noun
- a short animated cartoon, typically shown before a feature film in a movie theater
Usage: informal; chiefly historical
Examples
- The children arrived early to catch the cartopper before the main movie started.
- Classic cartoppers featuring Bugs Bunny were a staple of Saturday matinees.
- That cartopper was only seven minutes long but had the whole audience laughing.
- Movie theaters used to show a cartopper along with newsreels and previews.
- The studio produced dozens of cartoppers during the golden age of animation.