Hoppity Hooper

After the success of Rocky and Bullwinkle, along came a more child friendly but unfortunately lesser known show called Hoppity Hooper.

It's full of potential, imagination and wit that it's successor had. But many episodes fall flat or either feel like something is missing. None of them will be as bad as the Ghosts episode though.

There's some pretty good episodes, and some fun characters I wish we got to see more of. For example, that Mole they rescue in "Diamond Mine", and Susan Swivelhips! I also love Waldo, Hans did a wonderful job voicing him. Same can be said about Hoppity and Fillmore aswell, theyre very cute.

I havent dove deep into my research on the production history of this show, but from what I can tell is that it definitely feels way more restrictive than Rocky and Bullwinkle in terms of humor and tone. If it was handled a little better, and the studio was able to go wild, we may have had a cult hit like George of the Jungle.

Nowdays, this series has wound up in weird cartoon dvds and is mostly forgotten. But if you ever want to check it out, the whole thing is on Internet Archive.

This has to be one of the more underrated shows in the history of cartoons. To me this show was always overshadowed by the show that Jay Ward was always famous for "Rocky and Bullwinkle". Hans Conreid will always be remembered for being one of the classic comedic actors in television history. But it was what he did in his characterization of "Uncle Waldo" that helped make this what it was. Also, the characters of the serious Hoppity and the dimwitted Filmore helped balance out Waldo's outrageousness. However, the main factor that made it great was the fact that it contained the element of social satire that made all Jay Ward shows enjoyable for both children and adults. Its just too bad that this show always gets lost in the shuffle whenever Jay Ward and his creations are mentioned.

"Hoppity Hooper" is one of the cartoons I grew up with thanks to its appearance on the low-budget DVD sets made by Mill Creek Entertainment. As a kid, I liked it but didn't love it, and I feel the same now.

It's a lively and funny show, but suffers from two major issues. The first is one that became more common in children's animation in later decades: there is constant noise. Someone is always talking (usually yelling) or else there's a sound effect, without a moment of silence. This makes it a bit grating to watch more than a couple episodes at once. The other problem is that the episodes are only five minutes long with cliffhangers and recaps in each. That doesn't leave enough time to tell a story properly, even with the stories being spread over four episodes each, so the show always seems to be in a rush.

There are some great episodes though - the Twilight Zone parody "Traffic Zone" for one. The very first episode, "Ring-a-Ding Spring" is also a fun one. The show isn't bad at all, but it could have been better - and it might be better remembered today if it had been.

The other reviewers are right that "Hoppity Hooper" has been largely underrated, but not without reason. When it comes to remembering the work of Jay Ward, this particular show is little recognized today, mostly due to the few years it ran. "Rocky and Bullwinkle" had a total of five seasons, had a large cast of recurring characters, creative plots each time, and long-spanning story arcs sometimes lasting more than ten half-hour shows. Albeit poorly and cheaply animated (understandable since most sixties cartoons were every bit as bad) it lived to please both kinds of audiences: the adults could see it for its witty and sophisticated puns, the kids could watch it for its funny character designs and lovely colors. It is no wonder then, that because of all the lovable characters and witty jokes that R&B is a remembered classic.

"Hoppity Hooper" had lots of potential. It makes me sad to think how little of it was used. The show ran for about two seasons and is hugely overshadowed by its longer-running predecessor. Furthermore, each story-line feels cramped and little-used since all story arcs run for only two half-hour shows ("Jet Fuel Formula" from R&B had a total of twenty) and all of the various adventures Hoppity and his friends go through could have been more filled with gags. The characters are all great: Filmore makes a good Bullwinkle while Waldo's brilliant ideas make his person a success, but Hoppity himself is uninteresting and lacking in any real noticeable traits apart from being the smartest of all three. The stories are creative and fun, but as stated above are not exercised like those of "Rocky and Bullwinkle".

Jay Ward and his company unmistakably stumbled upon some excellent characters and ideas, but they didn't seem to realize it. "Hoppity Hooper" is cheaply made, conformed to a very tight space to where it's only decent entertainment, and little effort appears to have been put into it. It's sad, because the premise could have been just as good as "Rocky and Bullwinkle", but with four-part stories, great ideas left un-exercised, and great characters unused to their full extent, the show is mainly one for younger kids and serves as little more than decent entertainment. I like what I see, and I think it's sad that the studio never realized all the things they could have done with it.

I have always liked those strange little, maybe bizarre shows that have always seemed to just appear on TV and then disappear almost as quickly. Few people even know they existed, but for the serious TV watcher, they were what made television exciting. Shows like Gerald McBoingBoing, WinkyDink, Smilin' Ed's Gang (with Froggie the Gremlin). Shows that most likely were the ancestors of later shows like Fraggle Rock, Futurama, and Trippin the Rift, and currently South Park, Family Guy, Drawn Together. (Yes, The Simpsons, too, but that show is way too popular,and no to Beavis and Butthead - just gross for no reason, and no to King of the Hill, actually a rather sad show. Though, Beany and Cecil was really close). Shows that from a distance looked like kids fare,but if you actually took the time to watch and listen, you'd see very mature, adult writing and themes done with humor- shows that challenged you to think a little, while poking fun at every cultural reference one could think of.

Of course, I watched Rocky and Bullwinkle, but when Hoppity Hooper appeared, my immediate thought was that, aha, the writers of R&B are pulling out all the stops and just going for joke after joke, but all rather deep. You had to really know what was going on, to catch it all. And it was all hilarious. All three leads were way over the top, Hoppity with his oh so serious, wide eyed innocence, Waldo with his angles to scam everything and everybody, and Filmore with his absolutely brainless utterances.

I could just see the writers and lead voices having a blast with the barest of plots, but with the sarcasm and irony going full bore. These shows aren't for everyone, but if you like that kind of humor, there are some places around here you can see an episode or two.

Too bad they didn't get that magic 100 shows so there would be enough for repeat syndication. A little gem of a show for the all too brief time it was on.