Little School Mouse (1954)

 

Little School Mouse is a semi-remake of the earlier Tom and Jerry short Professor Tom (1948). The biggest difference between the two films was that in this short, Tom and Jerry have switched roles. 

In this short film, Jerry is teaching Nibbles how to outwit cats in a school-type setting. However, Nibbles is more interested in making friends with Tom than outwitting him. 

This is simply a very fun cartoon. Though this is very similar to an earlier film, the role reversal makes it feel completely fresh. To have an entry in a cartoon series that had at this point been around for over a decade feel fresh is no small feat. It becomes even more impressive due to how at the same time this short stays true to the type of wordless slapstick that makes these shorts so popular. While this may not be the funniest Tom and Jerry short, there are some pretty strong gags here. However, what makes them work is more the execution than the gags themselves. When Nibbles gets his tail caught by the mechanical cat's paw, what makes the gag hilarious is how Nibbles keeps running like he is still moving forward completely unaware that he is not going anywhere. When Tom wakes up from his nap and hands Nibbles the cheese, what makes it funny is the character animation of Tom barely being awake and doing it without realizing what he is doing. Another strong bit of character animation is when Tom is overjoyed to get the bell as a gift. This is a rather standard gag, but the character animation makes it incredibly charming. 

The credited animators on this film are Irven Spence and Ed Barge. This marks one of the few shorts of this period not to have Ken Muse as a credited animator. This is the 83rd Tom and Jerry short. This cartoon can be found on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 2, Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases: Vol. 4, Tom and Jerry: Pint-Sized Pals, Tom and Jerry Classic Collection: Volume 4, Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble and Tom and Jerry: Merry Mice. This was the title cartoon of a Tom VHS Tom and Jerry in Little School Mouse. Artwork for that VHS can be seen below. 

Some of you may be aware that there is a current anime version of Tom and Jerry that can be found on YouTube (in my mind this should be playing on Cartoon Network but that is just my opinion). A recent short of this series entitled School Days (2024) is a remake of Little School Mouse. You can watch that cartoon below. It is cutesier than the classic Tom and Jerry shorts but there is a real charm to it. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Hic-cup Pup (1954)

 

Hic-cup Pup marks the 4th Tom and Jerry film to feature the father/son dog duo, Spike and Tyke in major roles. Though the duo did also have a cameo in Life with Tom (1953) and of course Spike made many appearances without Tyke. The duo would be featured in three more Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon shorts and star in two theatrical cartoon shorts without Tom and Jerry. 

 In this short film Tom and Jerry's fighting wakes Tyke up. When Tyke wakes up, he gets the hiccups. Spike gets angry and threatens Tom. Jerry of course overhears this and decides to disturb Tyke's rest and frame Tom. 

While this may not be Tom and Jerry's best film, it is a very solid and fun cartoon. The storyline is very familiar and makes it hard for this film to stand out among the other Spike and Tyke cartoons. However, when it comes to this, it is important to remember that these cartoons were made to be shown in movie theaters alongside the feature film. Unlike today when these cartoons are mostly shown on TV, movie goers had not seen these shorts dozens of times and may have not even seen the previous Spike and Tyke shorts at all. So, the repetitiveness would not have been as obvious to the intended audience (anyone who went to the movies) as it is to us today. For us today though there are enough strong gags to make up for the familiarity. While being a 50's Tom and Jerry short, there is not the constant brigade of great gags seen in the 40's cartoons, there a few really funny moments here. I love when Spike gets the hiccups too and his hiccups make it sound like words are being censored, the gag with the trumpet and Tom covering Tyke's mouth before he hiccups and the hiccup then coming out of Tom's mouth. This cartoon also benefits from the usual strong character animation and Scott Bradley's great musical score. Best of all though is that this short has a very satisfying ending. 

The credited animators on this film are Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson and Irven Spence. Robert Gentle is the credited background artist. This is the 82nd Tom and Jerry short overall. This cartoon can be found on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Vol. 3.      

Posse Cat (1954)

 

Tom's original owner (known to fans as Mammy Two Shoes) made her last appearance in Push-Button Kitty (1952) and his later owners George and Jones would not appear until Pet Peeve (1954). With this film coming in-between, his owner would be a cowboy that we have never seen before and would never see again. 

In this short film, Tom's cowboy owner tells him that he won't get any food until he gets rid of Jerry. Naturally Tom does not have much luck getting rid of Jerry. 

This is a fine short and one that has stayed in my memory since I saw it as a little kid. However, it doesn't quite reach the level of the best Tom and Jerry cartoons. The main problem here is there are no real laugh out loud moments. There are gags that made me chuckle and smile, but I never really laughed the way I do watching the best Tom and Jerry films. The closet I came was with the water drinking gag. However, the storyline is simple and charming. The animation is great, and farm setting allows for some great background art.

As always Scott Bradley's musical score is wonderful. I especially love his use of the song, Making Love Mountain Style throughout the film. This song was written by Herb Moulton and Jack Scholl. Scholl had written such songs as Throw Another Log on the Fire, The Wish That I Wish Tonight, The Old Apple Tree, You, You Darling and My Little Buckaroo. It was a major hit for Dorothy Shay in 1947.  You can listen to her version of the song below. 



The song would later be performed by The Dining Sisters in the short film, Musical Merry-Go-Round #1 (1948). They would later release this song on its own. That version can be heard below. 




The credited animators on this cartoon are Irven Spence, Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse and Ray Patterson. Robert Gentle is the credited background artist. Some fans have compared this short to Texas Tom (1950). Not only do these two films have similar settings but there are even some similar gags involving a bull that has a nearly identical design to the one in Texas Tom.

Puppy Tale (1954)

 

This short film was the first Tom and Jerry cartoon of 1954 and the 80th Tom and Jerry short overall. 

In this short film, Jerry overhears a loud noise outside and rushes out to see what it is. He then discovers a sack in the river with something alive in it. He pulls the sack out and discovers a group of puppies inside. One of the puppies takes a liking to Jerry and follows him home. Unfortunately for Tom, when the puppy gets to Jerry and his home, it tries to drink Tom's milk and take up Tom's bed. 

Though Tom and Jerry cartoons are best known for their slapstick violence, there are a surprising amount of Tom and Jerry shorts with a real sentimental streak. Though there were some of these more sentimental films in the 40's, it was in the 50's when these shorts were at their most prevalent. Puppy Tale remains one of the strongest of these sentimental cartoons. The storyline is basic but incredibly charming. It manages to be sweet and cute without ever feeling cloying. Unlike in some of the weaker cute cartoons, the sweetness just seems to flow naturally from the story. Tom and Jerry are both at their most likable here and the puppies are very cute. That this is a short completely without dialogue just adds to the charm. The ending is especially charming and heartwarming. Yet even with this, there is some good slapstick worked in here. I love the bits with Tom trying to get his milk away from the puppy. This may be a familiar gag but William Hanna's timing on it is perfect. The short also benefits from some wonderful background art on the outdoor scenes. These give the film a very effectively atmospheric feel. 

The credited animators on this short are Ed Barge, Irven Spence and Kenneth Muse. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle. The film is available on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 3. 

Life With Tom (1953)

 

This short film marks the third Tom and Jerry cheater cartoon (a short that uses clips from previous cartoons). Clips are used from Cat Fishin' (1947), Kitty Foiled (1948) and The Little Orphan (1948). There would be only one more cheater cartoon directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera after this, Smarty Cat (1955). After that there wouldn't be another cheater until the Chuck Jones produced, Matinee Mouse (1966).

In this short film, Jerry writes a book called Life With Tom, which tells the stories of all the times he has gotten the better of Tom. When Tom reads this book he gets very angry. This anger only increases when he hears various of his friends and foes laughing themselves silly while reading it. 

This is by far the best cheater Tom and Jerry cartoon. While it does have some of the flaws that are evident in all cheater cartoons, it is still a lot of fun. The clips used here are fantastic. Unlike Smitten Kitten (1952), this film uses the best clips for those cartoons. Frankly they are just as funny here as they were in the context of their original film. The new scenes are also excellent. The wraparound story is really clever and charming. The ending is particular is a wonderful little twist. The character animation on Tom as he gets more and more angry is also wonderful. The wraparound story may be similar to the first Tom and Jerry cheater, Jerry's Diary (1949). However, I feel that this is an even stronger short. This is due to clips that stand on their own quite well and the use of supporting characters. For a cheater, this cartoon is more fun than it should be. 

The credited animators on this short include Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence and Ed Barge. It marks the 79th Tom and Jerry short overall. There is a blackface gag in the clip from The Little Orphan. This gag has been cut for TV airings, so you won't see it on Boomerang, Me-TV or ME-TV Toons. An unedited version of this short can be seen on the DVD set, 

By the way Jerry needs a better editor as a typo was left in his published book, a misspelling of "wasn't."

Two Little Indians (1953)

Despite William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directing both the 1940's and the 1950's Tom and Jerry shorts, there were some distinct differences between the shorts of the two decades. The 1950's saw a heavier use of supporting characters, more dialogue and more use of sentiment. Though Two Little Indians does feature supporting characters it is a bit of a throwback to the 40's films with its lack of dialogue and sentimentality. 

In this short film Jerry agrees to take care of two orphaned mice (both of whom look exactly like Nibbles), who want to constant play Indian. However, they get themselves and Jerry in trouble when they attempt to scalp and shoot arrows at Tom. 

This is a wonderful old-fashioned Tom and Jerry short. This whole film is nothing but slapstick cartoon humor. Much of this humor is simply hilarious, the slapstick is. This whole cartoon is full of great gags, some of which made me laugh out loud. Another reason this film is a throwback to the 40's Tom and Jerrys is the very fast pace that offers gag after gag with little break. William Hanna's timing here is perfect and it is hard not to get caught up in the pure comic energy. Even if there are gags that don't make you laugh, they still add to the fun because they add to this comic energy. 

The credited animators on this film were Ray Patterson, Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence and Ed Barge. Robert Gentle is the credited background artist. In some TV airings, the ending gag with the peace pipe has been cut. This cartoon is available on the DVD set Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1 and the DVD Tom and Jerry: Merry Mice. Unlike other cartoons that feature racial stereotypes this cartoon still plays regularly on Boomerang, ME-TV and ME-TV Toons. 

 

Motion Picture Herald, 1953

Just Ducky (1953)

 

This short film was in fact submitted for an Academy Award but ended up not being nominated. The films that were nominated were Christopher Crumpet (1953, UPA), From A to Z-Z-Z-Z (1954, Warner Brothers), Rugged Bear (1953, Disney (starring Donald Duck)), The Tell Tale Heart (1953, UPA) and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953, Disney). The Oscar went to Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom. This marked only the second year since the first Tom and Jerry short, when a Tom and Jerry cartoon was not nominated for an Oscar (there was no Tom and Jerry nominated in 1942 either).

In this short film, Quacker the duck is unable to swim. Because of this Jerry offers to help teach him to swim. Tom spies the duck as well and thinks that he would make a good snack. So, Jerry must both teach the duck to swim and protect him from Tom. 

 This is one of those Tom and Jerry shorts that mixes sentiment with violent slapstick. As such it does a surprisingly good job. The two work very well together and neither seems to overtake the other. Why this works might be that the sentimentality comes from Quacker's friendship with Jerry, while the slapstick comes from the scenes with Tom. Both the sentimentality and the humor also work very well on their own. The story is simple and very charming. It has a real sweetness to it that feels natural instead of forced. There are also some truly great slapstick gags here. Quacker using the safety pin on Tom and Tom getting hit by the brick are both examples of pure cartoon slapstick at its best. 

This film marks the last time there was a white line between Tom's eyes in any of the theatrical shorts. This white line would not reappear until 1990 with TV's Tom and Jerry Kids. 

The credited animators on this cartoon were Irven Spence, Ed Barge, Ray Patterson, Kenneth Muse and Al Grandmain. The credited background artist was Robert Gentle. 

Again, the movie poster reused the artwork from previous movie posters. Only the title was changed. 

 

Resources Used

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin. 

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1953/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Just_Ducky