"Lickety-Splat" is a 1961 cartoon in the Looney Tunes series starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.
After failing to catch the Road Runner yet again, Wile E. Coyote's newest schemes come to mind, including roller skis, a life-size bow, and a collection of flying dart bombs.
"Lickety-Splat" provides examples of:
- Anvil on Head: The final gag has the Coyote trying to drop an anvil on the Road Runner, but fails when a dart bomb blows a chunk of the ledge away.
- Ash Face: Of the multiple homing projectiles the Coyote faces, there are only two instances: when he's brandishing a sledgehammer, and another when he's aiming his rifle.
- Binomium ridiculus: The Coyote is labeled as "Apetitius Giganticus" while the Road Runner is labeled as "Fastius Tasty-us". Unlike most cartoons however, Wile E. provides them with signs that he pulls from his back instead of freeze frames.
- Boomerang Comeback: Wile E. hurls a boomerang at his target... only for it to come back with a dart bomb stuck to it, and when he tries to escape from it, it is still near him and explodes.
- Bowdlerization: ABC's The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show version cut out a lot of scenes involving the dynamite darts.
- Expressive Ears:
- At one point, when trying to think of a way to catch the Road Runner, Wile E. scratches his head with his right ear.
- Then at the end of the cartoon, he uses his ears to shield his eyes as he is about to face his demise from the last two dart bombs. Thankfully, they don't blow up.
- Finger in a Barrel: Or rather, Dart Bomb in a Barrel, which foils the Coyote's sixth plan.
- Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: Indicated by three overhead shots and a descending shot with a bow. Beautifully averted in the opening chase, as the Coyote comes to a full stop before the cliff where a bridge stood only a few seconds before. (Now compare that one with "To Beep or Not to Beep.")
- Zig-zagged in the coyote's final plan. He tries to drop an anvil on the Road Runner's head, but a homing bomb blows off a portion of the cliff. Two more then get stuck on the floating rock Wile E.'s standing, and he hops back on to the cliff, but part of the cliff breaks off. While falling, the anvil from earlier falls slower and moves right over the coyote's head. Seeing this, Wile E. manages to save himself by standing on the anvil before hitting the ground, resulting in him dazed but unhurt.
- Great Bow: The Coyote uses one in the second gag to try to reach his opponent on the other side of the cliff. Gravity, of course, prevents his plan from working.
- Hammered into the Ground: Inverted. The moment Wile E. turns himself upside-down as he's falling down the ledge in the bow, he gets shot in the air when he touches the ground and gets lodged in the precipice.
- Homing Boulders: At the end of the sixth gag, a boulder is sent flying into the air by a dart bomb and squashes the Coyote.
- Homing Projectile: The dart bombs, which always manage to end up with Wile E. no matter where he runs.
- Mirthless Laughter: Wile E. gives relieved laughter at the end of the cartoon when he discovers that he did not get blown up by the remaining dart bombs.
- Pun-Based Title: Of the term, "lickety-split".
- Puny Parachute: After some dart bombs destroy his hot-air balloon, the Coyote manages to deploy one... which then gets destroyed by another dart bomb.
- Running Gag: Throughout the second half, the dart bombs released earlier keep appearing to ruin Wile E.'s plans.
- Running on the Spot: Wile E. does this as he gets ready to chase the Road Runner at the beginning.
- Spring Jump: Non-video game example. Wile E. uses the roller skis that are stuck on the cliff wall as a diving board. On his fifth jump, the backs of the skis snap under the force of the descent, leading to his first of four dates with gravity.
- Super-Persistent Missile: The dart bombs.
- Idea Bulb: The Coyote's eyes briefly turn into light bulbs as he hatches up his new scheme.
- Talking with Signs:
- Wile E. combines this with Binomium ridiculus at the start of the cartoon (the only Jones cartoon in which the "binomium" isn't displayed in the manner of a chyron).
- And before he crashes down to the canyon floor after his parachute ends up getting blown up, he holds a sign reading "Again".
- The End: The phrase appears on the last two dart bombs that refuse to detonate and instead unfurl themselves.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Wile E. is spared from getting blown to kingdom come at the end of the cartoon.
- Weapons Breaking Weapons: The Coyote tries to hit the Road Runner with a sledgehammer, but it fails when one of the dart bombs pins itself to the hammer and blows up.
- Wingding Eyes: Ending the sledgehammer gag, Wile E.'s eyes read "TILT" after the hammer's head lands on him.
