Zoom at the Top is a 1962 Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble.
Title[]
The title is a pun on the 1959 film Room at the Top.
Plot[]
The Road Runner (Disappearialis quickius) zooms to the end of a cliff and watches as Wile E. Coyote (Overconfidentii vulgaris) takes steps back on a different cliff, attempting to jump to the other side, and the end falls off when he steps on it, and the title appears. While falling, the rock turns upside down and Wile E. struggles to get on the new top side. He thinks that he's done it and starts panting until he realizes that he's upside down again. He gets the pointy end stuck between two cliff ends. He then goes on the left end, and that one falls! The cliff hits the ground, and a small accordion-squished Wile E. walks away with the coney cliff end on him.
Later, Wile E., who is back to normal, then again chases the Road Runner. When the Road Runner stops at the top of a loop and gets Wile E. to stop as well, the bird points at the ground. Wile E.'s nose then points to the ground, before he falls to the ground too! Road Runner zips off. Wile E. then tries to think of a plan, but finally admits he is clueless.
- Wile E. then sets up a bear trap in the middle of the road, struggling in the process. Once the trap is set, he placed a bowl of ACME Bird Seed on the trap's base and hides behind a rock. The Road Runner sees the bird seed, eats it and zooms off but the trap does not go off. Confused, the Coyote approaches the trap with an oilcan, applies a tiny drop of oil to the base while standing inside the trap, then SNAP! The zig-zag shaped Coyote walks off with a deadpan "Ouch".
- An attempt to chase the Road Runner with a jet mobile ends up with the motor's fire burning the support beam, causing the entire mobile to fall as well.
- Wile E. uses an ACME Instant Icicle Maker. "Freeze Your Friend-Loads of Laughs". After experimenting on a cactus, he tries to freeze the Road Runner. As soon as he hears the "Beep-Beep!", he jumps out on the road to see the approaching bird, but the machine then activates, and since the Coyote is standing under the tube which shoots the ice, he gets frozen instead. Wile E. tries to thaw himself out with a magnifying glass, but only ends up melting himself into a puddle along with the ice as well.
- Finally, the Coyote paints iron glue on an ACME Boomerang, but when he prepares to launch the boomerang, the glue droops down onto his hand, sticking the Coyote onto the boomerang and carrying him with it as he throws it. While still in the air, Wile E. attempts to free himself from the sticky boomerang, but only ends up getting both his hands stuck on his head. He crashes rear first on the ground, then walks away with the boomerang stuck on his back legs. An iris out shaped like a boomerang appears, then stops to show the words "The End".
Availability[]
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 15: A Battle of Wits
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- This was one of seven cartoons (not counting "The Jet Cage", as William Lava also did music for that short) scored by Milt Franklyn that were released after his death, alongside "A Sheep in the Deep", "Crows' Feat", "Mexican Boarders", "Bill of Hare", "The Slick Chick", "Louvre Come Back to Me!", "Honey's Money", and "Mother Was a Rooster".
- Not counting "Adventures of the Road-Runner" and its two cut downs, this is the only Road Runner cartoon to have dialogue. In this case, Wile E. saying "Ouch".
Gallery[]
Best of Backgrounds[]
TV Title Cards[]
External links[]
- "Zoom at the Top" at the SFX Resource