The Wild Chase

{{Infobox film

| name = The Wild Chase

| image = TCWildChaseLT.png

| story = Friz Freleng
Cal Howard

| editing = Lee Gunther

| animator = Norm McCabe
Don Williams
Manny Perez
Warren Batchelder
LaVerne Harding{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |title=I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety |date=1991 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-1644-9 |page=153}}

| layout_artist = Dick Ung

| background_artist = Tom O'Loughlin

| music = Bill Lava

| cinematography =

| starring = Mel Blanc
Paul Julian

| producer = David H. DePatie
Friz Freleng

| writer =

| studio = DePatie–Freleng Enterprises

| distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation

| released = {{Film date|1965|02|27}}

| color_process = Technicolor

| runtime = 6:29

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

The Wild Chase is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt.{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=351}} The short was released on February 27, 1965, and stars Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester and Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312 |url-access=registration |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/137 137]}}

Plot

Wile E. Coyote and Sylvester the Cat consistently prove ineffectual in their pursuits to apprehend Speedy Gonzales and the Road Runner.

Initially, Wile E. Coyote descends precipitously from a cliff in his endeavor to capture the Road Runner, an occurrence subsequently replicated by Sylvester subsequent to an encounter with Speedy. Their strategy to launch rocks at their competitors goes awry, resulting in the rocks descending upon themselves. Subsequently, they covertly position iron pellets beneath birdseed and cheese, attaching a grenade to a magnet on a roller skate; however, this scheme concludes with the grenade detonating in Wile E.'s visage. Moreover, their attempt to dislodge a flat rock from a cliff results in both characters plunging over the edge. In their endeavor to demolish a culvert, they mishandle the detonator, precipitating the detonation of the dynamite upon themselves. Finally, they employ a rocket car to pursue the racers, ostensibly achieving victory, but are subsequently disqualified as only Speedy Gonzales and the Road Runner are duly registered participants.

The narrative culminates with Sylvester and Wile E. being propelled into the atmosphere as the rocket car erupts in a pyrotechnic display.

Crew

Co-Director: Hawley Pratt
Story: Friz Freleng & Cal Howard
Animation: Norm McCabe, Don Williams, Manny Perez, Warren Batchelder, Laverne Harding
Layout: Dick Ung
Backgrounds: Tom O'Loughlin
Film Editor: Lee Gunther
Voice Characterizations: Mel Blanc
Music: Bill Lava
Produced by: David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng
Directed by: Friz Freleng

Production notes

This cartoon represents the sole Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner production directed by Friz Freleng or Hawley Pratt, who were predominantly known for their work on Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester the Cat cartoons. It serves as a notable crossover between the Sylvester/Speedy and Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner series. This short is unique as the only Speedy Gonzales cartoon to feature Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, and conversely, the only Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner short to include Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester.

Additionally, it marks the final appearance of Speedy Gonzales with Sylvester the Cat and the last classic-era cartoon directed by Freleng. The content of the cartoon primarily comprises recycled animation and comedic gags from earlier Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner productions.