Did Wile E. Coyote ever catch the Road Runner?

Did Wile E. Coyote ever catch the Road Runner? The answer is yes! He caught him in the 1980 episode "Soup or Sonic. The episode was directed by Chuck Jones, which means it counts as an official Road Runner  cartoon. The episode was part of a Bugs Bunny special "Bugs Bunny’s Busting Out All Over"

 

THE SCENE:

Started like all of the other chases, with the Coyote in hot pursuit of Road Runner. Wile E and Road Runner speed through a series of pipes that shrinks them down in size. The Coyote figures out what’s wrong and they go back through the pipes. But only this time Road Runner increases in size, while Coyote is still small. Wile E. Coyote does finally catches the Road Runner, watch and find out how.

The Robot Coyote also catches him once and then Wile E. Coyote presses the wrong button. In the 1966 episode"The Solid Tin Coyote";

 

 

Bonus Facts:

 

When was the first Road Runner and Coyote cartoon created?

The first Road Runner and Coyote was in 1949 called "Fast and Furry-ous". We saw one of Coyote's most famous traps in this cartoon, the painted tunnel. Somehow Road Runner can always run right through the tunnel, but when Coyote tries to run through, he hits the stone wall.

Who was the creator of Road Runner and Coyote?

Chuck Jones created the Road Runner and Coyote.  He began working for Warners Bros in 1936.  He directed many of the Road Runner cartoons until 1965, just before Warner Bros closed their animation department. In 1979 the animation department was revised and Mr Jones returned. Many people consider the best Road Runner and Coyote cartoons to be 1949-1965 episodes.

Wile E. Coyote also wanted to eat which other "Looney Tunes" character?

Wile E. Coyote lives next door to Bugs Bunny. He set many traps for Bugs, including an exploding female rabbit, a flying saucer, fake carrots filled with nitroglycerin, and even filling the rabbit hole with cement. In these cartoons. 
Special Bonus fact; In these episodes the Coyote has a regular speaking voice (British accent)  and he refers to himself as "Wile E. Coyote: Super Genius".

What was Coyote's name in the cartoons with Sam Sheepdog?

His name was Ralph Wolf. Sam and Ralph would clock in to work.   Sam was protecting a flock of sheep from the hungry Ralph.  At the end of their work day, Sam and Ralph were good friends

 

Rules For Road Runner and Wile E. cartoons

In Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times Of An Animated Cartoonist,1 it is claimed that Chuck Jones and the artists behind the Road Runner and Wile E. cartoons adhered to some simple but strict rules:

  1. The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "meep, meep."
  2. No outside force can harm the Coyote — only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme products. Trains and trucks were the exception from time to time.
  3. The Coyote could stop anytime — if he were not a fanatic. (Repeat: "A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim." — George Santayana).
  4. No dialogue ever, except "meep, meep" and yowling in pain.
  5. The Road Runner must stay on the road — for no other reason than that he's a roadrunner.
  6. All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters — the southwest American desert.
  7. All tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the Acme Corporation.
  8. Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.
  9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.
  10. The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote.
  11. The Coyote is not allowed to catch or eat the Road Runner. (The robot that the Coyote created in The Solid Tin Coyote caught the Road Runner so this does not break this rule. The Coyote does catch the Road Runner in Soup or Sonic but is too small to eat him.)

 

References:

1. Jones, Chuck (1999). Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times Of An Animated Cartoonist. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-52620-7.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2297/did-wile-e-coyote-ever-catch-the-road-runner-plus

http://toolooney.goldenagecartoons.com/coyote.htm