The Hep Cat

"The Hep Cat" is a fy|1942 Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster, animated primarily by Robert McKimson, and set to a musical score composed by Carl Stalling. This cartoon is notable as the first color "Looney Tunes" short, but it was re-released in the "Blue Ribbon Classics" series as a "Merrie Melodie". The end card also labels the short as a Merrie Melodies short subject. Because the original "Looney Tunes" titles are lost, the features the "Blue Ribbon" titles.

Synopsis

The cartoon opens with a cat (claimed by some to be a prototypical version of Sylvester the cat, but the resemblance—in both appearance and voice—is slight, at best) strolling through an abandoned lot. Unfortunately, he stumbles upon a dog named "Rosebud"—known otherwise by fans as Willoughby the Dog— who noticises the cat and begins to rapidly chase him. The cat manages to successfully escape and then starts singing the lyrics of the tune "Java Jive". The cat later comes across an attractive female cat and utterly fails at his attempts to woo her. Suddenly, the dog from earlier reappears and the chase starts up again. Through a series of zany, Clampett-esque sight gags, the cat is able to once again evade the dog. As the cartoon closes, the cat can be seen kissing his dream girl—a puppet.

Title alterations

When Cartoon Network aired this short on The Bob Clampett Show, the titles were replaced with title cards of a colorized Porky Pig Looney Tune, with The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down as the opening music. The Looney Tunes title card cuts to the Blue Ribbon title card with Merrily We Roll Along as title music. The Looney Tunes drum also closes the cartoon.