Speedy Gonzales
| Speedy Gonzales | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes character | |
 |
|
| First appearance |
Cat-Tails for Two (early version) August 29, 1953 Speedy Gonzales (official version) September 17, 1955 |
| Created by |
Robert McKimson (prototype) Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt (official) |
| Voiced by |
Mel Blanc (1953–1986) Joe Alaskey (1991–2008) Eric Goldberg (2003) Billy West (2003) Bob Bergen (2006) Fred Armisen (2011–2015) Tim Dadabo (2014) (see below) |
| Information | |
| Species | Mouse |
| Gender | Male |
| Relatives | Slowpoke Rodriguez (cousin) |
| Nationality | Mexican |
Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent and also speaking Spanish. He usually wears a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers (which was a common traditional outfit worn by men and boys of rural Mexican villages), and a red kerchief, similar to that of some traditional Mexican attires. To date, there have been 46 cartoons made either starring or featuring this character.
A film about the character has been announced by Warner Bros.
Speedy's first appearance was in 1953's Cat Tails for Two though he appeared largely in name (and super speed) only. It would be two years before Friz Freleng and animator Hawley Pratt redesigned the character into his modern incarnation for the 1955 Freleng short Speedy Gonzales. The cartoon features Sylvester the Cat guarding a cheese factory at the international border between United States and Mexico from starving Mexican mice. The mice call in the plucky, excessively energetic Speedy to save them, and amid cries of "¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Epa! ¡Epa! ¡Epa! Yeehaw!" (Spanish for "Go on! Go on! Up! Up!", although "Ándale arriba" may have been intended as meaning "hurry up") courtesy of Mel Blanc, Sylvester soon gets his comeuppance. The cartoon won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).
While Speedy's last name was given as Gonzalez in Cat-Tails (on a printed business card shown in the cartoon), it was spelled with an 's' from Speedy Gonzales onward. Today, the earlier spelling is occasionally used by accident.
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