Hip-Hip and Hurra is a Polish animated series created by Elżbieta Wąsik and produced by Studio Miniatur Filmowych.
The series centers around a duo of Clueless Detectives, a pink hippo named Hip-Hip and a purple weasel named Hurra. Most of the mysteries the characters solve center around lessons about nature's phenomena.
While targeted for very young children and very educational at heart, it includes humor intended for adults as well and often focuses a lot on the comedy. The series consists of 26 episodes. Outside of Poland, the show got popular in Argentina as well in Hungary, Portugal and some other countries.
This show provides examples of:
- Acrofatic: While he is a Hippopotamus, Hip-Hip is very agile and can jump very high.
- All Drummers Are Animals: The Crane is a drummer in his band.
- Alliterative Title
- Ascended Extra: A lot of characters who only appeared once or twice in the first season (Crane, Kinga, the Bear Family, the Peacock) appear very often in the second season.
- Affectionate Parody: Of detective stories, naturally.
- One particular episode turns into satire on TV court dramas (and trials in general) when all the characters put Magpie on trial to prove if she's a criminal or not. The episode spoofs everything from the court's protocols to surprise witnesses. Even the News report about the trial looks like a wrestling match poster.
- Animal Stereotypes: For the most part, but in some cases it's averted. For example, Gorilla is actually a very sweet and playful guy.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!:
- Hurra is very easily distracted whenever something fun is involved.
- Magpie, as you can guess, reacts this way every time she comes across shiny objects.
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: With few rare exceptions (like the Zebra) none of the animals have shoes. However, most appear to get them during one episode, which is set in the winter during Christmas time.
- Berserk Button:
- Hurra gets ultra-frustrated whenever somebody mistakes him for an Otter.
- Humming-bird is angry whenever somebody calls him "tiny"... then again, he appears to have a berserk button about almost everything.
- Big Eater: Hip-Hip, as well Missy the Ant, who's usually seen eating cakes ten sizes her size!
- Can't Take Criticism: Rose - who's usualy the most calm character on the show - gets hysterical (if not paranoid) by the mere thought of the art critic (the Peacock) not liking her art, to the point of having nightmares about it.
- The Ditz: Every single character qualifies for this trope. Even if some appear to be smarter (Auntie Hen) or less zany (Rose) then the rest they still have at least few moments of true stupidity.
- A Dog Named "Dog": With some exceptions (Hip-Hip, Hurrah, Rose, Missy the Ant and Kinga), all animal characters are named after their species.
- Funny Foreigner: Mr. Bear's cousins Panda (from China) and Sloth Bear (from India).
- Food Fight: One episode takes place during party at The Bears' house. Hurra accidentally throws a large cake at Polar bear, he grabs another cake in response, and...
- Interspecies Romance : Plenty. Hip-Hip (Hippopotamus) has a romance with Rose (a Giraffe). Hurra (a Weasel) has a Romance with Kinga (the Kangaroo) and the Crane has one with a Butterfly (don't ask).
- It Runs in the Family: One episode focuses on the fact that all of Hip-Hip ancestors were detectives. His sister also turns out to be good at this.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Peacock. He may be a narcissistic jerk, but he can be both pleasant and helpful.
- Heavy Sleeper:
- Koala.
- Mr. Bear was shown to be this in one episode.
- Missy The Ant. Being asleep on the job is almost her trademark.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Hip-Hip and Hurra.
- Honorary Aunt: Auntie Hen is called "Aunt" by every character of the show, but she obviously isn't related to anyone in the show...
- Hopeless Suitor: Hip-Hip. In fact, Rose likes him (or even has some romantic feelings about him). He just gets overpowered with being shy, so she never talks to him.
- Hypocritical Humor: In one episode, a beaver thinks a tree can talk. Upon seeing this, Kinga makes fun of him and asks her flower friend Adelka, if she's ever seen something so silly.
- Lovable Coward: Hurra. (Hip-Hip has his moments as well).
- Manchild:
- Basically all of the characters, with exception of Auntie Hen.
- Kinga appears to be the biggest one in the second season. She's an adult but shares her house with her imaginary friend.
- Narcissist: The Peacock. He has an entire TV show dedicated to how awesome his tail is!
- Nervous Wreck: Hurra, whenever the mystery the characters are solving involves something scary (ghosts, for example).
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood : One episode centers on animals (Magpie, Coco bird) who's "evil actions" turn out to be motivated by natural instinct, therefore they can not be judged as "evil".
- Parental Bonus: A lot, though the show is mainly targeted for children 4-6 years old.
- Straight Man: Hip-Hip is the straight man to Hurra's much more wacky antics.
- Shout-Out:
- One episode is set during horse races. There is a Penguin who's is going around selling "tutsi fruitsi icecream", as he loudly announces.
- One episode is partly a parody of Ghostbusters. Hip-Hip even quotes a line from the movie!
- In the same episode Hurra puts on a Bat-Hurra near the end and says "I'm Bat Hurra".
- In one episode, Hurra (angry for being mistaken for an Otter) yells "JAM ŁASICA!!!", which is the Polish title of I Am Weasel (and the latter character's catchphrase).
- Humming-bird's voice is an impression of character Józef Balcerek from the old Polish TV series Alternatywy 4.
- In one episode, Hip-Hip and Hurra think that Missy the Ant can turn into a gigant. This leads to a dream sequence with a gigantic Missy the Ant roaming the town. At one point she looks into the window of Mrs. Gorilla, grabs her as she screams and carries her away in homage to the original King Kong.
- The shot of Missy/Misia looking into the window is also reference to another famous shot from Jurassic Park.
- The title of one of the episodes, "U Miśków na Urodzinach" (The birthday party at the Bears place"), refrences the Polish song "U Cioci na imieninach" (The nameday party at aunts place). The episode not only features the music from the song in the score, but at one point Missy the Ant hums it.
- Sweet Tooth: Agian Hip-Hip. He just can't help himself from eating cakes and sweets.
- Stalker with a Crush:
- An early episode had Hip-Hip sneaking in Rose's garden so he could play her a romantic song as she was asleep. It gets pretty creepy, the more you think about it...
- Hurra was this in the first episode he met Kinga.
- Reality Warper: It's a kind of world where the characters do this kind of stuff all the time, just for the sake of a joke. For example: In one episode, Hip-Hip needs to know what type of hair one ancestor had. In order to discover this, he asks a very old turtle to tell him the story of his ancestor. When the flashback appears and we can't see his ancestor's hair because hes wearing a hat, Hip-Hip simply jumps into the flash-back and pulls the hat from his ancestor's head to see his hair.
- Title Drop: Whenever they solve the mystery, the main heroes yell their names out loud.
- Once per Episode: Hip-Hip and Hurra will yell their names.
- Only Sane Man: Rose the Giraffe is usually this. She does have some Cloudcuckoolander moments here and there, however...
- Thieving Magpie: In one episode Hip-Hip and Hurra investigate series of crimes of shiny objects, which leads them to a Magpie. After being captured, the bird is put on a trial (with Hip-Hip as a judge), and at the end the animals learn that Magpie's stealing was motivated by her natural instinct, so she can't be held responsible for her actions.
- Vanity Is Feminine: While the Peacock has a very manly voice, his behavior is very feminine, especially his tendency to faint whenever his tail gets dirty.
