Philosophy of Cartoons, Wile E Coyote Roadrunner

Looney Tunes, Pinky and the Brain, Morals, Cartoon Violence

Sep 21, 2009

Saturday morning cartoons may seem like pointless fun. But maybe there is a meaning to the madness? This is part one of three in the philosophy of cartoons series.

Here is the scene: Wile E. Coyote finally thinks he has outsmarted the Roadrunner with another one of his fiendishly elaborate schemes. This time around, he has acquired a perfect size ACME helicopter fast enough to chase down his meal. He puts an anvil in the bottom of the helicopter to balance the weight, to stay low to the road. Soon he is in a high-speed chase down the road with Roadrunner. He opens the glass hatch, with his fork in hand, when suddenly he hits the brick wall of a tunnel. After crashing to the ground, the anvil, once in the helicopter, inexplicably falls on the head of the discombobulated Coyote. Merely seconds later he is run over by a truck, driven by none other than the Roadrunner.

Positive and Negative Philosophical Messages in Cartoons

This scene surprisingly incorporates a lot of positive and negative philosophical messages that are common in many cartoons that follow the cat-and-mouse pattern (one character always stymied by another character). These cartoons, and especially Roadrunner, incorporate morals, comedic violence, absurdity and the role of science versus nature. Aristotle would argue that the Roadrunner seems to be living the “good life” and Coyote is the perfect slave, because Coyote is ruled by his desire, as Plato would suggest in his Three Parts of the Soul. All of these cartoons are exceedingly existential, with Coyote being the typical existential hero. It could be argued, however, that both Coyote and Roadrunner find their own meaning by playing the cat and mouse game. Roadrunner can be seen for entertainment value, but there are unquestionable underlying philosophical elements present in this and many similar children’s cartoons.

Morals in Coyote and Roadrunner Show and Pinky and the Brain

Like almost any cartoon, Roadrunner is aimed at young children, and has its positive and negative morals. Wile E. Coyote is an interesting character, in that he is extremely determined to catch the Roadrunner. Every episode he comes up with new and different methods for catching his prey. For these characteristics, he presents a good message to all who watch: to never give up, and keep trying new and different things. Another cartoon that shares this view is Pinky and the Brain. Every episode, the two mice, Pinky and Brain, think up new schemes to take over the world, but like Coyote, fail on every attempt. Even though these are positive messages, there is something troubling with what the characters are trying to achieve.

Trying to kill a Roadrunner, or take over the world is hardly a message that should be projected and encouraged. Maybe this is why these characters continually fail at their task; otherwise, the cartoons would share a discouraging message: world domination is possible. Maybe then, the real message portrayed is to quit while you are ahead?

The Roadrunner is also an influential character, but the message that he depicts to children must be questioned as well. On most occasions, he seems to be instigating Coyote by mocking him. Children must absorb this message over time, because when they know when a parent is irritated, they will never let up.

Cartoon Violence is Funny

Another negative moral present in these cartoons is the message that violence is funny. The example used above was quite hilarious, but the absurdity of what happens, makes it funny. Wile E. Coyote can be chopped up, squashed, burnt, blown up, fall a thousand feet and shatter like glass, yet is back in action for the next scene. The viewers will ultimately grow to understand the way that slapstick comedy works, and quickly dismiss the ridiculous logistics of all cartoons.

Yet, it is proven in society that most kind of slapstick violence outside of cartoons is quite amusing as well. Witnessing someone slipping on ice, or getting hit with a ball is humorous in reality as well as in cartoons. It seems that this message could have stemmed from the generation of Looney Tunes cartoons in the 1940’s and on.

The copyright of the article Philosophy of Cartoons, Wile E Coyote Roadrunner in Film Studies is owned by Derek Putz. Permission to republish Philosophy of Cartoons, Wile E Coyote Roadrunner in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.