Release Date:

January 3, 1942

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

Two crows who are caricatures of Laurel and Hardy attempt to catch a wiseguy grasshopper named Hopalong Casserole.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. “You’re the Cure for What Ails Me” played under the opening credits:

Supervision: I. Freleng

Story: Michael Maltese

Animation: Cal Dalton

Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling

Freleng would reuse the cartoon’s premise 14 years later in “Two Crows from Tacos” (1956) where two inept crows pursue a clever grasshopper only it’s Mexican-themed.

The title is a play on words for “hop, skip, and a jump”.

What I Like About This One:

Hopalong introducing himself to us before asking us to “pardon me” in which he turns away from the camera to spit (animated by Richard Bickenbach).

The animation of the crows’ eyeballs watching Hopalong hop away.

The Hardy crow goes into the bushes to chase Hopalong so the Laurel crow can hit Hopalong with a club (animated by Cal Dalton. But Hopalong simply goes to the same tree behind the Laurel crow who tells him they’re going to catch a grasshopper, unaware that the character he’s talking to is the crows’ intended prey. When the Hardy crow emerges from the bush, he gets hit by the Laurel crow (animated by Gil Turner).

After Hopalong hops away, the Hardy crow, annoyed at the Laurel crow for his error, tells his partner, “THAT was a grasshopper” (animated by Turner).

Hopalong kicking the Laurel crow in the face (animated by Dalton).

The Laurel crow coming out of the bushes, thinking he caught Hopalong in a sack. It turns out he actually caught an angry bee, who chases the crows underwater. The bee attacks both crows when they come up for air but gets killed after ricocheting off the Laurel crow’s head! The crows then watch Hopalong hopping across the lily pads in front of them.

The Hardy crow then attempts to chase after Hopalong by hopping after him. This causes him to hit a tree. Spotting a pair of bed springs on an old bed frame in a junkyard, he gets an idea. In the next scene, Hopalong sees the Hardy crow hopping next to him with the springs on his feet and greeting him with “Hello”, which he says in a calm “I’ve got you now” tone. Unfortunately, for the Hardy crow, he keeps bouncing up into low-hanging branches before finally hopping off a cliff. The springs initially save him from hitting the bottom but when he bounces back up, Hopalong removes them! The Laurel crow comes up and asks, “Which way did my partner go?” Hopalong points him in the direction off the cliff and the Laurel crow eagerly obeys his directions! (animated by Gerry Chiniquy)

Back in the junkyard, the crows hide in an old piano but Hopalong plays the “Poet and Peasant Overture” on it with all fours, causing the hammers to hit the crows with every note (animated by Bickenbach).

In the end, Hopalong eludes the crows by leaping through the iris-out. He boasts about not being caught, but the Hardy crow opens the iris-out, pulls him back in to resume the chase, and the iris-out now closes (animated by Turner).

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½