The animation is not as good as it could have been, the story is fairly standard and the pace is uneven, but this is actually more tolerable and funnier than most Speedy cartoons. The whole cartoon is worth seeing just for Sylvester going blue in the face after being locked in the room full of Limberger cheese! Here Today, Come Tamale is pretty funny, with some fun dialogue and some interesting sight gags, including Sylvester's reaction to hitting himself with a mallet. The music is tolerable, as is Speedy, but Sylvester is the one who steals the show. Overall, while standard it is funny and worth seeing. 7/10 Bethany Cox
7 Reviews
Very cute Speedy Gonzales short, pitting him against Sylvester once again
llltdesq1 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Speedy's adversary in this short is Sylvester, which makes a great deal of sense, given that he's a cat and Speedy's a mouse. The basic plot is even quite reasonable, which isn't always the case with Speedy cartoons. I want to discuss some details from this short in my comments, so this is a spoiler warning:
The short opens with the mice of a Mexican village lamenting a cheese famine and has some fairly nice (and in one instance, rather morbid) bits regarding their inability to get cheese. The a mouse begins to smell cheese and thinks he's dreaming. They slowly realize that a ship has come into port with a cargo of cheese. They rush to the boat enthusiastically, only to run from it in terror only a fews moments later. It seems that Sylvester is guarding the cheese.
Someone suggests calling on Speedy for help, because Speedy likes his sister. Another mouse makes it clear that Speedy's not the only one who likes his sister! Speedy comes into the picture and begins to take cheese from the ship while Sylvester tries diligently (and in vain) to stop him. Among the gags are Sylvester winding up trapped in a storage room filled with Limburger cheese, Sylvester trapping Speedy with a net only to wind up having Speedy drag him around the ship, Sylvester trying to lure Speedy closer with cheese, only to hit himself with a mallet (Sylvester's reaction to this is a marvelous bit of character animation), Speedy running through a pipe into Sylvester's mouth and running through (and out) Sylvester's tail (a gag they used in more than one Speedy versus Sylvester short) and a gag with an early setup and delayed punch-line involving a guillotine.
Sylvester finally throws in the towel, puts on some mouse ears and joins in on the impromptu fiesta the mice have thrown together. This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 4 and is well worth watching. Recommended.
The short opens with the mice of a Mexican village lamenting a cheese famine and has some fairly nice (and in one instance, rather morbid) bits regarding their inability to get cheese. The a mouse begins to smell cheese and thinks he's dreaming. They slowly realize that a ship has come into port with a cargo of cheese. They rush to the boat enthusiastically, only to run from it in terror only a fews moments later. It seems that Sylvester is guarding the cheese.
Someone suggests calling on Speedy for help, because Speedy likes his sister. Another mouse makes it clear that Speedy's not the only one who likes his sister! Speedy comes into the picture and begins to take cheese from the ship while Sylvester tries diligently (and in vain) to stop him. Among the gags are Sylvester winding up trapped in a storage room filled with Limburger cheese, Sylvester trapping Speedy with a net only to wind up having Speedy drag him around the ship, Sylvester trying to lure Speedy closer with cheese, only to hit himself with a mallet (Sylvester's reaction to this is a marvelous bit of character animation), Speedy running through a pipe into Sylvester's mouth and running through (and out) Sylvester's tail (a gag they used in more than one Speedy versus Sylvester short) and a gag with an early setup and delayed punch-line involving a guillotine.
Sylvester finally throws in the towel, puts on some mouse ears and joins in on the impromptu fiesta the mice have thrown together. This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 4 and is well worth watching. Recommended.
not gone tamale (or ever)
lee_eisenberg16 April 2007
Once again, Mexico's rodents call upon Speedy Gonzales to fetch them cheese from Sylvester. In this case, the cheese arrives on a ship that Sylvester is guarding. And of course, no matter what kind of trap Sylvester sets, Speedy uses it against Sylvester (including something involving Limburger cheese). What makes "Here Today, Gone Tamale" particularly interesting is what Sylvester does at the end.
One thing about these cartoons is that I actually find them funnier nowadays than when I was younger, as I not only understand the characters' personalities (Bugs Bunny is an acerbic New Yorker, Daffy Duck is a blow-hard, etc) and what the cartoons were spoofing ("Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century" was spoofing sci-fi flicks), but also what the titles were spoofing; it speaks for itself in this case. But that's just a side note. It's a really funny cartoon.
One thing about these cartoons is that I actually find them funnier nowadays than when I was younger, as I not only understand the characters' personalities (Bugs Bunny is an acerbic New Yorker, Daffy Duck is a blow-hard, etc) and what the cartoons were spoofing ("Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century" was spoofing sci-fi flicks), but also what the titles were spoofing; it speaks for itself in this case. But that's just a side note. It's a really funny cartoon.
A shipment of cheese
Tweekums20 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
There is a cheese famine in Mexico and the local mice are starting to starve, luckily a ship loading with cheese arrives just in time, unfortunately they can't get at the cheese as Sylvester the cat is on board guarding it. One of the mice is getting ready to shoot himself when another of them suggests getting Speedy Gonzales to help... apparently Speedy likes his sister. When Speedy arrives he is soon off loading the cheese, none of Sylvester's increasingly devious traps manages to stop him so eventually he gives up and joins the celebrating mice.
This is a fairly standard Speedy Gonzales short, not many memorable moments but still funny.
This is a fairly standard Speedy Gonzales short, not many memorable moments but still funny.
Speedy providing for everybody
Horst_In_Translation14 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Here Today, Gone Tamale" is the title of this 6-minute Warner Bros cartoon from 1959 and as such a pretty bad choice as this film has nothing to do with tamale. I guess at this point, they just tried to get in every play on words they could come up with and here it does look a bit embarrassing. But this is really the only thing that is wrong with this movie. Freleng, Maltese and Blanc deliver quality like they usually do. The mice are hungry, but Sylvester won't let them on his Dutch ship full with cheese. So if the mice can't get to the cheese, then the cheese needs to get to the mice and this is where Speedy comes into play. I felt a bit sorry for Sylvester, because he really only wanted to protect his property here or follow orders, but with the cute ending it is fine I guess, also for him. As a whole, this was one of the better Speedy Gonzalez cartoons I have seen. Some of them are not that good or funny, but this one here delivers and I recommend it.
No event of our 21st Century is too trivial . . .
oscaralbert7 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
. . . for Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes prognosticators NOT to have made an uncannily accurate forecast about its course and outcome among the hundreds of animated shorts they churned out during the 1900s. To test this widely circulated theory, I chose a random live sports broadcast to view (the August 6, 2016 Mets versus Tigers tussle), followed by an equally chance selection of the first Looney Tune to come to hand (HERE TODAY, GONE TAMALE). Sure enough, both featured felines in action (with Sylvester Cat gracing TAMALE). About 4:49 into TAMALE, Sylvester's left front paw gets broken. Wouldn't you know it--in the 4th inning of the Big Cat's game, Mets' starter Logan Verette's pitch BREAKS THE SAME HAND of Tiger star third baseman Nick CAT-Ellanos (who's out for at least a month)! Then, with James Looney--of all people--inserted at first base by the Mets, the game is decided by ESPN Web Gem #4, as Travis D'Amaud tries to single in the slowest Mets runner--Jay Bruce--from second, but Tiger right fielder J.D. Martinez throws Bruce out at home despite having a broken elbow on-the-mend. Two lessons here: Sylvester will never accuse Jay Bruce of moving his cheese, and Detroit will never invite the fleet Mexican National Team to party at "Fiesta Tigres."
"A ship! With cheese!"
slymusic21 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Directed by Friz Freleng and written by Michael Maltese, "Here Today, Gone Tamale" is a very good Warner Bros. cartoon starring Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester the cat. Sylvester guards a ship loaded with cheese, forcing Speedy to once again become a "cheese thief" for all his friends.
My two favorite scenes from this cartoon: At the beginning, one mouse inquires another mouse about the cheese famine, and the other mouse tells him to shut his cheese trap! While chasing Speedy, Sylvester gets locked inside a storage room filled with Limburger, where he turns blue in the face!
"Here Today, Gone Tamale" can be found along with a bunch of other Speedy Gonzales cartoons on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 Disc 3.
My two favorite scenes from this cartoon: At the beginning, one mouse inquires another mouse about the cheese famine, and the other mouse tells him to shut his cheese trap! While chasing Speedy, Sylvester gets locked inside a storage room filled with Limburger, where he turns blue in the face!
"Here Today, Gone Tamale" can be found along with a bunch of other Speedy Gonzales cartoons on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 Disc 3.
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