''Bell Hoppy'' is a 1954

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

'' cartoon short directed by

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

. The short was released on April 17, 1954, and stars

Sylvester the Cat Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic Bicolor cat, cat in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hop ...

and

Hippety Hopper Hippety Hopper is a young kangaroo character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' series of cartoons. Robert McKimson introduced Hippety Hopper in '' Hop, Look and Listen'' (1948), which established the pattern for future Hippety Hopper cartoons. ...

. The story sees Sylvester in his "mouse chaser" persona, once again confusing baby kangaroo Hippety Hopper for a giant mouse. This plot is intertwined with a reversal of the "

belling the cat Belling the Cat is a fable also known under the titles The Bell and the Cat and The Mice in Council. In the story, a group of mice agree to attach a bell to a cat's neck to warn of its approach in the future, but they fail to find a volunteer to ...

" fable from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

; instead of mice wanting to avoid becoming prey to a hungry cat, here, a pack of starving alley cats hope to place a bell around the neck of the largest mouse they can find, so that upon its approach, they can ambush it, kill it and feast on its carcass. Sylvester comes into the picture when – wanting to join a fraternal organization called "the Loyal Order of Alley Cats Mouse and Chowder Club" – he is offered the opportunity for membership by the leader of the club by successfully placing the bell around the mouse's neck.

Plot

Sylvester has once again been " blackballed" from membership to the Loyal Order of Alley Cats Mouse and Chowder Club, a

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

of alley cats, that he so desperately wants to join. Meanwhile, Hippety Hopper escapes from a cage at the local city

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

office and hides in a

trash can A waste container, also known as a dustbin, rubbish bin, trash can, garbage can, wastepaper basket, and wastebasket, among other names, is a type of container intended to store waste that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "r ...

. The Grand High Exalted Poobah of the Order, digging through the trash to find food, expresses his frustration aloud at not being able to find anything good to eat and says he could eat the largest mouse possible...at which time he finds Hippety. Hippety proceeds to do to him what he usually does to Sylvester, prompting the Poobah to call a special meeting. Meanwhile, Sylvester makes one last attempt to gain membership into the Brotherhood. The Poobah – seeing Sylvester as a sucker – offers to let Sylvester join if he can place the

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

around the neck of the largest mouse he can find, so the cats can gang up on the mouse when they hear him coming. Soon Sylvester and Hippety quickly bump into each other and the following gags occur (all with Sylvester getting pummeled into submission): * Sylvester simply tries to place the bell around Hippety's neck, but the kangaroo kicks the cat. The bell winds up around Sylvester's neck, earning him his first beating. * The cat hides in a delivery cart, with two bells around its frame. Hippety accidentally knocks the parked wagon's handle, causing it to careen down a steep hill. The other alley cats hide to ambush what they think is the "giant mouse", but instead smash the cart (and Sylvester) flat with a huge club wielded by all of them at once. * Sylvester finds Hippety hiding in a junkyard and tries to use a teeter totter to catapult his antagonist into a wall. But Hippety will not budge (after Sylvester jumps from a stack of junk onto the board), and the cat smashes into a wall...next to a stoplight that sounds a bell-type sound when the lights change. Sylvester knows what this means and tries to hide on the stoplight...exactly where the other cats strike. In the end, Sylvester finally uses a

mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

trick to get Hippety to place the bell around his neck. Sylvester is, naturally, excited about finally one-upping his long-time nemesis and calls the cats into position. But by the time the cats are ready to pounce on the baby kangaroo-mistaken-for-a-giant-mouse, Hippety is back in the city zoo truck and very happy with his new toy. The oblivious cats jump in the path of the truck, getting them all run over. Taking the opportunity, Sylvester now gets to serve as the Brotherhood's Grand High Exalted Poobah (since he is now the only active member because the others are all bandaged up) only to be "blackballed" again...this time after declaring himself leader and pounding the

gavel A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet/hammer commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially ...

on the table too hard, causing the black 8 billiard ball on the table to bounce up and hit him on the top of his head.

References

{{Robert McKimson 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Films directed by Robert McKimson Merrie Melodies short films Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1954 films Sylvester the Cat films Animated films about kangaroos and wallabies 1950s English-language films Hippety Hopper films Films about fraternities and sororities English-language short films 1954 animated short films