Decent, post-Warners-stint fare from Chuck Jones. Although Mr. Jones seems to have exhausted all his really great ideas by 1965, what remains is still better than any other animation of the era. While not a picture to seek out, if you are in the audience when it plays, you won't suffer.
8 Reviews
Christmas greetings from Coyote
Horst_In_Translation3 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"Freeze Frame" is a 7-minute cartoon from over 35 years ago and it was directed by the legendary Chuck Jones later in his career, way into his sixties already at this point. It stars Road Runner and Coyote and it is really the setting that makes a difference here. They are not in the dry desert this time, but in the cold snow. I wonder if this came out during the holidays. It certainly would have been a good fit with the atmosphere and also all the Christmas melodies in the background. Apart from that, it's the usual. Coyote tries to catch Roadrunner and always fails of course, even with the help of the most modern gadgets. It all backfires and Coyote keeps getting in trouble with all the new inventions that were actually supposed to help him catch his nemesis. I won't go into detail about particular gadgets or scenes, but there were a couple funny ones included in here and the last shot with the Christmas sign was cute too. A good watch during the holidays. Recommended.
Great start
rbverhoef25 April 2004
A late Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote cartoon, 'Freeze Frame' has a great start and is nice from there, although the second part of the cartoon can't live up to the first part. In this cartoon the Coyote learns from a book called 'Everything You Always wanted to Know About Road Runners But Were Afraid To Ask' that Road Runners hate the snow and that they are pretty easy to catch in a snow drift. First he tries to make snow with an Acme machine, some very funny moments, but when that doesn't work he leads the Road Runner to some real snow.
From that moment the short is a little too much of the same and the predictable jokes do not really work anymore. Still, the great start makes sure you will like this cartoon.
From that moment the short is a little too much of the same and the predictable jokes do not really work anymore. Still, the great start makes sure you will like this cartoon.
Though the book claims that road runners are "easy to catch" in . . .
oscaralbert19 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
. . . snow drifts, Wile E. Coyote does not have much luck going this route during FREEZE FRAME. Nor does he fare any better with the aid of the Acme Little Giant Cloud Seeder--"Makes giant snow" (always piling up just on top of HIM!)--or the Acme Speed Skates, the Acme Jet-propelled skis, the Acme Dog Sled (complete with a dozen 92-pound dogs), or even the Acme Rocket Horse and Road Runner Lasso. Mr. Coyote only takes about two Death Plunges during FREEZE, perhaps a nod to the fact that deserts tend to be kinder, gentler locales in Winter time. This six-minute animated short originally was the middle piece of a Looney Tunes Triptych titled BUGS BUNNY'S LOONEY CHR!STMAS TALES. In fact, its a shade better than the opening offering (BUGS BUNNY'S CHR!STMAS CAROL) or the concluding part (FRIGHT BEFORE CHR!STMAS). Perhaps that's because FREEZE does the best job of thawing out the spirit of Warner Bros.' animation heyday from the 1940s and 1950s.
Classic Chuck Jones it isn't, for a late Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon it's not bad
TheLittleSongbird29 May 2016
Chuck Jones' Roadrunner vs Wile E Coyote cartoons ranged from thoroughly enjoyable to some of the best and funniest cartoons he and Looney Tunes ever made. The series sadly took a nosedive in quality around 1965 and even more unfortunate was that the series never got back to its former glory.
'Freeze Frame', a late 70s made for TV effort, is not even close to being classic Chuck Jones. It does however make do for a later Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon and is significantly better than the 1965-1968 efforts (which saw some bad stuff generally from all the major Looney Tunes characters).
It is true that Jones' best ideas were long gone by the time 'Freeze Frame' was made, but there is no mistaking his visual and humour style here and they are put to good if not great or classic display in 'Freeze Frame'. The story is basic and routine with a bit too much of a samey feel at times, but is efficiently paced and never feels tired. The gags while not hilarious are sweet and funny, with some knowing references, well-known physical humour and good timing. So this viewer had a good chuckle, without busting a gut.
The animation has an obvious made-for-TV look, but despite some stiff movement and lack of finesse in places it is not bad. It's colourful enough, with some nice wintry detail, Coyote's expressions are very cleverly drawn and priceless and Roadrunner is much better rendered than he was in the Rudy Larriva-directed cartoons. There is a canned sound to the music, but there are also some nice sounds, nothing sounds cheap, it's energetic and unlike Bill Lava's scores for the Rudy Larriva cartoons it fits at least, without being completely action enhancing.
Coyote has always been the funnier and more interesting character of the two between him and Roadrunner, and he is as cunning, funny and rootable as ever. Roadrunner's material isn't quite as funny, though it's amusing, but he is far less annoying than he was in the 1965-1968 cartoons and the dynamic between him and Coyote is strong.
All in all, not bad but falls short of being another Chuck Jones classic. 6/10 Bethany Cox
'Freeze Frame', a late 70s made for TV effort, is not even close to being classic Chuck Jones. It does however make do for a later Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon and is significantly better than the 1965-1968 efforts (which saw some bad stuff generally from all the major Looney Tunes characters).
It is true that Jones' best ideas were long gone by the time 'Freeze Frame' was made, but there is no mistaking his visual and humour style here and they are put to good if not great or classic display in 'Freeze Frame'. The story is basic and routine with a bit too much of a samey feel at times, but is efficiently paced and never feels tired. The gags while not hilarious are sweet and funny, with some knowing references, well-known physical humour and good timing. So this viewer had a good chuckle, without busting a gut.
The animation has an obvious made-for-TV look, but despite some stiff movement and lack of finesse in places it is not bad. It's colourful enough, with some nice wintry detail, Coyote's expressions are very cleverly drawn and priceless and Roadrunner is much better rendered than he was in the Rudy Larriva-directed cartoons. There is a canned sound to the music, but there are also some nice sounds, nothing sounds cheap, it's energetic and unlike Bill Lava's scores for the Rudy Larriva cartoons it fits at least, without being completely action enhancing.
Coyote has always been the funnier and more interesting character of the two between him and Roadrunner, and he is as cunning, funny and rootable as ever. Roadrunner's material isn't quite as funny, though it's amusing, but he is far less annoying than he was in the 1965-1968 cartoons and the dynamic between him and Coyote is strong.
All in all, not bad but falls short of being another Chuck Jones classic. 6/10 Bethany Cox
One of the better later Road Runner cartoons
Elil19 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
In 1979, Warner Bros. was putting together a TV special named Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales which contained 3 new cartoons. Freeze Frame was one of them. It was Chuck Jones' first Road Runner cartoon since 1964.
Here, Wile E. Coyote discovers that Road Runners hate snow. First, he tries a snow machine, but that doesn't work. Then he switches the desert and snow signs so the Road Runner actually goes to a snowy mountain. Wile E., however, doesn't have much success.
This cartoon has laughs all the way through. You will never be bored. The animation, even the backgrounds and the drawings are excellent and amazing! This cartoon should get more respect than it now does. Freeze Frame is an instant classic.
I'll give it 9 out of 10. Recommended.
Here, Wile E. Coyote discovers that Road Runners hate snow. First, he tries a snow machine, but that doesn't work. Then he switches the desert and snow signs so the Road Runner actually goes to a snowy mountain. Wile E., however, doesn't have much success.
This cartoon has laughs all the way through. You will never be bored. The animation, even the backgrounds and the drawings are excellent and amazing! This cartoon should get more respect than it now does. Freeze Frame is an instant classic.
I'll give it 9 out of 10. Recommended.
Grotesques Appetitius
utgard1429 September 2015
Originally part of the Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales TV special, this later Chuck Jones effort is surprisingly not terrible. I say surprisingly because, let's face it, 99.9% of the post-classic era Looney Tunes are garbage or garbage approximate. This one also pales in comparison to earlier greats but it's pretty watchable and even amusing in spots. The animation is colorful but flat like you might expect from something produced for television. The score sounds like it's canned but still fits the action better than most of Bill Lava's inferior '60s music. None of the gags are all that great but the wintry backdrop is something different. It's Chuck Jones' first Road Runner short in over a decade and arguably his last good one. He did one more the following year and another in the '90s but neither were remarkable.
Grotesques appetitus frigidus
fayremead25 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
The Roadrunner and Coyote are introduced by the same 'freeze frame' method used in the first few shorts of the series. Touches of the 1970s are seen in titles such as "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Roadrunners But Were Afraid to Ask" and "The Acme Whole- Roadrunner Catalog." The sequence in which Coyote tries to use a snow machine is derivative of the catapult gag in "Adventures of the Road Runner," but is laugh-worthy in its own right (nice touch with the rollers on each snowball). The chase moves to snow country, where Coyote uses ice skates, jet-propelled skis, sled dogs, a rocking horse and a lasso to no avail. Finally, he tries to drop a giant snowball on his quarry.
This short isn't as well-drawn as the classic Roadrunner cartoons which were released from 1949 to 1964, and some of the animation is too self-conscious. But the old Chuck Jones spirit still prevails, with good faux-Latin titles (Grotesques appetitus, Semper food-ellus), funny expressions and clever gags. Toward the end, a rock formation is made to look like an ice cream cone, then Coyote emerges with a snow beard which makes him look like Santa (without fat, of course).
-Tony.
This short isn't as well-drawn as the classic Roadrunner cartoons which were released from 1949 to 1964, and some of the animation is too self-conscious. But the old Chuck Jones spirit still prevails, with good faux-Latin titles (Grotesques appetitus, Semper food-ellus), funny expressions and clever gags. Toward the end, a rock formation is made to look like an ice cream cone, then Coyote emerges with a snow beard which makes him look like Santa (without fat, of course).
-Tony.
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