Bell Hoppy is a 1954 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.
Title[]
The cartoon's title is a pun on "bellhop", which is another term for bellboy.
Plot[]
Sylvester has been "blackballed" out of membership to the Loyal Order of Alley Cats Mousing and Chowder Club again. To gain the long-coveted membership, the Loyal Order Grand Master offers to let the lisping puddy tat place a big bell around the neck of the largest mouse he can find, so the cats can pounce on the mouse when they hear the bell. Just as that's going on, Hippety Hopper escapes from the Acme Rare Animal Importing Co. before they can load him into a city zoo truck. It's not long before he encounters the hapless Sylvester. Each attempt to place the bell around Hippety's neck ends with Sylvester wearing the bell (and the cats unwittingly pounding Sylvester into submission). In the end, Sylvester finally does get the bell around Hippety's neck, but by the time the cats are ready to pounce on the baby kangaroo-mistaken-for-a-giant-mouse, Hippety has been recaptured. The oblivious cats end up jumping in front of the city zoo truck! With all of them out of commission, Sylvester now gets to serve as the Loyal Order's “Grand Exalted Poobah”, only to "blackball" himself again, much to his chagrin.
Availability[]
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
- When this cartoon aired on WNEW in the 1980s, the ending where Sylvester becomes the new Loyal Order's Grand Master only to "blackball" himself again, was cut due to time constraints. The WNEW-edited version ends the cartoon after the cats from the Loyal Order jump in front of a City Zoo truck that contains Hippety Hopper and end up getting run over by it.[2]
Notes[]
- This cartoon's plot is essentially a role-reversal version of the age-old "belling the cat" fable, as in "Sniffles Bells the Cat"; as opposed to the mice preventing themselves from becoming prey to cats, this time the cats hope to bell the biggest mouse they could ever find so that they could ambush, kill and eat its carcass for a more satisfying meal.
- Recent airings on Boomerang have the restored version with the original opening and ending rings.[3]
Gallery[]
References[]
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