Bell Hoppy

Bell Hoppy is a 1954 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.
== Title ==
The cartoon's title is a pun on "bellhop", which is another term for bellboy.
== Plot ==
Sylvester has been "blackballed" out of membership to the Loyal Order of Alley Cats Mousing and Chowder Club again. To gain the long-coveted membership, the Loyal Order Grand Master offers to let the lisping puddy tat place a big bell around the neck of the largest mouse he can find, so the cats can pounce on the mouse when they hear the bell. Just as that's going on, Hippety Hopper escapes from the Acme Rare Animal Importing Co. before they can load him into a city zoo truck. It's not long before he encounters the hapless Sylvester. Each attempt to place the bell around Hippety's neck ends with Sylvester wearing the bell (and the cats unwittingly pounding Sylvester into submission). In the end, Sylvester finally does get the bell around Hippety's neck, but by the time the cats are ready to pounce on the baby kangaroo-mistaken-for-a-giant-mouse, Hippety has been recaptured. The oblivious cats end up jumping in front of the city zoo truck! With all of them out of commission, Sylvester now gets to serve as the Loyal Order's “Grand Exalted Poobah”, only to "blackball" himself again, much to his chagrin.
== Availability ==
W UK10551 LooneyTunesVideoShowNo16The.jpg|(1984) VHS The Looney Tunes Video Show, Volume 16
LTCE VOL 13 COMIC CAT-TASTROPHIES.jpg|(1999) VHS Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 13: Comic Cat-Tastrophies
LooneyTunesSuperStars SylvesterAndHippetyHopper.jpg|(2013) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars' Sylvester & Hippety Hopper: Marsupial Mayhem (original rings restored)
=== Streaming ===
lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang App ( - )
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022) (original rings restored)
Lt max.jpg|Max (2024 - ) (original rings restored)
== Censorship ==
* When this cartoon aired on WNEW in the 1980s, the ending where Sylvester becomes the new Loyal Order's Grand Master only to "blackball" himself again, was cut due to time constraints. The WNEW-edited version ends the cartoon after the cats from the Loyal Order jump in front of a City Zoo truck that contains Hippety Hopper and end up getting run over by it.http://mfoxweb-001-site22.mysitepanel.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12174&sid=f6f1d620e0d9d7c2cd0dc0213194fd43&start=10
== Notes ==
* This cartoon's plot is essentially a role-reversal version of the age-old "belling the cat" fable, as in "Sniffles Bells the Cat"; as opposed to the mice preventing themselves from becoming prey to cats, this time the cats hope to bell the biggest mouse they could ever find so that they could ambush, kill and eat its carcass for a more satisfying meal.
== Gallery ==
BellHoppyCredits1.png
BellHoppyCredits2.png
IMG 2480.png|Hippety Hopper shocked for the first time
Hgdfdjrt.jpg
IMG 2481.png
IMG 2482.png|"So ordered!"
IMG 2483.png|"Sufferin' succotash! Black-balled again!"
Bell Hoppy (1954) - City.jpg
Bell Hoppy (1954) - Street.jpg
BellHoppyLeadSheet1.jpg|Animator draft
BellHoppyLeadSheet2.jpg|Animator draft
BellHoppyLeadSheet3.jpg|Animator draft
== References ==
Category:Shorts
Category:Hippety Hopper Cartoons
Category:Sylvester Cartoons
Category:Cartoons directed by Robert McKimson
Category:1954
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons animated by Charles McKimson
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Robert Givens
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Tedd Pierce
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist