''The Hep Cat'' is a 1942

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. Di ...

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

directed by

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the '' Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' ...

, 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 ...

, animated primarily by

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

, and set to a musical score composed by

Carl W. Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by War ...

. The short was released on October 3, 1942. This cartoon was the first

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

''Looney Tunes'' short.

Plot

''The Hep Cat'' opens with a cat strolling through an abandoned lot. Unfortunately, he stumbles across a dog named Rosebud who gives chase. The cat, after a successful escape, begins singing a parody of "

Java Jive Java Jive is a song written by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake in 1940 and most famously recorded by The Ink Spots. The lyrics speak of the singer's love of coffee. The lyrics also reflect the slang of the day, including a reference to "Mr. Moto", a J ...

". Later, the cat encounters an attractive female cat, and attempts to woo her, failing utterly. A package containing flowers and a lipstick-kissed note is tossed over the fence; the note invites the cat to rendezvous with "guess who?" on the other side of the fence. He prances over and comes face-to-face with Rosebud. The chase resumes. At one point, the dog uses a puppet version of the female cat of Hep Cat's dreams to trap him. The cat is fooled and again the dog pursues him. After a series of zany sight gags, the cat once again evades Rosebud and puts him out of commission. As the cartoon closes, the cat can be seen kissing his dream girl—the

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

Voice cast

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

as the Hep Cat *

Sara Berner Sara Berner (born Lillian Ann Herdan; January 12, 1912 – December 19, 1969) was an American actress. Known for her expertise in dialect and characterization, she began her career as a performer in vaudeville before becoming a voice actress for r ...

as Cat Puppet, Bird *

Kent Rogers Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in several live-action features and shorts, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and Walter Lantz Productions. Career For Warner Bros. Cartoons, R ...

as Rosebud

Title alterations

When

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

aired this short on ''

The Bob Clampett Show ''The Bob Clampett Show'' is an animated anthology television series which ran from 2000 to 2001. The show features animated theatrical shorts from the Warner Bros. library that were animated or directed by Bob Clampett, as well as a selection o ...

'', the titles were replaced with title cards of a colorized Porky Pig Looney Tune, with "

The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is a song written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin and published by Harms Inc., New York. It is best known as the theme tune for the ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon series and ''Merrie Melodies'' reissued cartoon ...

" as the opening music. The Looney Tunes title card cuts to the Blue Ribbon title card with " Merrily We Roll Along" as title music. The Looney Tunes drum with

Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created ma ...

saying ''That's All Folks!'', also closes the cartoon. This was done to identify the short as a Looney Tune, since the Blue Ribbon titles miscredited the short as a Merrie Melodies Short.

Cultural references

When the cat claims to be a "gorgeous hunk of man" his face turns into a caricature of

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include ''One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darlin ...

. As the cat feels Rosebud's nose beside the puppet he is kissing he exclaims: "Well, something new has been added!" At the end of the cartoon the cat says: "Well, I can dream, can't I?" Both quotes are

catch phrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s by Jerry Colonna. "Ah, something new has been added" was a slogan for

Old Gold (cigarette) Old Gold is an American brand of cigarette owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. History Old Gold was introduced in 1926 by the Lorillard Tobacco Company and, upon release, would become one of its star products. By 1930, ...

Reception

Comic book and animation writer Earl Kress writes, "This cartoon is one of director Bob Clampett's bat-out-of-hell-paced efforts... There's some really nice staging in this cartoon—for example, the scenes in which we only see shadows on a fence and the scene where the cat and dog race up a fire escape, shown at a steep down-angle from the top of a building. The staging, plus the outstanding script by Warren Foster, make this one of the greatest Looney Tunes."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hep Cat, The 1942 animated films 1942 films Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Films directed by Bob Clampett Films scored by Carl Stalling 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films 1940s English-language films