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SpeedyGonzales
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thisarticleisaboutthecartooncharacter.Forotheruses,seeSpeedyGonzales(disambiguation).
SpeedyGonzales(commonlyshortenedtojustSpeedy)
isananimatedcartooncharacterintheWarnerBrothers
LooneyTunesandMerrieMelodiesseriesofcartoons.
Heisportrayedas"TheFastestMouseinallMexico"
withhismajortraitsbeingtheabilitytorunextremely
fastandspeakingwithanexaggeratedMexicanaccent
andalsospeakingSpanish.Heusuallywearsan
oversizedyellowhatofMexicancharro,whiteshirtand
trousers(whichwasacommontraditionaloutfitwornby
menandboysofruralMexicanvillages),andared
kerchief,similartothatofsometraditionalMexican
attires.[1]Todate,therehavebeen46cartoonsmade
eitherstarringorfeaturingthischaracter.

Contents
1History
1.1Notablecartoonappearances
2Concernaboutstereotypes
3Otherappearances
4Inothermedia
5References
6Furtherreading
7Externallinks

History
AccordingtoWilliamAnthonyNericcio,thenamemay
havebeenderivedfromoneofthejokesaboutaMexican
mannicknamed"SpeedyGonzales"eitherbecauseofhis
prematureejaculationorofhisabilitytoquicklygraba
chanceforcopulation,thoughthenameofthecharacter
wasnotintendedtobederogatory.[2]

SpeedyGonzales

SpeedyGonzales,fromthe1955shortSpeedy
Gonzales.
First
CatTailsforTwo(earlyversion)
appearance August29,1953
SpeedyGonzales(officialversion)
September17,1955
Createdby RobertMcKimson(prototype)
FrizFreleng,HawleyPratt(official)
Voicedby MelBlanc(19531989)
JoeAlaskey(commercials,TinyToon
Adventures,LooneyTunes:Cartoon
Conductor)
EricGoldberg(LooneyTunes:Backin
Action)
BobBergen(LooneyTunes:Backin
Action(videogame),Bah,Humduck!
ALooneyTunesChristmas)
FredArmisen(TheLooneyTunes
Show,LooneyTunes:RabbitsRun)
Information
Species

Mouse

Speedy'sfirstappearancewasin1953's"CatTailsfor
Gender
Male
Two"thoughheappearedlargelyinname(andsuper
Relatives SlowpokeRodriguez(cousin)
speed)only.ItwouldbetwoyearsbeforeFrizFreleng
andanimatorHawleyPrattredesignedthecharacterinto
Nationality Mexican
hismodernincarnationforthe1955FrelengshortSpeedy
Gonzales.ThecartoonfeaturesSylvestertheCatguardingacheesefactoryattheUnitedStatesMexican
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borderfromagroupofstarvingMexicanmice.Themicecallinthe
plucky,excessivelyenergeticSpeedytosavethem,andamidcries
of"ndale!ndale!Arriba!Arriba!Epa!Epa!Epa!
Yeehaw!"(Spanishfor"Goon!Goon!Up!Up!",although"ndale
arriba"mayhavebeenintendedasmeaning"hurryup")courtesyof
MelBlanc,Sylvestersoongetshiscomeuppance.Thecartoonwon
the1955AcademyAwardforBestShortSubject(Cartoons).
WhileSpeedy'slastnamewasgivenasGonzalezinCatTails(ona
printedbusinesscardshowninthecartoon),itwasspelledwithan
's'fromSpeedyGonzalesonward.Today,theearlierspellingis
occasionallyusedbyaccident.
AprototypeversionofSpeedy
GonzalesinCatTailsforTwo.

FrelengandMcKimsonsoonsetSylvesterupasSpeedy'sregular
nemesisinaseriesofcartoons,muchinthesamewayChuckJones
hadpairedWileE.CoyoteandTheRoadRunnerinhisRoad
Runnercartoons.Sylvester(oftencalled"ElGringoPussygato"bySpeedy)isconstantlyoutsmartedand
outrunbytheMouse,causingthecattosufferallmannerofpainandhumiliationfrommousetrapsto
accidentallyconsuminglargeamountsofTabascohotsauce.Othercartoonspairthemousewithhiscousin,
SlowpokeRodriguez,the"slowestMouseinallMexico."Slowpokeregularlygetsintoallsortsoftrouble
thatoftenrequireSpeedytosavehimbutonecatinMexicaliShmoessaysthatasiftocompensateforhis
slowness,"hepackagun!"[3]Inthemid1960s,Speedy'smainrivalbecameDaffyDuck.

Notablecartoonappearances
CatTailsforTwo(1953)Debut,prototype
SpeedyGonzales(1955)Debut,official
TabascoRoad(1957)
ThePiedPiperofGuadalupe(1961)
It'sNicetoHaveaMouseAroundtheHouse(1965)firstappearancewithDaffyDuck.
SeeYaLaterGladiator(1968)finaltheatricalappearance.
AcademyAwardwinner,28th(1955)ShortSubject(Cartoon)[4]
AcademyAwardnominated[5]

Concernaboutstereotypes
FeelingthatthecharacterpresentedanoffensiveMexicanstereotype,CartoonNetworkshelvedSpeedy's
filmswhenitgainedexclusiverightstobroadcastthemin1999(AsasubsidiaryofTimeWarner,Cartoon
NetworkisacorporatesiblingtoWarnerBros.).InaninterviewwithFoxNewsonMarch28,2002,
CartoonNetworkspokeswomanLaurieGoldbergcommented,"Ithasn'tbeenontheairforyearsbecauseof
itsethnicstereotypes."[5]
Despitesuchcontroversyoverpotentiallyoffensivecharacterizations,SpeedyGonzalesremainedapopular
characterinLatinAmerica.[5]TheHispanicAmericanrightsorganizationLeagueofUnitedLatin
AmericanCitizenscalledSpeedya"culturalicon",andthousandsofusersregisteredtheirsupportofthe
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characteronthehispaniconline.commessageboards.FancampaignstoputSpeedybackontheairresulted
inthereturnoftheanimatedshortstoCartoonNetworkin2002.[6]
OntheLooneyTunesGoldenCollectionDVDboxsets,theSpeedycartoonsareprefacedbyadisclaimer
thatstates:
Thecartoonsyouareabouttoseeareproductsoftheirtime.Theymaydepictsomeoftheethnicand
racialprejudicesthatwerecommonplaceinAmericansociety.Thesedepictionswerefalsethenand
arestillfalsetoday.WhilethefollowingdoesnotrepresenttheWBviewofsociety,thesecartoons
arebeingpresentedastheywereoriginallycreated,becausetodootherwisewouldbethesameasto
claimtheseprejudicesneverexisted.

Otherappearances
Mainarticle:ListofSpeedyGonzalescartoons
In1983,hecostarredinDaffyDuck'sMovie:FantasticIsland.In1988,hemadeacameoappearancein
theendingsceneofWhoFramedRogerRabbit.HehadoneappearanceintheTinyToonsepisodesegment
"TheAcmeAcresSummerOlympics",asthecoach,andservingasthementorofLightningRodriguez.In
1996,hemadeashortappearanceinfilmSpaceJam.In2003,hemadeacameoappearancealongside
PorkyPiginthefilmLooneyTunes:BackinAction,makingfunofhispoliticallyincorrectstatus.At
aroundthesametime,hemadeanonspeakingcameoinanepisodeofMuchaLucha!titled"Lucha,Rinse
andRepeat".In2009,hemadeacameoappearanceonKidvs.Katin"TheKatWhisperer".
Volume4oftheLooneyTunesGoldenCollectionDVDseries,releasedonNovember14,2006,hasan
entirediscofSpeedyshorts,althoughsomeofhisothershortshadpreviouslybeenreleasedonVolumes1
and3.SpeedyismentionedinoneDuckDodgersepisode,afterCadetsitsonDodgers,promptinghimto
say,"IknewIshould'vechosenSpeedyGonzalesasasidekick!"
SpeedyGonzalesalsoappearedoccasionallyonTheLooneyTunesShow,livingwithBugsandDaffyas
their"mouseinthewall"andrunningthepizzaparlorPizzariba.HeisshowntoactasDaffy's"Jiminy
Cricket",whichisafarcryfromtheantagonisticrelationshiptheyhadintheolddays.Theepisode"Sunday
NightSlice"showedthatBugsboughthisfavoriterestauranttopreventitfrombeingclosedandhired
Speedytohelphim.WhenBugsdecideshedoesn'twanttoownarestaurantanymore,hehandsownership
ofittoSpeedy.In"TheBlackWidow,"SpeedyGonzalesanswersDaffyDuck'scallandracestoTacapulco
toconvinceSheriffSlowpokeRodrigueztoletDaffyDuckandPorkyPigoutofjail.
SpeedyGonzalesappearedinthe2015StraighttovideomovieLooneyTunes:RabbitsRun.Heisseenas
LolaBunny'slandlord.

Inothermedia
In1962,popsingerPatBoonescoredatop10hitintheUnitedStateswiththesong"SpeedyGonzales"
whichfeaturedMelBlancspoutingfauxMexicanphrasesasSpeedy.ItwasalsosungbyManoloMuoz
andA.B.Quintanilla'sKumbiaAllStarz,whosemusicvideofeaturedSpeedy.
In1995,heappearedinavideogame,SpeedyGonzales:LosGatosBandidos,fortheSuperNintendo
EntertainmentSystem.
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In2006,VolkswagenlicensedSpeedyGonzalesforaseriesofSpanishlanguagecommercialsforthe
VolkswagenGolf,usingfootagefromthecartoonofthesamename.[7]
SpeedyGonzalesstarredinseveralvideogames:CheeseCatAstropheStarringSpeedyGonzalesforthe
MegaDrive/Genesis,MasterSystemandGameGear,SpeedyGonzales:LosGatosBandidosfortheSNES,
SpeedyGonzalesfortheGameBoyandSpeedyGonzales:AztecAdventurefortheGameBoyColor.He
alsoappearedasanenemyinLooneyTunes:BackinAction,andLooneyTunes:MarvinStrikesBack!as
bothaminibossandplayablecharacter.
In2010,SpeedyfeaturedinadvertsforVirginMedia.

References
1. "Puebla:trajestpicos".Retrieved23March2014.
2. Nericcio,WilliamAnthony(2007).Tex[t]Mex:SeductiveHallucinationsofthe"Mexican"inAmerica.
UniversityofTexasPress.p.139.ISBN0292714572.
3. "SpeedyGonzalesandSlowpokeRodriguezinMexicaliShmoes".YouTube.RetrievedApril11,2010.
4. "The28thAcademyAwards(1955)NomineesandWinnersShortSubject(Cartoon)".Oscars.org.Academyof
MotionPictureArtsandSciences.RetrievedJune9,2014.
5. Park,MichaelY.(March28,2002)."SpeedyGonzalesCagedbyCartoonNetwork".FoxNews.com.Retrieved
July7,2009.
6. Emling,Shelly(June21,2002)."ASpeedyreturn:CartoonNetworkputtingMexicanmousebackinthelineup".
MilwaukeeJournalSentinel.p.10B.RetrievedNovember6,2010.
7. "Arriba!VWTurnstoSpeedyGonzalesToPushGTI".Indiacar.net.March20,2006.RetrievedJuly7,2009.

Furtherreading
Nericcio,WilliamAnthony(1996).AutopsyofaRat:Odd,SundryParablesofFreddyLopez,
SpeedyGonzales,andOtherChicano/LatinoMarionettesPrancingaboutOurFirstWorldVisual
Emporium.(http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/cameraobscura/)CameraObscura37(January1996):189
237.
Nericcio,WilliamAnthony(2007).Tex[t]Mex:SeductiveHallucinationsofthe"Mexican"in
America.UniversityofTexasPress.
Schneider,Steve(1990).That'sAllFolks!:TheArtofWarnerBros.Animation.HenryHolt&Co.
Solomon,Charles(1994).TheHistoryofAnimation:EnchantedDrawings.RandomHouseValue
Publishing.

Externallinks
TheTex(t)MexGalleryblog
(http://textmex.blogspot.com/search?q=speedy+gonzales)an
archiveforthesecondeditionoftheUniversityofTexasPress
(2007)bookonstereotypes.

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoSpeedy
Gonzales.

Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Speedy_Gonzales&oldid=682679467"
Categories: BestAnimatedShortAcademyAwardwinners Fictionalmiceandrats
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Fictionalcharactersintroducedin1953 Fictionalanthropomorphiccharacters
FictionalMexicanpeople
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