Love Me Love My Mouse (1966)

 

Except for a quick gag in Tom-ic Energy (1965), romance has not yet played a role in Chuck Jones' version of Tom and Jerry. That changes with this short film, which focuses on Tom's relationship with his girlfriend. Many believe his girlfriend in this cartoon to be Toodles, his love interest from the William Hanna and Joseph Barbera cartoons. It is easy to understand why people believe this. Though (if this is Toodles), she is completely redesigned, she is a white cat that serves as Tom's love interest. If we are to take this as Toodles, then this marks the only appearance of a Hanna and Barbera supporting character during the Chuck Jones era. 

In this cartoon, Tom is visiting his girlfriend and bringing her a gift of a mouse (Jerry). Tom intends for them to eat the mouse, but his girlfriend finds it adorable and wants to keep it as a pet. Jerry then tries to get revenge on his foe by making Tom's girlfriend believe that Tom is going to eat him. 

As with many of the Tom and Jerry shorts from this era, this cartoon is more charming than it is funny. While familiar the basic premise is a decent one. The character animation is often excellent. The look on the girlfriend's face during the last gag is even funnier than the gag itself. The story moves at a fast pace and remains enjoyable to watch. The lovey dove backgrounds in the beginning may be too cutesy for some but for me they work. This is because they put you into Tom's frame of mind and make good contrast for how his expectations are quickly dashed. 

However, none of the gags in this cartoon are actually funny. They all have been done before and better. Despite being a fan of Mel Blanc and June Foray, I find the cutesy voices to be very off-putting here.   

The credited animators on this film are Ben Washam, Philip Roman, Don Towsley and Dick Thompson. Chuck Jones is the director. Ben Washam gets a co-director's credit. Michael Maltese is the writer. The credited layout artist is Robert Givens. Eugene Poddany gets a music credit. Mel Blanc and June Foray provide the voices. This is the 146th Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection.  

Here are some animation cels for the film (via the Tom and Jerry Wiki). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Jerry-Go-Round (1965)

 

Jerry-Go-Round is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to be directed by Abe Levitow. Levitow had previously been an animator for producer Chuck Jones' unit at Warner Brothers, eventually going on to co-direct a couple films with Jones. Levitow even directed the feature film, Gay Purr-ee (1962), which was co-written by Chuck and his wife Dorothy Jones. However, his best known and most beloved directorial effort was for the classic UPA TV Christmas special Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962). This was also the first Tom and Jerry short written by John W. Dunn. Dunn had been one of the main writers of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons in the early 1960's. He wrote stories for all the Warner Brothers directors including Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson. Friz Freleng took a special liking to Dunn and Dunn wrote many of the cartoons for Friz's DePatie-Freleng cartoons including the Pink Panther, Inspector, Blue Racer, Ant and the Aardvark, Hoot Kloot, Tijuana Toads and Roland and Ratfink cartoons. He would later be a writer for the Hanna-Barbera TV series, The Ri¢hie Ri¢h/Scooby-Doo Show.

In this short film, Tom chases Jerry into the circus. Here Jerry befriends an elephant, who helps protect Jerry from Tom. 

This is frankly just an okay cartoon. Here the circus setting is very charming, the character animation is quite good and Eugune Poddany's musical score is a lot of fun. However, at times this short can feel like it is just going through the motions. Not only are none of the gags actually funny but none of them have any real punch to them. These are just typical cartoon gags delivered in a bland and uninspired fashion. While William Hanna and Joseph Barbera would often times do gags, we have seen before in their Tom and Jerry cartoons, the timing and delivery of these gags made them work perfectly. Here the timing feels off, and the delivery feels uninspired.  

The credited animators on this film are Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray. Philip DeGuard is the credited background artist, and Don Morgan is the credited layout artist. Mel Blanc is credited for the vocal effects. This is the 145th Tom and Jerry cartoon. Jerry had previously befriended an elephant in Jerry and Jumbo (1953). 

This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection as well as the VHS set Tom & Jerry Volume 6 Much Ado About Mousing and the LaserDisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons.

The Tom and Jerry Wiki states, "Media studies scholar, Jo Johnson, argued that the short had a coded same-sex relationship between Jerry, who was gendered by Jones as female, and a female elephant who wears a pink tutu. He also argued that the episode's ending could be read as a 'prophetic depiction of Gay Pride.'" Yeah, right! I can guarantee you none of this was ever on the mind of Abe, John or Chuck as they made this cartoon. I completely believe in representation in media but there is such a thing as reading too much into something whose creators only plan was to make a piece of entertainment. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

 

Jerry Jerry Quite Contrary (1966)

 

Note: This post contains mild spoilers.

Jerry, Jerry Quite Contrary is the 144th Tom and Jerry theatrical short and the 17th to be produced by Chuck Jones (who also directed this film). 

In this short film, Jerry has a problem with sleepwalking. While walking in his sleep he ends up hurting Tom a lot. 

We all have Tom and Jerry cartoons where we feel extremely sorry for Tom. This is definitely one of them for me. Like The Year of the Mouse (1965), Tom does absolutely nothing to Jerry, except for defending himself. Unlike The Year of the Mouse, here Jerry actually feels sorry for what he tries to do to Tom and attempts to keep himself awake. This results in some wonderful character animation and the only truly funny part of the film. Also, unlike The Year of the Mouse, Tom does not have any sort of victory at the end, which makes it much less satisfying than the previous cartoon. Still the cartoon has enough to it to recommend it. The character animation is often excellent; the umbrella joke is clever (even if it is more clever than funny) and the film has good pacing. However, the best thing about this cartoon is Dean Elliott's musical score. Sure, it may be very similar to Raymond Scott's Powerhouse (which can be heard in many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies) but it is still a lot of fun to listen to and really brings life to the cartoon.   

The credited animators on this film are Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam and Al Pabian.  Maurice Noble is the credited co-director. The credited background artist is Philip DeGuard. This makes the first Tom and Jerry cartoon in which Chuck Jones receives a solo story credit.    `

This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures - Volume 3 and Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble as well as the VHS set Tom and Jerry: The Missing Mouse and the LaserDisc set Tom and Jerry: The Missing Mouse. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Duel Personality (1966)

 

Duel Personality marks the first Tom and Jerry film of 1966, and it is a strong start to this year.

 In this short film, Tom and Jerry decide to settle their feud once and for all with a duel. However, this duel does not go the way either of them planned.  

This film was a childhood favorite of mine. I think the reason for that is that I was used to most Tom and Jerry cartoons having one opponent (usually Jerry) getting the better of the other. In this film, everything either character does backfires on them and both characters end up getting the worst of it. This made it feel so different to me that it stayed in my mind in a way some other Tom and Jerry cartoons of this era didn't. Watching this cartoon as an adult I still love it. The gags (while not laugh out loud funny) are quite clever. The premise and execution are rather unique to the cat and mouse duo, while still remain true to the characters and the spirit of the previous cartoons. On top of this the musical score is a lot of fun, and the character animation is excellent. 

This cartoon was the first Tom and Jerry short to feature music by Dean Elliott, who would go on to score a few more of the Chuck Jones-era Tom and Jerry cartoons. He would also work with Chuck Jones on plenty of Chuck's TV specials as well as the feature films The Phantom Tollbooth (1970) and The Bugs Bunny/Road-Runner Movie (1979). Before his Tom and Jerry work, Elliott had worked on some of UPA's Mr. Magoo cartoons. He would also do some work for the DePatie-Freleng studio, working on the Dogfather cartoons and the Dr. Suess adaptations The Cat in the Hat (1971) and The Lorax (1972). Elliott also did some live action work including on the infamously bad movie, Sex Kittens Go to College (1960).  

The credited animators on this film are Don Towsley, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam and Ken Harris. Maurice Noble gets a co-director's credit. Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones share a writing credit. The credited background artist is Philip DeGuard. This is the 143rd Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures - Volume 2 and Tom and Jerry's Adventures as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons. 

-Michael J. Ruhland 

The Cat's Me-Ouch (1965)

 

The Cat's Me-Ouch marks the last Tom and Jerry cartoon of 1965, which was a surprisingly strong year for the cat and mouse duo. 

In this cartoon Jerry decides to send out for a ferocious bulldog, when he sees an ad in a catalogue. However, it turns out the dog is about the same size as Jerry. Tom at first laughs at this tiny bulldog but it still ends up making the cat's life miserable.

This is a fun little cartoon. The premise of the tiny bulldog is a very clever one and a new one for Tom and Jerry. The bulldog is a fun little character and is greatly brought to life with some charming character animation. The character animation of both Tom and Jerry is excellent too, reminding us why we love these characters. As per-usual Eugene Poddany's music is great and fits the action perfectly.

However like in many of Chuck Jones' Tom and Jerry films, the gags are often more clever than actually funny. On paper there is nothing wrong with these gags and they do have a charm to them. However, they never elicit any actual laughter. 

The credited animators on this film include Don Towsley, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam and Ken Harris. Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones share a writing credit. Maurice Noble gets a co-director's credit. The credited background artist is Philip DeGuard. Eugene Poddany gets a music credit. June Foray and Mel Blanc get credit for vocal effects (there is no spoken dialogue). This marks the 142nd Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

In the scene where Jerry imagines a big bulldog chasing Tom, there is reused animation from Tom-ic Energy (1965). The tiny bulldog here greatly resembles that of the big bulldog in Tom-ic Energy and Much Ado About Mousing (1964). The tiny bulldog would later be used in Purr-Chance to Dream (1967). 

This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection and Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection as well as the LaserDisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons and as a bonus feature on the Blu-Ray for the Elvis Presley movie Harum Scarum (1965). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

 

The Year of the Mouse (1965)

 

Note: This review contains spoilers. 

The Year of the Mouse was a remake of a short film that Chuck Jones had made for Warner Brothers, Mouse Wreckers (1949). In that cartoon mice Hubie and Bertie find a nice house to live in but unfortunately for them a cat, Claude Cat to be exact, is already living there. They decide to make Claude feel like he is losing his mind to get the house to themselves. 

In The Year of the Mouse, Jerry and another mouse, decide (for no other reason than that they find it funny) to make Tom think he is going insane through a series of rather gruesome practical jokes. 

The main difference between this film and Mouse Wreckers is the ending. In Mouse Wreckers, Hubie and Bertie drive Claude to a mental breakdown and have the house to themselves. In Year of the Mouse Tom catches Jerry and his friend and put the two mice in trap. The mice are trapped in a bottle and can't pull the cork out of the bottle or the gun will go off. As this is one of those shorts (like The Two Mouseketeers (1952)) where Jerry is the clear antagonist. This makes Tom's victory over Jerry very satisfying.

 

This is a very well-made film. The character animation is excellent, especially in Tom's reactions to Jerry's practical jokes. Tom has really felt more relatable and sympathetic than he does here and how real the animation and expressions make him feel plays a major role in this. The humor is quite dark and violent but so over the top that it comes off as quite funny (even if we feel very sorry for Tom). The main reason this cartoon works so well is that the ending is so incredibly satisfying.  

This marks the 141st Tom and Jerry cartoon. The film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection as well as the VHS sets, Tom and Jerry: Puss 'n' Toots and Tom and Jerry: Part Time Pals and the LaserDisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons. 

THe credited animators on this film are Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris and Don Towsley. Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones share a writing credit. The credited background artist is Philip DeGuard. Eugene Poddany gets a music credit. Mel Blanc and June Foray are credit for the voices in this cartoon (though there are no actual spoken words; the characters make vocal sounds). 


The Tom and Jerry Wiki gives the name of Jerry's friend as Nipper. The character only appeared in this one cartoon and is not named in it. The name "Nipper" however seems to have come from the mobile game, Tom and Jerry Chase. 

There would later be an episode of the streaming series Tom and Jerry in New York entitled Year of the Mouse (2021). That episode (directed by Darrell Van Citters and written by Robert F. Hughes) Tom chases Jerry through Chinatown during the Lunar New Year. Meanwhile Jerry falls for a beautiful female mouse. 

-Michael J. Ruhland



 

Of Feline Bondage (1965)

 

After the last few Tom and Jerry shorts were simply spot gag cartoons with little story, this film gives the cat and mouse more of a story than just a cat chasing a mouse. 

As this short film starts, Tom is getting the better of Jerry for once. However, seeing Jerry's plight, his fairy godmother appears and gives him a potion to turn invisible. Jerry uses this to get revenge on Tom. 

This is a decent cartoon. Like many of the Chuck Jones directed Tom and Jerry shorts, the highlight is the character animation. The best scene is easily Jerry interacting with the fairy godmother. Jerry's pantomime of his encounter with Tom is delightful and the evil smile (which resembles that of the Grinch in Chuck Jones' 1966 TV special) on both characters is the only really funny moment in the film. Unfortunately, as great as this scene works, the rest of the cartoon has a been there done that quality to it. Jerry has turned invisible before in The Invisible Mouse (1947) and The Vanishing Duck (1958). Unfortunately, both those films simply have better gags that are more creative, clever and funny than what we have here. Also, despite being the same length of most Tom and Jerry cartoons, this film feels too short and not enough actually happens. When the ending comes there is a feeling of "shouldn't there be more?" 

The credited animators on this film are Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray and Dick Thompson. The story is credited to Chuck Jones and Don Towsley. This is the only story credit for Don Towsley that I am aware of. Towsley was a former Disney animator having worked on many classic cartoon shorts as well as feature films like Pinocchio (1940) and Fantasia (1940). He would animate on many of the Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry shorts as well as How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966). Towsley's television work included being on a director on such animated shows as Fraidy Cat, Wacky and Packy, The New Adventures of Gilligan, The New Adventures of Batman and The New Archie/Sabrina Hour. Eugene Poddany receives a music credit. Maurice Noble gets a co-director credit. The credited background artist is Robert Gribbroek. The credited voice artists are Mel Blanc and June Foray. This is the 140th Tom and Jerry theatrical short. 

The title of this cartoon is a reference to the 1915 novel Of Human Bondage, which had by this time already had three Hollywood feature film adaptions, one in 1934, one in 1946 and one in 1964. 

This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures - Volume 2 and Tom and Jerry's Magical Misadventures. It can also be seen on the LaserDisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons and the VHS set Tom and Jerry: Cat and Dupli-cat. The film is included as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray for the Elvis Presley movie, Harum Scarum (1965). 


-Michael J. Ruhland