Last Look

Animation... the Good Ol’ Days

CBTS Staff Report

Remember the Looney Tunes cartoon character Speedy Gonzales? Extra points if you recall his cousin Slowpoke Rodriguez. Slowpoke made his screen debut in the episode Mexicali Shores, which was nominated in the Best Short Subjects, Cartoons category at the 32nd Academy Awards in 1959.

Speedy and Slowpoke are opposites. Speedy zips around — ¡Ándele! ¡Ándele!¡ Epa!¡ Epa! Slowpoke has an exaggeratedly slo-mo walk and carries a hobo stick and bindle on his right shoulder. What’s with the stupor, Slowpoke? The answer may be not so hidden in the song he’s singing, La Cucaracha. Translated into English, the words include “The cockroach, the cockroach, can’t walk anymore. Because it doesn’t have, because it’s lacking marijuana to smoke.”

Rewatching childhood shows from an adult point of view is eye-opening. Make time to visit Speedy and Slowpoke. You’ll be glad you did.