Gato Hipocondríaco

Hypo-Chondri-Cat, The (1950)

*** (out of 4)

The cat Claude is chasing mice Hubie and Bertie when he passes an open window and fears he's going to get sick. The cat, terrified of colds, soon starts to freak out when the mice make it seem like he's about to die. This is certainly middle ground Merrie Melodies but it's still got enough charm to make it worth sitting through. This is a rather mean-spirited short, which is why many people like it. I think it gives the short a certain edge that makes it worth watching but at the same time you can't help but feel sorry for this cat who is clearly terrified out of his wits. None of the three characters were all that strong. They weren't bad but they just weren't characters that I'd sit through various shorts with. Fans of animation will certainly want to check this out even though it's not the best of what's out there.

Hubie and Bertie are mice invading a cozy home. They steal cheese and relax. They are confronted by house cat Claude, but he is rather a hypochondriac. He is afraid of catching a cold from the slightest breeze. The mice take advantage and sets him on a path to cat heaven.

I don't really know these characters. These three never reached super stardom, but I do remember this short. They are good characters. The two mice work well. Maybe they aren't unique enough. All I know is that this short is effective and I remember it after these many decades later. I would like the mice to have the last words.

I first saw this cartoon when I was a little kid, and naturally, I had no idea what was going on. I was utterly clueless that Claude the Cat has hypochondria and that Bert & Hubie decide to take advantage of it to their full potential. In a way, the whole cartoon is really sad, and Claude's dream sure has the potential to freak out any young child. Of course, for those of us who do understand hypochondria and know how Claude thinks that he has every disease known to man, it's a laugh riot.

I love this cartoon! I don't remember too many Claude Cat cartoons, in fact I can't differentiate the events between the others. But this one sticks out. It's really funny visually, but the real hilarity is verbal. It makes me sad watching it, since the poor cat is defenseless against the sadistic and satanic Hubie and Bertie. It has the whole surgery routine, and Claude's dream is pretty freaky. But I guess he ends up happy in the end. By the way, what IS it with those mice? Claude hardly seems to do anything to them. Back to the visual comedy: Claude's expressions and his antagonists' gleeful and cruel expressions as each brainstorm hits and how their plot seamlessly unfolds are fantastic. Nice ending. Good to see it remastered, restored and uncut on the new Looney Tunes DVD. Looking forward to buying it. Highly recommended.

I swear that Hubie and Bertie get downright nasty when trying to expel Claude from the house that they want to inhabit (they also did in "Mouse Wreckers"). In this case, they play off of Claude's cryophobia to perform what he thinks is a lethal operation on him. I wonder why they can't just try and negotiate with him; if that cat's so afraid of the cold, couldn't he be willing to hold talks with a pair of wise guy mice? Oh well. "The Hypo-Chondri-Cat" is still a pretty funny cartoon, even if it is a little weird what Hubie and Bertie end up doing to Claude. Still, my favorite Hubie and Bertie-Claude pairing is "Cheese Chasers".