devices to try to catch his prey. They comically backfire, with the coyote invariably getting injured in slapstick fashion. Many of the items for these contrivances are mail-ordered from the Acme Corporation and other companies. TV Guide included Wile E. Coyote in its 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time".
The characters were created for Warner Bros. in 1948 by Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese, with Maltese also setting the template for their adventures. The characters star in a long-running series of theatrical cartoon shorts (the first 16 of which were written by Maltese) and occasional made-for-television cartoons. Originally meant to parody chase-cartoon characters such as Tom and Jerry, they became popular in their own right. By 2014, 49 cartoons had been made featuring the characters (including the four CGI shorts), the majority by Jones.