Hop and Chop
- Episode aired Jun 1, 1970
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
7
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Featured review
More choppy than worth hopping over
'Tijuana Toads'"Hop and Chop" (1970)
Opening thoughts: Whether one enjoys this cartoon is very dependent on what your thoughts on the Japenese beetle, in his debut cartoon, is, as he is a heavy focus here and the only way one can at least appreciate 'Hop and Chop' is if the character does anything for you. Also if El Toro and Pancho do much for you as characters. No is the case here on both counts and also mostly do not care for the Tijuana Toads series. Hop and Chop' is for me towards the lesser end of the 17 cartoons that make up the series, and it has always been that way. It has its moments, but the usual bad things are here as well as one aspect that brings down the cartoon significantly.
Good things: The music is once again very characterful and has an energy that everything else does not have. The main theme is another winner from Doug Goodwin, and the opening credits likewise.
Moreover, there were a couple of amusing moments. All of them towards the end. The crocodile/alligator gag fares best of the gags and did make me laugh, and the birds' final lines at the end are memorable too.
Bad things: Sadly, there is not an awful lot to recommend about 'Hop and Chop'. El Toro and Pancho are both bland and annoying characters, Pancho also pointless here. There is very little amusing or memorable here and the cartoon is very low on the gags with most being derivative. Gags are not very many. The animation is scrappy and simplistic, dominated by the hideous character animation for the beetle and the sickly use of orange in the background art that was like looking like out of date thrown up orange juice.
Moreover, the story is best forgotten as there isn't really one and it's a very over-familiar scenario with no freshness whatsoever. The pace is routine at best and the voice acting is again too broad and caricaturish. What really brings down 'Hop and Chop' is the character of the beetle, the series was full of stereotypical characters but not to this extent or this level of distaste. And it takes a lot for me to be offended by any component for anything in film, television etc.
Concluding thoughts: Overall, very mediocre like too many cartoons in the series.
4/10.
Opening thoughts: Whether one enjoys this cartoon is very dependent on what your thoughts on the Japenese beetle, in his debut cartoon, is, as he is a heavy focus here and the only way one can at least appreciate 'Hop and Chop' is if the character does anything for you. Also if El Toro and Pancho do much for you as characters. No is the case here on both counts and also mostly do not care for the Tijuana Toads series. Hop and Chop' is for me towards the lesser end of the 17 cartoons that make up the series, and it has always been that way. It has its moments, but the usual bad things are here as well as one aspect that brings down the cartoon significantly.
Good things: The music is once again very characterful and has an energy that everything else does not have. The main theme is another winner from Doug Goodwin, and the opening credits likewise.
Moreover, there were a couple of amusing moments. All of them towards the end. The crocodile/alligator gag fares best of the gags and did make me laugh, and the birds' final lines at the end are memorable too.
Bad things: Sadly, there is not an awful lot to recommend about 'Hop and Chop'. El Toro and Pancho are both bland and annoying characters, Pancho also pointless here. There is very little amusing or memorable here and the cartoon is very low on the gags with most being derivative. Gags are not very many. The animation is scrappy and simplistic, dominated by the hideous character animation for the beetle and the sickly use of orange in the background art that was like looking like out of date thrown up orange juice.
Moreover, the story is best forgotten as there isn't really one and it's a very over-familiar scenario with no freshness whatsoever. The pace is routine at best and the voice acting is again too broad and caricaturish. What really brings down 'Hop and Chop' is the character of the beetle, the series was full of stereotypical characters but not to this extent or this level of distaste. And it takes a lot for me to be offended by any component for anything in film, television etc.
Concluding thoughts: Overall, very mediocre like too many cartoons in the series.
4/10.
helpful•90
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 14, 2023
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