Cat - Tails for Two

Today's post is another Robert Mckimson directed cartoon. Cat - Tails for Two was released in 1953 and marked the debut of Speedy Gonzales. This early Speedy was a meaner, skinnier, rattier-looking creation with a sizable gold front tooth. Speedy would get a complete overhaul in 1955 and go on to star or be featured in 45 more cartoons. Later on, this original version of Speedy is used as an unnamed background character a couple of times.

The name Speedy Gonzales derives from a joke about a Mexican man nicknamed "Speedy" either because of his premature ejaculation or quick copulation, though the name of the character was not intended to be derogatory. One thing to note is that Speedy's last name was given as Gonzalez in Cat - Tails for Two. It ended with an S in all of his other cartoons.

Cat-Tails featured Speedy outwitting a smart-and-stupid pair of cats named George and Benny aboard a ship. Later on Sylvester the cat would be Speedy's main rival.

Unfortunately our friend Speedy has suffered from censorship. In 1999, the Cartoon Network ceased to air Speedy Gonzales. In an interview with Fox News on March 28, 2002, Cartoon Network spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg commented, "It hasn't been on the air for years because of its ethnic stereotypes." This is widely believed to refer to Speedy's fellow mice, who are all shown as being very slow and lazy, and sometimes even appear intoxicated. However, fan campaigns to put Speedy back on the air and lobbying by the League of United Latin American Citizens saw the shorts return to air from 2002.

Speedy Gonzales remains a very popular character in Latin America. In Mexico, the Speedy Gonzales show has been on and off part of the regular programing of Televisa's Canal 5 national channel ever since it was created.