History WesternAnimation / ToBeepOrNotToBeep

"To Beep or Not to Beep" was a WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Merrie Melodies cartoon released at the end of 1963. Almost all scenes except the very opening and TheReveal at the very end were taken from the 1962 full-length TV pilot ''Adventures of the Road Runner'' which was not picked up by a network. The pilot would be released to theatres alongside the Warner Bros. family film ''Film/LadADog'' before being recycled into three shorts, of which this is the first (and the only one director Creator/ChuckJones directly oversaw). This cartoon is therefore notable for having two versions, each with their own distinct musical scores. Milt Franklyn composed the music for the original pilot shortly before his death, while his successor as series music director William Lava wrote a new score for the short, with the latter being more familiar to viewers as that is the version that would be aired on television for decades afterward. It's also notable for having no explosions or instances of AshFace at all, a rarity in the Road Runner canon.

"To Beep or Not to Beep" was a WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Merrie Melodies cartoon released at the end of 1963. Almost all scenes except the very opening and TheReveal at the very end were taken from the 1962 full-length TV pilot ''Adventures of the Road Runner,'' for which Milt Franklyn (who had since died) composed the music. This cartoon is therefore notable for having two standalone versions, each with their own distinct musical scores (with the William Lava score being more familiar to viewers), and for having no instances of an explosion / AshFace at all.

* StockFootage: A bulk of the animation from this short is from an unsold pilot for a series entitled ''The Adventures of the Road Runner''. Other animation of it (primarily of the two boys watching the cartoons on television) were repurposed into the short ''Road Runner a-Go-Go''.

'''"To Beep or Not to Beep"''' was a WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Merrie Melodies cartoon released at the end of 1963. Almost all scenes except the very opening and TheReveal at the very end were taken from the 1962 full-length TV pilot ''Adventures of the Road Runner,'' for which Milt Franklyn (who had since died) composed the music. This cartoon is therefore notable for having two standalone versions, each with their own distinct musical scores (with the William Lava score being more familiar to viewers), and for having no instances of an explosion / AshFace at all.

! Tropes:

* SeesawCatapult: The portion of the outcropping that the Coyote was holding onto for dear life during his mishap with the coil spring. As the boulder recoils, taking this section with it, it flips across the landscape. Once the parts detach, this piece lands on a stump, with the Coyote falling to one end, the boulder falling to the other, upon which the Coyote rebounds and takes the boulder with it -- right into the mouth of a narrow canyon.

* PunBasedTitle / ShoutOutToShakespeare: Taken from "To Be or Not to Be," a line from Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Hamlet.''

* OverlyLongGag: The final catapult gag. Wile E. is hiding inside a manhole as he triggers the catapult, and then... nothing. At first Wile E. is skittish that the catapult will smash him at any moment, jolting it briefly before diving for cover. Then, as it becomes obvious that the catapult won't work, he gets more angry and attempts to force it to work, until it finally fires right when he's jumping on top of the boulder. He doesn't notice until he smashes into another rock, and is now sandwiched between two boulders. Then the boulder runs into some power lines, which slingshot it back to the catapult. Wile E. hits the catapult arm, and it springs back and slams him into the asphalt, just in time for the boulder to fall on him.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/to_beep_or_not_to_beep.jpg]]

* PainPoweredLeap: During the chase segment, the Road Runner uproots six cactus plants, which are whisked by his gust to a not-yet seen bridge. Once he passes over, the bridge contracts in the form of a slide. The first five cacti rapidly clear the bridge, while the last one slides off and follows the Coyote down to the ground far below. We don't see what actually happens, but the Coyote's response (shown in the page image and video example) clearly indicates where the cactus caught him.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3d_screaming_coyote_about_to_eat_the_camera.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sometimes, what goes down must come up.]]

* BinomiumRidiculus: Averted in the Lava variant. In the Franklyn variant, the taxonomy appears in the opening credits (similar to the credits for ''Adventures of the Road Runner).''

The cartoon begins with the coyote perched on a stump reading a "Western Cookery," when the Road Runner moves up behind him to find out what's in the book. This is followed by their usual antics, which involve a lasso in the road, a large spring attached to a boulder, a construction crane, and an [[RunningGag ever-backfiring catapult.]]

* PainPoweredLeap: During the chase segment, the Road Runner uproots six cactus plants, which are whisked by his gust to a not-yet seen bridge. Once he passes over, the bridge contracts in the form of a slide. The first five cacti rapidly clear the bridge, while the last one slides off and follows the Coyote down to the ground far below. We don't see what actually happens, but the Coyote's response (shown in the page image) clearly indicates where the cactus caught him.

* PunBasedTitle: Taken from "To Be or Not to Be," a line from Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Hamlet.''

* AsideGlance / BreakingTheFourthWall: When the Coyote puts a thumb in the direction of the not yet seen overpass where the chase scene will reach its climax.