Mighty Mouse was perhaps Terrytoons' most prolific character and his series the longest running one of the various theatrical series. For me though, although his series is generally watchable he is one of those pleasant enough characters but also quite limited and one-dimensional. And his 80 cartoons spanning from 1942 to 1961, were a very mixed bag, none awful as such but none great as well. Do prefer Gandy and Sourpuss (though their series was very hit and miss too) and Heckle and Jeckle personally.
1946's 'The Hep Cat' left me a little mixed. It is a long way from being one of the worst Mighty Mouse cartoons, there were worse since and also before (it is better than a few of the later 1944 cartoons in the series), but it is also not quite one of the best too. It isn't even one of the best or worst Mighty Mouse cartoons from 1946, one of the in between ones if anything. As far as Terrytoons' oddly intriguing but uneven output goes, 'The Hep Cat' is somewhere in the middle and one of their cartoons that falls in the "worth a one time watch but very average" category as namely a completest.
'The Hep Cat' is very predictable story-wise, primarily in the second half. The Mighty Mouse series was always a very formulaic one so predictability was always high, but even with a different setting this is very standard Mighty Mouse, one of those cartoons where if you have seen one cartoon with the same character you've seen them all when you see more of them.
More variety in the gags would have been more welcome, at least there are gags and they amuse. At the same time, they generally needed more freshness as it did have a repeated material feel. The mice characters are cute but bland, while Mighty Mouse is again not enough of a lead character, when he does appear there is a very deja vu feel. Also felt that he wasn't really needed, and when he does appear with a not particularly easy gear change it's like watching something else that doesn't live to the promise that the first half showed
However, the music continues to be the best asset, like it consistently was in all the Terrytoons cartoons at this point of their filmography. It is beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is terrific fun to listen to and the lively energy is present throughout, doing so well with adding to the action. The animation, having come on such a long way from being a weak point to the most improved component, impresses too and shows how much the studio had advanced on a visual level. It is nicely detailed, lively and colourful without being garish.
Although the gags aren't exceptional, they are timed energetically and they do raise a chuckle. The conflict has fun and tension and it helps that the villains have menace and great comic timing. 'The Hep Cat' also starts off very well, with a real sense of doom and desperation (it doesn't get much darker than luring people to their deaths, shudder!) not always there in a Mighty Mouse cartoon.
In conclusion, little outstanding but not at all bad. 5/10
