Hippety Hopper (often playfully referred to in a rhyming manner as "Hippity Hoppity") is a classic Looney Tunes character—a young, innocent kangaroo who repeatedly escapes from zoos or circuses. In a series of animated shorts from 1948 to 1964, directed by Robert McKimson, the kangaroo is mistaken by Sylvester the Cat for a gigantic mouse. Sylvester, eager to prove his mousing prowess (often to his skeptical son, Sylvester Jr.), launches hapless attempts to capture and "devour" the "rodent," only to get hilariously pummeled by the kangaroo's powerful kicks, punches, and spins, leading to chaotic comedy and Sylvester's repeated defeats.