FANDOM


← The Cagey Canary Proto-Sylvester Cartoons The Fifth-Column Mouse →


The Hep Cat
The Hep Cat
Directed By: Robert Clampett
Produced By: Leon Schlesinger
Released: October 3, 1942
Series: Looney Tunes
Story: Warren Foster
Animation: Bob McKimson
Layouts:
Backgrounds: John Didrik Johnsen
Film Editor: Treg Brown
Voiced By: Mel Blanc
Bea Benaderet
Sara Berner
Kent Rogers
Music: Carl W. Stalling
Starring: Hep Cat
Rosebud the Dog
Bird
Preceded By: The Dover Boys
Succeeded By: The Sheepish Wolf

The Hep Cat is a 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster, animated primarily by Robert McKimson, and set to a musical score composed by Carl Stalling. This cartoon is notable as the first color Looney Tunes short, but was re-released in the "Blue Ribbon Classics" series on November 12, 1949 as a Merrie Melodie. The end card also labels the short as a Merrie Melodies short subject. Because the original Looney Tunes titles are lost, the DVD bearing this cartoon features the "Blue Ribbon" titles.

Plot

The Hep Cat opens with a cat strolling through an abandoned lot. Unfortunately, he stumbles across a dog named Rosebud"—otherwise known by fans as Willoughby the Dog—who, upon noticing the cat, gives chase. The cat, after a successful escape, begins singing "Java Jive." Later, the cat encounters an attractive female cat, and attempts to woo her, failing utterly. Suddenly, Rosebud the dog reappears and the chase resumes. After a series of zany, Clampett-esque sight gags, the cat once again evades the dog. As the cartoon closes, the cat can be seen kissing his dream girl—a puppet.

Title alterations

When Cartoon Network aired this short on The Bob Clampett Show, the titles were replaced with title cards of a colorized Porky Pig Looney Tune, with The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down 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 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 Melodie.

The opening title cards are not correct, since the 1942-43 season was the first in which Looney Tunes cartoons opened with the "bulls-eye" titles, usually with thicker rings.

Cultural references

When the cat claims to be a "gorgeous hunk of man" his face turns into a caricature of Victor Mature. As the cat feels Willoughby's hand beside the puppet he's kissing he exclaims: "Ah, something new has been added!". At the end of the cartoon the cat says: "Well, I can dream, can't I?" Both quotes were used often in Looney Tunes cartoons of this era (like for instance Plane Daffy) and are both catch phrases by Jerry Colonna. "Ah, something new has been added" was a slogan for Old Gold (cigarette).

Availability

Gallery

Video

http://www.supercartoons.net/cartoon/730/the-hep-cat.html

Ad blocker interference detected!


Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers

Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected.