Release Date:

September 1, 1956

Main Character(s):

Sylvester, Hippety Hopper, Sylvester Jr.

Summary:

As pets in a luxurious mansion, Sylvester Jr. has heard rumors from other cats that pampered life has caused Sylvester to become a has-been and no longer a good mouser. To prove this wrong, Sylvester takes Jr. mouse hunting in an old abandoned Explorer’s Club building. At the same time, a circus train from the nearby railroad tracks has passed by, with the crate containing Hippety Hopper having been on the train, falling off, and crashing into the basement. Coming across Hippety, Sylvester and Jr. once again assume he is a giant mouse.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1422 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

This is the first cartoon to use the 1956-1957 orange rings with the green background but only in the intro. The “That’s all Folks!” end card still uses the 1955-1956 green rings with the red background.

“Slap hoppy” is a pun for “slap happy”.

The cartoon was originally titled “Of Mice and Menace”, an obvious pun for John Steinbeck’s novel.

The animator draft for the cartoon can be viewed here.

Carl Stalling scored this one.

I absolutely love the bouncy, lively rendition of “Three Blind Mice” over the opening credits.

Favorite Scene:

Sylvester attempts to load a gun only to get shot through the ceiling every time he does, causing him to also think he did the loading in the wrong order after each shot.

What Happens in This One:

At a lavish mansion, the butler opens the door to meowing noises. It turns out to be from an irritated Jr. coming in on all four’s. He goes into the living room where Sylvester is napping on the pillow (animated by Russ Dyson) and repeatedly knocks him on the head for him to wake up. “Father! Wake up, Father! Father, wake up!” Sylvester yawns while awakening and upon seeing Jr., responds, “Oh! Oh, oh, just taking a catnap, son! What’s on your mind?” Jr. answers in a stern, irritated manner, “Father. I wish to ask you a question”. Sylvester: “Question?” Jr.: “Yes, sir! How would a fellow go about getting a transfer out of this chicken-chintzy outfit!?” (animated by Ted Bonnicksen)

Sylvester becomes shocked at this, “What!? Why, son, you never had it so good! A plushy home; our meals served on a silver platter by the mistress’ own butler; nothing to do all day but purr, and meow, and eat, and sleep! Son, we’ve got it SOFT!” Jr. replies, “That’s just what all the cats around here are saying about you, Father! That soft living has ruined a once-great mouser!” Sylvester: “Oh, they are, are they!?” Jr: “Yes, they are, are they. And the shame of it is more than one of my tender years can face!” Sylvester brushes it off, “Oh, stuff and nonsense! I’ll show THEM just how much easy living has ruined this great mouser! Sonny boy, you and I are going mouse hunting!” (animated by Bonnicksen)

With both wearing a red hunters’ cap atop their respective heads, Sylvester and Jr. head out with Sylvester explaining the idea, “The first test of a good mouse hunter is knowing where to look for his quarry. The best place is some big old run-down mouse-infested house. And I know just the place. Down by the railroad tracks”. In front of this house is a sign, “For Sale This Desirable Old Run Down Mouse Infested House Tralfaz Investment Co.”, which was formerly the “Explorer’s Club 1897”. Once they arrive, Sylvester informs, “Here we are, son! Just what the doctor ordered!” Seeing that the house is “Hmm. Obviously unoccupied”, Sylvester decides, “We’ll just walk right in” (animated by Dyson).

As they both enter, Sylvester walks in on tiptoes as he whispers, “Keep very quiet now, son! We’re entering mouse territory!” Jr. suddenly shouts very loud, “Father! Where are they, Father!? Where are all the mice, Father!?”, only for Sylvester to shush him and warn, “Don’t be impatient, son! I’ll soon ferret them out- scientifically!” He puts a stethoscope up to the wall just as the screen begins to shake from something going on from outside the wall. On the nearby railroad tracks, it turns out to be a train for “Clawed Bitty’s Circus” passing by. One of the cars is an open flatbed with Hippety’s crate moving around on there, causing the crate to fall off and tumble into the house’s basement. The crate bursts open against a pole, revealing Hippety’s crate was labeled as “Baby Kangaroo. To City Zoo” (animated by George Grandpre).

Thinking that all the noise was going on in the walls’ interior, Sylvester remarks, “Sakes, son! I never heard such a racket! Why, the walls must be TEEMING with mice!” Putting the stethoscope back in the bag, Sylvester boasts, “You are now going to see your old broken-down father UN-infest one old broken-down mouse-infested house!” Jr. begins talking like a 1950’s-esque teen, “Hey, man! You’re not broken down! You’re a real cool cat!” Not knowing what to say in response to this, Sylvester replies with, “Um…. yeah”. He then takes Jr. by the hand into another room, “Come on, son!” (animated by Grandpre)

In the other room, Sylvester spots, “Ah-ha! A mouse!” (animated by Grandpre), with two eyes appearing in a dark mouse hole in the wall. Sylvester instructs Jr., “Now, watch your father’s incomparable stalking technique!” He sneaks across the floor on all four’s and puts his back against the wall to ambush the mouse. Once the mouse comes out of the hole, Sylvester attempts to jump him with an “Ah-ha!” but only succeeds in going right through the loose floorboard and crashing into the basement offscreen. Jr. calls out, “Father! Where are you, Father?” (animated by Keith Darling)

In the basement, Sylvester gets up from his crash and upon lighting a match, sees Hippety bounce up to him from behind. Jr. continues walking along and calling, “Father! Father! Where are you!?” The basement door then opens with Sylvester coming out completely white and stammering incoherently. Jr. claps at him, “Father! Snap out of it!” Once Sylvester comes to, he is no longer white as he explains, “Huh? Oh, uh, ju-ju-jus- just saw the granddaddy of all mice! He-he-he must be a Texas-Texas mouse! H-h-huge! Yee!” With a “seriously?” expression, Jr. replies, “Oh, Father!” Sylvester leans toward him to tell him, “I don’t blame ya, son, if ya don’t believe me, but-”, only for Jr. to reveal, “Oh, but I DO believe you, Father! There he is right behind you!” It turns out Hippety is indeed right behind him, causing Sylvester to let out a scream and attempt to run off as Hippety also bounces away. Jr. grabs Sylvester by the tail, “Don’t let him get away, Father! Don’t let him get away!” Sylvester gets up, “Don’t let HIM get away!? Say, whose side are you on, son!?” Jr. reasons, “But he’s only a mouse, Father, and cats aren’t afraid of mice!” Realizing this, Sylvester says to himself, “Hey, that’s right! Cats aren’t afraid of mice! And I’m a cat! I think.” After letting out a literal “meow”, Sylvester decides, “Yep! I’m a cat! So I’m not afraid of him!” As Sylvester goes after Hippety, Jr. states how proud he is, “There goes a brave pussycat!” (animated by Darling)

Finding Hippety in another room, Sylvester lets out an “Ah-ha!” and races towards him in an attempt to lunge at him and give him a headlock. Hippety ducks, causing Sylvester to fly smack into the wall. Sylvester angrily walks up to Hippety and threatens, “Stand still, ya overgrown jumping jack, so I can swarm ya!” His attempt to leap at Hippety results in Hippety kicking him around very fast like a ball and then kicking Sylvester backward to the other side of the room. Seeing that a shield and a mallet on the wall fell down from the impact of him hitting it, Sylvester picks them up to use as weapons against Hippety, attempting to sneak up on him with them. Hippety kicks the shield, sending Sylvester flying back into the wall a second time, with the shield also flying backwards at him, creating a Sylvester-shaped hole in the wall (animated by Dyson).

Sylvester and Jr. walk over to where a large rifle is stored as Sylvester states, “I know it isn’t exactly sporting, but I’ve GOTTA bring in the heavy artillery to bag THIS monster!” Impressed, Jr. remarks, “Gosh, Father, you sure know your stuff! I guess”. Sylvester continues as he loads the gun, “You gotta load these things frontier style. Now, first you pour in some shot. A generous amount of black powder. Some wadding. Pack it down real good and-”. He gets blasted (animated by Grandpre) through the ceiling in the middle of this. Running back down the stairs to reload the gun, Sylvester says to himself, “Shucks! I know! I know what I did! I know what I did wrong! First, the wadding! Yeah, that’s it! (animated by Dyson) First, the wadding, THEN the shot! Then, the powder! Yeah! Tamp, tamp, tamp, tamp!” He gets blasted through the ceiling a second time (animated by Grandpre). Now with a bit of fur missing, Sylvester runs back down the stairs again to reload the gun a third time, “I got it! I got it now! I know just where I went wrong! Silly old me! The POWDER first! Yeah, that’s it! First, the powder! Powder first! Then, the wadding, shot-” Upon seeing that Hippety has bounced up to him from behind, Sylvester gloats to him, “Oh, brother, are you gonna get it THIS time!” He continues loading the gun, “Pack it down good and-”. At this moment, the actual mouse he tried to sneak up on earlier comes out, revealing he was responsible for shooting Sylvester through the ceiling. Realizing this upon spotting him, Sylvester points downward, “Ah-ha! So YOU’RE the little-!”, before the mouse pulls the trigger again, sending Sylvester through the ceiling one more time (animated by Dyson).

Later, Jr. sees Sylvester painting the floor with iron glue and asks, “What are you doing that for, Father?” Sylvester answers, “Making the trap for Mr. Smart-Aleck Mouse! THAT’S what!” Hippety comes in and kicks Sylvester, causing the latter to fall chest-first onto the glue, rendering him stuck to the floor instead. From the basement, Jr. saws a hole from around Sylvester and walks out of the house through the basement, carrying the still-stuck Sylvester, “Oh, the shame of it all! Carrying my father home again, stiff as a board!” (animated by Dyson)

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½