The Hep Cat (Looney Tunes)

The Hep Cat (episode 383)
The birth of fast-paced, wilder, wackier, loonier direction of Bob Clampett.
Directed by: Bob Clampett Written by: Warren Foster Release date: October 3, 1942 Franchise: Looney Tunes Prequel: "The Dover Boys" (previous short) Sequel: "The Sheepish Wolf" (next short)

The Hep Cat is a 1942 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob Clampett and written by Warren Foster. It is notable for being the first Looney Tunes short to be produced in color, after 12 years of being only in black and white.

Why It Rocks

1. Just like Chuck Jones, this cartoon marked the time when Bob Clampett started to make more funnier cartoons with faster pacing after making weak, mid-paced, but okay cartoons from the 30s to early 40s.
   • But, however unlike Chuck Jones (since he still made few slow-pacing shorts) until at least the end of 1942), Clampett's creativity and experimentation reaches his peak, as subsequent Looney Tunes cartoons became wilder, zanier, and loonier in tone, direction and timing.
2. The first Looney Tune to be shot in Technicolor, after several years of black and white shorts.
3. Great voice talents from Mel Blanc, Sara Berner and Kent Rogers.
4. Excellent animation from Rod Scribner, Virgil Ross and Bob McKimson.
5. The dog gets his comeuppance by being trapped in baby clothes on a clothesline.
6. The song number by the cat is pretty catchy to listen to.
7. Funny moments, such as the male cat imitating Mario Lopez in one scene.

The Only Bad Quality

1. Weird Ending: The male cat romancing a female cat puppet can be ridiculous to some.

Trivia

• 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 Melody.

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