Speedy comes to the aid of a group of mice trying to get the cheese from a factory guarded by Sylvester.
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Reviews
Crappy film
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Despite the title, this is Speedy Gonzales' SECOND appearance, after Robert McKimson's Cat-Tails for Two. This is, however, his first time in the costume and design we know him from. In this short, after another mouse gets done for in trying to get cheese past the guard-Sylvester, Speedy accepts the challenge. The red-nosed cat is ready for the "fastest mouse in all Mexico" but gets defeated at every turn. This Oscar-winning cartoon from Friz Freleng gives us another classic Warner Bros. character that lasts for decades despite some PC controversy that almost got Speedy gone for good. Turns out many Hispanics consider Mr. Gonzales a hero for his exploits and don't find anything offensive about him. I certainly don't and I never understood why anyone would either. Anyway, while I don't consider this a great cartoon, it's certainly another highly enjoyable outing from Mr. Freleng.
What a timely cartoon....50 years later....although illegal immigration isn't the issue here - it's stealing and eating some cheese! Here we see a bunch of little mice (in sombreros) behind barbed wire at the border in Mexico. Just 50 yards away on the American side is the Ajax Cheese Company....and those mice want that cheese. Guarding the border is the hapless Sylvester the Cat.They draw straws to see who is going to race over give it a shot. Timid "Manuel" draws the short straw, but he lasts only seconds. The mice throw away is sombrero in a pile, signifying he's the latest casualty in the unsuccessful venture.Finally, one of the mice suggests they go get "Speedy Gonzales." Most of the others haven't heard of him but those who have all describe him as "the fastest mouse in Mexico." One guy says, "I can contact Speedy because he's a friend of my sister." A wise-guy mouse remarks, "He's a friend of EVERYBODY's sister!! (You can read into that, what you want!)Speedy then struts his stuff, and Sylvester tries to stop him. The racing rodent goes back and forth a number of times and the cat tries a different method to stop him each time. You can guess the result.A steady diet of Speedy yelling "arriba! arriba!" all the time might grow tedious, but seeing him once in awhile is a treat.
An apparent criticism of the Speedy Gonzales cartoons is that they stereotype Mexicans as sombrero-wearing wackos. I guess that this one - actually called "Speedy Gonzales" - basically does that, but it's still a really funny cartoon, as the Fastest Mouse in Mexico gets hired to snatch cheese out of a factory (presumably across the US-Mexico border) guarded by Sylvester.If in fact it's the US-Mexico border, then the cartoon raises the immigration debate. We see the people - or mice - in our southern neighbor needing to get into our country for better opportunities (as far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as an illegal immigrant). Then again, maybe I'm reading way too far into the cartoon; it was probably intended as nothing more than silly entertainment. If so, then it succeeds. Worth seeing.He's the friend of everybody's sister. Speedy certainly seems like he could be a playboy.
Man, I hope I'm in the majority here. But I gotta be honest, this mouse is so highly, extremely irritating. Does he ever shut up? Not only that but the whole character is kind of xenophobic and un-PC. Now I am certainly NOT one for being PC but I still find Speedy kinda offensive.In this cartoon he asked by his Mexican mouse pals to cross the border into America in bring them back cheese as they are all starving. Is there subtext here or am I reading too much into it?Sylvester is there to stop him. Or at least try. The usual Cat and Mouse hijinks follow. It's not really funny and I'm amazed it actually got an Academy Award.