Mexicali Shmoes

Mexicali Shmoes
Looney Tunes (Speedy Gonzales) series
Title card
Directed by	Friz Freleng
Produced by	Edward Selzer (uncredited)
Story by	Warren Foster
Voices by	Mel Blanc Tom Holland (uncredited)
Music by	Milt Franklyn
Animation by	Virgil Ross Gerry Chiniquy Arthur Davis
Layouts by	Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds by	Tom O'Loughlin
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	July 4, 1959
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	6 minutes
Language	English

Mexicali Shmoes is a 1959 Looney Tunes cartoon short directed by Friz Freleng. Voice actors are Mel Blanc as the voices of cats Jose and Manuel and Speedy Gonzales plus an uncredited Tom Holland as the voice of Slowpoke Rodriguez.

The Academy Award-nominated cartoon has two singing cats, Jose and Manuel, chasing Speedy Gonzales in Mexico. This cartoon introduces Slowpoke Rodriguez, Speedy's cousin. Slowpoke would appear in only one other classic Looney Tunes short, 1962's Mexican Boarders.

Plot

Two sombrero-wearing cats, Jose and Manuel, are singing while relaxing on the "Avenida de Gatos" when they are taunted by Speedy Gonzales. After Manuel fails to catch Speedy, Jose informs Manuel that Speedy is "the fastest mouse in all Mexico" and that they will have to use their brains, not their feet, to catch him. The pair set off for Speedy's home in Guadalajara where they try (and fail) to capture him. During their struggles, Manuel gets bonked on the head by Jose with a guitar, Jose hooks Speedy with a fishing line and gets towed to Los Angeles, Manuel gets blown up by dynamite, and both cats get blown up in a minefield they constructed. Jose and Manuel are sitting on top of a wall after failing to outsmart Speedy and catch him. Manuel laments they should have gone after Speedy's cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez, the "slowest mouse in all Mexico". Jose is convinced to go after him and runs off. Manuel desperately tries to catch up to him and warn about Slowpoke. No sooner than Jose arrives at the mouse house and catches him, Slowpoke shoots him. Manuel tells Jose exactly what he was trying to warn him about Slowpoke: "He packs a gun."

Censorship

On Cartoon Network, the end gag where Jose captures Slowpoke Rodriguez was edited to remove the part where Slowpoke shoots Jose in the face with a gun just as Manuel tries to warn him that Slowpoke Rodriguez keeps a gun on him. Several Speedy Gonzales shorts were edited by the network to avoid offending modern sensibilities.^[1] The unedited cartoon was released on DVD in November 2006 on the third disc of Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume Four.^[2]

Awards and honors

• Mexicali Shmoes was nominated in the Best Short Subjects, Cartoons category at the 32nd Academy Awards in 1959.^[3]

References

1. ^ Park, Michael Y.. "Speedy Gonzales Caged by Cartoon Network". FoxNews.com. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,48872,00.html. Retrieved November 17, 2011. 
2. ^ Desowitz, Bill (August 29, 2006). "Frank Tashlin Spotlighted in New Golden Looney Tunes DVD Collection". Animation World Network. http://www.awn.com/news/home-entertainment/frank-tashlin-spotlighted-new-golden-looney-tunes-dvd-collection. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
3. ^ "9 Shorts Named for Oscars". The New York Times: p. 38. February 11, 1960. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A14F63A5C16738DDDA80994DA405B808AF1D3. Retrieved November 16, 2011. 

External links

• Mexicali Shmoes at the Internet Movie Database