Tie These Kangaroos Down, Sport

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the debut of Hippety Hopper, a baby kangaroo Sylvester kept mistaking for a giant mouse. But he isn't the only animated marsupial in Toonland. Here are some others:

Kiko The Kangaroo, Farmer Alfafa, Terrytoons. Kiko often tormented the old farmer.

"Casper's Spree Under The Sea," Famous Studios, 1950. Before meeting and rescuing Goldie and her fellow fish, Casper scares off a mother kangaroo and her baby.

"Bushy Hare," Bugs Bunny, Warner Bros, 1950. Well, bunga, bunga, bunga! Thanks to an accident involving balloons and the stork, Bugs lands in Australia, where a female kangaroo mistakes him for her baby. He goes along with her, but soon ends up running from an aborigine. Eventually, Bugs and "Nature Boy" begin fighting inside Mama Kangaroo's pouch. She sends the native packing just as her real baby arrives. The three set sail for America.

"Jump Bumps," Punkin Puss And Mush Mouse, Hanna-Barbera, 1964. Mush Mouse disguises a kangaroo he meets as a giant version of himself to fool Punkin Puss.

"Hop Happy," The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera, 1964. Hoppy the Hopperoo makes his debut in this episode, and appears in several episodes of the last two seasons, as well as the 1966 movie "The Man Called Flintstone." In the latter, he's lured into a vet's office by a female of his species.

"Horton Hears A Who," Chuck Jones Enterprises, 1970. Jane Kangaroo and her son Junior are among those who doubt the existence of the Whos in this adaptation. The characters also surfaced in the 2008 movie version. Note: In the original book, the characters were un-named, and simply called the Sour Kangaroo and her baby.

"The Great Geese Goof-Up," Harlem Globetrotters, Hanna-Barbera, 1970. The Globetrotters play against a team of kangaroos.

Simon The Quangaroo appeared in animated ads for his own cereal, Orange Quangaroos. These ads often had him pitted against Quisp.

"Scotland Yard," The Amazing Chan And The Chan Clan, Hanna-Barbera, 1972. The clan investigates a robbery in which a kangaroo may be the thief's accomplice.

"Australia," The Osmonds, Rankin-Bass, 1972. Emily, a female kangaroo, adopts Jimmy as her son when her baby goes missing.

"Who Was That Dog?" The Brady Kids, Filmation, 1972. The Brady kids and their friends enter their pets in the local pet show. Fleetwood shows off his pet kangaroo.

"The Blue Kangaroo," Heyyy, It's The King, Hanna-Barbera, 1977. King and the gang seek out the Blue Kangaroo.

"Shirt Tales," Hanna-Barbera, 1982. During the series' second season, little Kip Kangaroo joined the team.

"Dot And The Kangaroo," Dot meets a kangaroo.

The animated opening of "Bozo's Big Top" sometimes featured a kangaroo.

An episode of "Yogi's Treasure Hunt" spoofed "60 Minutes," and featured Andy Kangarooney.

These two were so obvious that you forgot: Kanga and Roo from the many Winnie the Pooh tales from Disney!

They (and Winnie) first appeared in the Oscar-winning 1968 featurette Winnie The Pooh And The Blustery Day. Originally voiced by Barbara Luddy and Clint Howard (Ron's brother), respectively.


"Boomer Rang" (Tales of the Wizard of Oz; Crawley Productions, 1961)
Socrates' idol is a boxing kangaroo named Boomer Rang. He and Rusty watch one of his boxing matches on television, and this world-champion marsupial wins again! Socrates is overjoyed, so he and Rusty go meet Boomer Rang. But then, Socrates shows off his boxing moves knocking out the kangaroo by accident. So to make up, Socrates will battle him in the ring. After training mishaps, Socrates gets in the ring with Boomer, but in the end they both wind up knocked out.

Didou, Dessine-Moi Un Kangourou(Didou; Millimages, 2006)
This episode of a French series shows Didou (Louie in the English version), helped by Yoko, drawing a kangaroo.

Kangaroo Courting (Mister Magoo; UPA Productions, 1964)
Magoo mistakes a kangaroo for his old sweetheart.

Hop, Duck And Listen (Yakky Doodle; Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1961)
Flying home to help out a duck family, Yakky befriends a baby kangaroo. But when he follows him home, he finds out that his mother is a real grouch-pouch! When a big shark threatens them, it's up to Yakky to outsmart the shark and save them.

Linus the Lionhearted (Ed Graham Production, 1964)
Dinny the Kangaroo was one of the characters in the "Linus, King of Beasts" and "The Company" segments.

Yoo-Hoo Kangaroo(Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown; Larry Harmon Studios, 1958)
The circus goes to Australia. Bozo and Butch help a kangaroo escape from two poachers, and make friends with him. Bozo shows the kangaroo how to defend himself with boxing. The poachers return, but the kangaroo beats them up, although the poachers eventually win. They take the kangaroo to their hideout as Bozo and Butch give chase. They trap Bozo and Butch behind their hideout's tall fence, but the kangaroo helps them to escape.

Dennis And The Kangaroo Cavalry (Dennis the Menace; DiC Entertainment, 1985)
The Mitchells and the Wilsons visit Sydney, Australia just as wild kangaroos invade the city. Dennis and a local boy round up the kangaroos and guide them to safety.

Mickey's Kangaroo (Mickey Mouse; Walt Disney Studios, 1935)
Notable for being Disney's last black and white cartoon. A friend in Australia has sent Mickey the kangaroo Hoppy, who, with her pesky son, drive Pluto completely crazy. Mickey wants to train the kangaroos to be fighters, but they end up throwing him in his own hay-baling machine.


Lots more, to be sure...