By Cesar Arredondo
Comedian and actor Gabriel Iglesias dared the so-called “cancel culture” to go after him when he announced he’d be voicing Speedy Gonzales in the anticipated live-action/animated sports comedy film Space Jam: A New Legacy. Funny thing: Nothing happened.
The acclaimed comic is now the new voice of the iconic nimble Looney Tunes character in the Space Jam sequel starring the basketball legend LeBron James. The film opens in theaters nationwide this weekend.
“U [sic] can’t catch me cancel culture,” tweeted Iglesias back in March. “I’m the fastest mouse in all of Mexico.” The post was published just days after a New York Times piece by columnist Charles M. Blow on stereotypical cartoons like Pepé Le Pew, saying the skunk “normalized rape culture”. Of Speedy Gonzales, Blow said the mouse’s “friends helped popularize the corrosive stereotype of the drunk and lethargic Mexicans.” Besides, there’s always been talk among Latinos and others about stereotypes present in the cartoons featuring Speedy and company.
Both Pepé Le Pew and Speedy Gonzales were initially part of Space Jam: A New Legacy, but only the ingenious, resourceful, bilingual Mexican mouse made the final cut. Unlike the skunk who got no love for his history of aggressively pursuing romance, Speedy Gonzalez got mucho amor from many Latinos who have come to his defense for his speed, resourcefulness and wit against gringo enemies.
The ratoncito is part of more than a dozen characters from the Looney Tunes universe featured in Space Jam: A New Legacy. They are Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Lola Bunny, Tweety, Tasmanian Devil, Granny and Road Runner, voiced by talents like Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Zendaya, Bob Bergen, Jim Cummings and Latina VO talent Candi Milo.
In the new animated film from Warner Bros., a rogue artificial intelligence kidnaps the son of famed basketball player LeBron James, who then has to work with Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes gang to win a basketball game. Co-starring along with the Lakers small forward are Academy Award winner Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash), Cedric Joe (Modern Family), Khris Davis (Detroit) and Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery). The film is directed by Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip).
This is not the first time that Iglesias lends his voice to animated films. A few years after committing to stand-up comedy in 1997, Fluffy started accumulating credits in animated projects for over two decades, from TV series like Family Guy and The Emperor’s New School to films like Planes, The Nut Job and El Americano: The Movie, Coco and Ferdinand.
The comedian has also made films of some of his concerts, The Fluffy Movie, and Gabriel Iglesias: Hot and Fluffy. Additionally, his ever-growing popularity has led them to appear in others like features two Magic Mike installments and popular shows like Modern Family and Cristela.
He’s made the Forbes annual list of “The World’s Highest-Paid Comedians” several times. In 2018 The Hollywood Reporter included him among “The 40(ish) Most Powerful People in Comedy,” which also featured Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will Ferrell and Tina Fey.
Today, Iglesias’ arguably the most popular and commercially successful Latino comedian, developing a fandom with a stand-up that mixes storytelling, parodies, characters and sound effects that bring his personal experiences to life. His YouTube channel has nearly five million subscribers.
For two seasons he had his own self-titled Netflix original comedy series, Mr. Iglesias, playing a good-natured public high school teacher who works at his alma mater teaching gifted but misfit kids from the inner city. Although the series was canceled Netflix is working with Iglesias on other projects
With his Space Jam 2 performance, Fluffy is only the second Latino actor to voice Speedy Gonzales.
