Pop 'im Pop!

Wonderful short from Bob McKimson that features kangaroo Hippety Hopper sneaking away from the circus and running into Sylvester and his son, Junior. Believing the kangaroo to be a giant mouse, Sylvester tries to fight him and prove to Junior that he is a superior mouse catcher. This cartoon marks the first appearance of Sylvester Jr., one of my personal favorite characters. The formula in this short would be repeated in many others, though it was never better than it is here. The animation is terrific, with beautiful colors and well-drawn characters and backgrounds. Nice music from Carl Stalling. Great voice work from Mel Blanc. The gags are very funny and the dialogue, particularly from Junior, is hilariously fresh. It's a classic cartoon that stands as one of the best of the Sylvester & Hippety series, as well as the first of many fun appearances from Sylvester, Jr.

Sylvester the cat boasts to his son, a kitten replica of his dad, of what a great mouser he is and about how he can deal with any mouse, however large.

Cue Hippety Hopper, a baby kangaroo, or, as Sylvester assumes, a rather large mouse! Our cat friend then starts to embarrass his son with attempts to subdue the mouse with ever more inept attempts to fight him, hence the title 'Pop 'im, Pop!' representing some encouragement from Sylvester Junior.

It is funny, but the same storyline would be resurrected time after time. You'd think the cat would have got wise to the trick - the audience certainly have. However, as standalone cartoons, any of the Hippety Hopper ones are entertaining.

The Sylvester and Hippety Hopper (with and without Sylvester Jnr.) cartoons are mostly well-made and entertaining, the series did get a little repetitive in the mid-50s but it was mostly solid stuff. Pop 'Im Pop is one of their earlier cartoons- the first one to feature Sylvester Jnr- and also one of the better ones.

It is rather formulaic, as is the case with all the cartoons in the series (though it is a long way from the worst case), it's well-paced and maintains interest but it basically follows the same basic story and structure as the previous cartoons and with not an awful lot original.

Pop 'Im Pop is on the other hand very well animated, with bright colourful backgrounds, rich colours, all the characters being smoothly drawn and all the gestures and expressions being expressive and adding much to the humour. The animation not only looks good here but it also shows off McKimson's personality and comedic talents. Carl Stalling's music score is as always wonderful, putting so much energy and soul into the cartoon (and every single cartoon he scored for in fact). It is also fabulously and cleverly composed music in its own right, with lush orchestration, lively style, energetic rhythms and how it matches so well with everything and helps enhance gestures, expression and the action.

No matter how predictable and formulaic the Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoons were, they didn't forget to entertain, and Pop 'Im Pop is one of the series' funniest and even if the basic scenario is sort of familiar the dialogue and gags actually feel fresh. There is some very witty dialogue here, all of it from Sylvester, and the gags are often hilarious with sparkling interplay between the three characters. Sylvester Jnr is cute and amusing, and Hippety Hopper's physical comedy is well-animated and doesn't become tiresome, but the funniest and most interesting character consistently is Sylvester, a character that you do feel amusement and empathy for. Mel Blanc's voice work is spot-on, as can be expected.

Overall, great fun, well-made and one of the best cartoons to feature all three characters. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is the first Sylvester/Sylvester Jr. cartoon and it stands on its own merits despite a number of mediocre, repetitious followups. It still feels fresh if you can clear your mind of the later, lesser variations on the same theme.

The first 3 Sylvester Jr. cartoons are all very good and display the excellent loose and active animation of early Robert McKimson shorts and genuinely funny setups. The first six Sylvester/Hippety Hopper cartoons were all funny (3 with Sylvester Jr. and 3 solo) and managed to find fresh angles on the routine.

There was a definite cutoff point for the good ones. The last truly funny one was 'Cats A-Weigh' in 1953 then, just like that, from 1954 onward, they became predictably unfunny.

'Pop 'Im Pop' is a great example of Looney Tunes in their late-40s, early-50s prime when McKimson was still putting out brilliant cartoons before his rapid decline in the mid-50s.