''Hippety Hopper'' is a

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

'' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by

Warren Foster Warren Foster (October 24, 1904 – December 13, 1971) was an American writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of Warner Brothers and later with Hanna-Barbera. Early life He was born in Brooklyn, New York to Marion B. Fos ...

. The short was released on November 19, 1949, and stars Sylvester and

Hippety Hopper Hippety Hopper is a young kangaroo character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' series of cartoons. Robert McKimson introduced Hippety Hopper in '' Hop, Look and Listen'' (1948), which established the pattern for future Hippety Hopper cartoons ...

Plot

A poor depressed mouse attempts

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

at the waterfront, believing the world wouldn’t care if there was one less mouse in it. Just as he is about to leap to his demise, he is stopped by a baby kangaroo in a crate. The mouse makes a deal with the kangaroo; he will be released if the kangaroo terrorizes Sylvester, the source of the rodent's misery. The two devise a plan by making it seem as if vitamins have enlarged the mouse and every time Sylvester sees the kangaroo, he believes the vitamins have worked and the mouse has become jumbo sized. Each time Sylvester attempts to defeat the "mouse," he loses, which earns him the ire of the house's bulldog who scolds him for not doing his job as a mouse catcher right. After Sylvester suffers one defeat too many, the bulldog decides to take matters into his own hands. At first it seems the bulldog will be victorious as his larger size makes it harder for the kangaroo to kick him. However, the mouse (unseen by the dog) bites the bulldog on the foot, distracting him with pain enough for the kangaroo to kick the bulldog out of the house, with the mouse threatening to pin the dog's ears back if he sees him again. Disbelieving this, the bulldog states that if that happens, he'll take up ballet; he goes in and is kicked out again with his ears pinned back by a clothespin. The bulldog then drags a gloating Sylvester along to take up ballet after changing into tutus and dancing away.

Home media

''Hippety Hopper'' has been released on the DVD collections '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6'' and ''Looney Tunes Super Stars' Sylvester and Hippety Hopper: Marsupial Mayhem''.

References

{{Robert McKimson 1949 films 1949 animated films 1949 short films Merrie Melodies short films Sylvester the Cat films Animated films about dogs Animated films about kangaroos and wallabies Films about mice and rats Films directed by Robert McKimson Films scored by Carl Stalling Films scored by Milt Franklyn Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Hippety Hopper films