. . . to help get around his Lou Gehrig's Disease (as shown in the Biopic, A BEAUTIFUL MIND), people have been making fun of these magic scooters. RABID RIDER is no exception. It's bad enough that Mr. Gehrig suffers a lifetime ban from baseball, making him ineligible for the Hall of Fame despite having broken Ty Cobb's all-time career hits record. Though Lou may have gotten a few extra infield singles due to his Segue, he did NOT get a big head (like one of the Giants). He also did not "cheat" any more than Blade Runner in the Olympic 400m (and he never shot ANYONE through a bathroom door!). Is the Looney Tune RABID RIDER a subtle effort to pick up the gauntlet in favor of Mr. Gehrig? Perhaps, but I think the Warner Bros. animators could have done more for the Cause by being straight forward. For instance, the Road Runner never says anything except "Beep-beep" in all of the episodes I've ever seen. It would be Big News in Hollywood if a short such as RABID RIDER ends with Mr. Runner saying to the camera, "Lift the Ban, and vote Lou into the Hall already!"
6 Reviews
Rabid Rider was a quite entertaining funny computer animated Road Runner short
tavm18 December 2010
This is the computer animated Road Runner (and While E. Coyote) short that preceded the computer animated Yogi Bear feature. I found it quite funny with all the expected slapsticky hijinks that followed for the unfortunate Coyote. And knowing the Road Runner will always be sticking his tongue at him is another nice touch. So this was a mostly entertaining short. If there were any disappointments, it was (1) no Latin-describing words or even the actual nouns of the characters or stop-motion that ensured during what I just described that you always got from any Chuck Jones-directed opus of those characters and (2) the short seemed too brief. Still, Rabid Rider was a nice surprise of a short before the main feature...
I'm just going to Segway into this review...
neil-47625 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This third entry into the new generation of 3D CGI Road Runner cartoons is not as good as the first two (Coyote Falls and Fur Of Flying), but it's still pretty good. This time the action centres around a Segway which the coyote has purchased with which to pursue his feathered nemesis.
He should know better than to purchase anything from the Acme Corporation. As expected, the Segway more or less has a mind of its own, and that mind is devoted to administering as much mayhem to the single-minded coyote as possible.
As before, the classic Chuck Jones look is brought to exquisite 3 dimensional computerised detail. The gags are funny and beautifully executed.
And also, as before, 3 minutes is too short.
He should know better than to purchase anything from the Acme Corporation. As expected, the Segway more or less has a mind of its own, and that mind is devoted to administering as much mayhem to the single-minded coyote as possible.
As before, the classic Chuck Jones look is brought to exquisite 3 dimensional computerised detail. The gags are funny and beautifully executed.
And also, as before, 3 minutes is too short.
On par with the previous two CGI Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons
TheLittleSongbird1 June 2016
Neither the previous two CGI RR/C cartoons 'Coyote Falls' and 'Fur of Flying' are as good as the very best of the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons, a mostly hugely enjoyable series with the best of them being among the best and funniest Looney Tunes and Chuck Jones cartoons.
This said, they and 'Rabid Rider' are closer to the very good-classic Chuck Jones cartoons featuring this duo than the cartoons of the mid-late-60s. This was the period when Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers went vastly downhill in production value, characterisation, storytelling and humour quality, and the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons made in this period were, along with the worst of the Daffy/Speedy cartoons, where this decline is most evident.
'Rabid Rider' has very little problematic. Very like 'Coyote Falls' and 'Fur of Flying', the main issue is that it is too short, only three minutes when the average RR/C cartoon was 6 to 7 minutes. And it was in 'Rabid Rider' where it felt particularly too brief in the pacing, which does occasionally feel rushed.
On the other hand, 'Rabid Rider' is a highly entertaining and well-made effort, and is superior to the feature film that succeeded it 'Yogi Bear' (which this reviewer didn't hate anywhere near as much as most did but it wasn't anything great at the same time). The animation, with excellent use of 3D that has a clear Chuck Jones influence, is bright, colourful, handsomely rendered and rich in detail and finesse. The music is characterful, lively and rousingly and beautifully orchestrated, again like the previous two cartoons it has a very classic Looney Tunes sound with all its qualities which was more than welcome. Far more preferable to the ill-fitting and cheap-sounding music of the mid-late-60s cartoons or the music of today, which would not have fitted and would have made it sound too modern.
Execution of the humour is beautifully done and none of the gags are less than amusing, most of them close on to hilarious without being among the funniest or most visually imaginative gags of the RR/C cartoons. The story moves quickly and is charming and fun, never dull, repetitive and tired even with a scenario that's quite familiar by now. Like 'Coyote Falls' and 'Fur of Flying', 'Rabid Rider' maintains the classic trademark personalities of both Roadrunner and Coyote. Roadrunner is never annoying and never too much of a plot device, instead he's amusing and cute. There's no doubt that Coyote's personality is funnier, more relatable and more interesting, not just here but in all their outings together, and Coyote carries the cartoon brilliantly. They work beautifully together too, their chemistry and conflict always convincing.
Overall, well-made and hugely entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox
This said, they and 'Rabid Rider' are closer to the very good-classic Chuck Jones cartoons featuring this duo than the cartoons of the mid-late-60s. This was the period when Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers went vastly downhill in production value, characterisation, storytelling and humour quality, and the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons made in this period were, along with the worst of the Daffy/Speedy cartoons, where this decline is most evident.
'Rabid Rider' has very little problematic. Very like 'Coyote Falls' and 'Fur of Flying', the main issue is that it is too short, only three minutes when the average RR/C cartoon was 6 to 7 minutes. And it was in 'Rabid Rider' where it felt particularly too brief in the pacing, which does occasionally feel rushed.
On the other hand, 'Rabid Rider' is a highly entertaining and well-made effort, and is superior to the feature film that succeeded it 'Yogi Bear' (which this reviewer didn't hate anywhere near as much as most did but it wasn't anything great at the same time). The animation, with excellent use of 3D that has a clear Chuck Jones influence, is bright, colourful, handsomely rendered and rich in detail and finesse. The music is characterful, lively and rousingly and beautifully orchestrated, again like the previous two cartoons it has a very classic Looney Tunes sound with all its qualities which was more than welcome. Far more preferable to the ill-fitting and cheap-sounding music of the mid-late-60s cartoons or the music of today, which would not have fitted and would have made it sound too modern.
Execution of the humour is beautifully done and none of the gags are less than amusing, most of them close on to hilarious without being among the funniest or most visually imaginative gags of the RR/C cartoons. The story moves quickly and is charming and fun, never dull, repetitive and tired even with a scenario that's quite familiar by now. Like 'Coyote Falls' and 'Fur of Flying', 'Rabid Rider' maintains the classic trademark personalities of both Roadrunner and Coyote. Roadrunner is never annoying and never too much of a plot device, instead he's amusing and cute. There's no doubt that Coyote's personality is funnier, more relatable and more interesting, not just here but in all their outings together, and Coyote carries the cartoon brilliantly. They work beautifully together too, their chemistry and conflict always convincing.
Overall, well-made and hugely entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox
In order for a rider to be "rabid" . . .
pixrox129 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
. . . doesn't he first have to be bitten by some other critter infected with rabies? (I seem to remember that some spelunkers died from rabies after wriggling through a tight squeeze on their tummies, through what turned out to be a deposit of "guano," or bat droppings, from which they inhaled the contagion of this always-fatal condition, as the flying vampires had this infection to begin with, but apparently this was a rare exception to that "first bitten" rule.) Since Mr. Coyote is the only rider shown here until the very end, presumably HE is the title character of RABID RIDER. Which begs the question: WHO gave Wile E. Rabies?!
Back in 2009, most futurists were predicting that Segways would command . . .
tadpole-596-91825618 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
. . . at least 60% of the USA's combined scooter and pedestrian market segment by 2016. Then Leader T. (that guy with the first half of a trump card) alerted the nation to the danger posed by such vehicles after seeing RABID RIDER, putting two and two together and computing that an octet of Segways allowed a herd of urban desperadoes to ravage the Central Park Jogger. With such panic running rampant in the streets, there could be no opportunity to make our U.S. Homeland great again. Our fearless erstwhile leader took to the airwaves and thoroughly documented all of his findings from an exhaustive review of the RABID RIDER evidence. Segway sales subsequently plunged 12,000% from forecast levels, and the paths through America's park lands once again became safe for lone females to ply in the middle of the night. Surely this was a key factor in both of his landslide victories.
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