Along with Pop 'Im Pop and Cats Aweigh, Hoppy-Go-Lucky is one of the standouts of the Sylvester and Hippety Hopper series, sadly it is one of the more obscure cartoons in the series (a distinction that it doesn't deserve). Even if it has a concept that was pretty much the same for every one of their cartoons, and one that stretched out longer than it needed to with the later cartoons (after starting to feel tired after Bell Hoppy), it feels very fresh here and makes the most of the absurdity.
Hoppy-Go-Lucky very well animated, with bright colourful backgrounds, rich colours, all the characters being smoothly drawn (Benny's oafishness and clumsiness is very endearing here) 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 (one of the stronger ones in the series actually), 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.
It is a very funny cartoon too, the exchange between Sylvester and Benny with Sylvester trying to correct Benny on his name is hilarious, and the gags and physical comedy is sharply timed and among the funniest of the series. Benny later accusing Sylvester of not trying hard enough and threatening him is also surprisingly funny yet menacing and contains some inventive animation, showing that Benny is more than just the oafish, dim-witted character that he appears to be. The story is lively in pace, and while not new concept-wise there is nothing tired about the material here. Sylvester and Hippety Hopper's chemistry is amusing as ever, but it's between him and Benny where the cartoon shines even better, because it is very funny, suspenseful and sometimes sweet.
Hippety is basically a plot device but is still cute and amusing, while Sylvester is like Wile E. Coyote in that it is so easy to laugh at and feel sympathy for him. A great job is also done with Benny, who could have easily have been irritating, cloying or the stereotypical dim-witted character, but he's actually a lot of fun and also exudes menace and endearment. Mel Blanc does typically wonderfully, and Stan Freberg is up to his expert level.
To conclude, a great cartoon and one of the standouts of the series, doesn't deserve the relative obscurity it has. 9/10 Bethany Cox