Hip Hip-Hurry!

Fun but flawed Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote short from the great Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. I don't know what was going on with this one. I haven't been viewing these shorts in chronological order so, as I type this review, I'm not sure if the cartoons before and after this one in the series have the same problems. The opening title card and music were a clue right away that something was off as they seemed decidedly generic. The animation is colorful and crisp. The gags are, for the most part, successful. The speedboat and Hi-Speed Tonic are two of the highlights. The biggest negative about the short are the music and sound effects. Neither felt like they belonged in a Looney Tunes short from this period. The music is energetic enough but didn't feel like it matched the rhythm of the action right. Another reviewer said it was canned music, which is entirely possible. It certainly doesn't match the quality work composers Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn usually put forth. The sound effects are loud and annoying. They are definitely stock effects. If this short had been released in the mid-60s I likely wouldn't have batted an eye about the flaws because those cartoons were not of the same level of quality you expect from a Looney Tunes short from this decade. Still, despite the oddities, the short is nicely animated with some fun gags. It's not the best example of a Road Runner & Coyote cartoon but it's enjoyable enough.

This is another fine cartoon in the Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote series. This time the Coyote tries to catch the bird with a catapult and dynamite, some more dynamite, some hand grenades, a falling rock, a speed boat and even some high speed tonic. Of course he fails with every new attempt, hurting himself over and over again.

Since this one is directed by Chuck Jones you can be certain that it is entertaining. Cartoons directed by him are always funny and the timing is perfect. Here it is not different. The gag with the speed boat and a waterfall is very good. The high speed tonic joke is quite good as well. First he tests the stuff on a mouse before trying it himself. Especially the running mouse looks very funny. 'Hip Hip-Hurry' is another fine example of the great cartoons from Chuck Jones.

More of Wile E. Coyote's perpetually unsuccessful, self-harming attempts to trap Road Runner in an unidentified part of the American Southwest. As can be expected, there's no shortage of dynamite here, but there's also boulders, a grenade, and even a form of tonic containing some most unusual vitamins. You gotta wonder why Wile E. doesn't just give up, but of course, then there would be none of these cartoons. "Hip Hip-Hurry!" may not really add anything new, but it's always great to see what happens to these characters. The waterfall gag was great, as was the end. I guess that Wile E. doesn't have to reach for the stars anymore!

'Hip Hip-Hurry' is a very funny, mostly well made and mostly great cartoon. It isn't one of the classics of the on-the-most-part enjoyable Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote series but it is miles better than any of the late 60s efforts, which saw the series (and most of the Looney Tunes cartoons actually) declining.

The animation is not the most inventive or luscious of the series, nor did it need to be. The overall quality is still very good, it has beautiful rich colours, nice detail in the backgrounds (while not as meticulous as earlier outings, they're hardly sparse or simplistic either) and the drawing is fluid, a great job as ever is done with the drawing and characterisation of Coyote's many expressions. 'Hip Hip-Hurry' also benefits from being very funny.

As with a vast majority of the series (apart from two) there is no dialogue, the humour all comes from the physical comedy and sight gags. The physical comedy is very nicely drawn, no stiffness at all, while all the gags work thanks to good animation, crisp timing and Coyote as ever being the continually great character that he is. The standout gags being the one with the speedboat and in particular the riotous ending. The story is formulaic (as with pretty much all the RR/C cartoons, but the two characters and their sparkling chemistry, the gags, the animation and the efficient pacing make that not matter.

Roadrunner is cute and amusing if one-dimensional, but Coyote is funnier, more rootable and more interesting.

Unfortunately, 'Hip Hip-Hurry' is let down by two big things. While not as cheap sounding, as dull or as repetitive as Bill Lava's scoring, the music, stock not canned, is indeed no match for Milt Franklyn and especially Carl Stalling. It's not badly orchestrated and it's lively enough, but music in cartoons should add to the action and if you're a good enough composer enhance it and the music here distracts from the action. Rhythmically it doesn't quite fit and it's a bit too over-scored in places. The sound effects are also inappropriately loud and sometimes misplaced, that it becomes irritating.

In summary, apart from two annoyances 'Hip Hip-Hurry' is mostly great. 8/10 Bethany Cox