The last several years have been a weird time to be a Looney Tunes fan. Much of the animated franchise’s programming is no longer available to stream with an HBO Max subscription, and Coyote vs. Acme was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2023. However, last year The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, distributed by Ketchup Entertainment, was met with critical acclaim, leading to Ketchup also acquiring Coyote vs. Acme and slating it on the 2026 movies schedule. Now today brings word about another Looney Tunes character who’s getting their own movie, and I’m surprised, but also excited by who’s been picked.
Warner Bros. has tapped The Book of Life and Maya and the Three director Jorge R. Gutiérrez to helm an animated Speedy Gonzales movie, per THR. There’s no writer attached to the project, nor were any plot details revealed in the report. However, Gutiérrez did tease on social media last month that he was working on something Speedy Gonzales-related:
Although he technically debuted in the 1953 cartoon Cat-Tails for Two, it wasn’t until 1955 that the fully-formed Speedy Gonzales, created by Robert McKimson and Friz Freleng, first appeared in the animated short of the same name. Although there was a period when Speedy was a subject of controversy due to perceived political incorrectness, which resulted in his shorts being temporarily removed from Cartoon Network, he remains one of the most well-known Looney Tunes characters. In addition to appearing on recent TV shows like The Looney Tunes Show and New Looney Tunes, he was also voiced by Gabriel Iglesias in 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy.
With Jorge R. Gutiérrez’s extensive background in animation, which includes creating the Emmy-winning Nickelodeon series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, I don’t doubt he’ll be able to put together a worthy movie focused on Speedy Gonzales. This will be the second attempt at giving the wisecracking speedster his own feature film, as a previous incarnation entered development back in 2016, with Eugenio Derbez being cast as the character. Fingers crossed that Gutiérrez has better luck, and here’s what Warner Bros. Pictures Animation president Bill Damaschke had to say about his hiring to THR:
Jorge is a singular storyteller whose voice, artistry and cultural perspective make every project he touches feel both timeless and completely new. We couldn’t be more excited to have him reimagining Speedy Gonzales, one of our most beloved Looney Tunes characters, for today’s global audience.
Speedy Gonzalez is one of the more underutilized Looney Tunes characters, in my opinion, so I’m looking forward to seeing him take the cinematic spotlight if this movie moves forward. Also, just in case it wasn’t clear earlier, this Speedy Gonzales movie will be fully animated, as opposed to an animated/live-action hybrid like Coyote vs. Acme. As such, I’m curious about if, like how The Day the Earth Blew Up focused on Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, this feature will only give screen time to characters that directly revolve around Speedy, or if the door is open for other Looney Tunes heavy-hitters to appear.
If Warner Bros. greenlights the Speedy Gonzales movie, let’s hope it doesn’t have as rocky a journey getting to our eyes as Coyote vs. Acme has. That flick, which stars Will Forte, John Cena and Lana Condor, hits theaters on August 28. You can also watch plenty of classic Looney Tunes content for free on Tubi.
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