Filet Meow (1966)

 

Once again Abe Levitow returns to the director's chair for another Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

In this short film, Jerry tries to protect a goldfish from Tom, who plans to eat her. 

The plot here is quite similar to that of Jerry and the Goldfish (1951), however this cartoon doesn't reuse any gags from that previous film. The Tom and Jerry Wiki states that the goldfish here is the same one who appeared in that previous short. If that was indented to be the case (which I have my doubts about), the character was heavily redesigned for this film. This is a much more obviously feminine fish down to wearing lipstick and eye shadow.  

This is an enjoyable if unexceptional cartoon. The storyline is while not new has also not be overdone either. While most of the gags aren't great, there are a couple of good ones, especially those involving the shark. The characters are just as likable as ever. Probably the film's greatest asset though is Dean Elliott's jazzy score. This score is very fun and memorable. When I saw that this would be the next cartoon I would review for this blog, I could hear the music in my head before rewatching it. 

Once again though, these cartoons directed by Abe Levitow lack the great timing and superior drawings seen in those directed by Chuck Jones. 

This cartoon has the distinction of being the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to air on the METV channel. This was on January 2, 2021 as part of the premiere of the channel's Saturday morning cartoon block. It would later play on the channel as part of the Toon in With Me TV series on the episodes, Toony Can't Swim Because of the 20 Minute Rule (2021), 1970s Fashion Trends (2023), Scrappy Living (2023), Bill & Toony's Tops (2024) and World Tuna Day (2025). 

The credited animators on this cartoon are Don Towsley, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam and Ken Harris. Bob Ogle is the credited writer. Philip DeGuard is the credited background artist and Robert Givens is the credited layout artist. Mel Blanc and June Foray provide the vocal effects (though no actual words are spoken in the film). 

This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, the VHS set Tom and Jerry: Little School Mouse and the LaserDisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons. 

Puss 'n' Boats (1966)

 

This marks the 147th Tom and Jerry cartoon, the 20th produced by Chuck Jones and the 2nd to be directed by Abe Levitow. 

In this short film, Tom is guarding a boat that is full of cheese. This job proves to be much harder than anticipated, when Jerry gets a whiff of the cheese and decides to come aboard. 

This is an enjoyable short. The premise is a strong one and there are some pretty creative gags. I especially like the gag with Tom crawling through the pipe. Tom and Jerry are just as fun of characters here as they always are.  However, the pacing and many of the drawings simply aren't as strong as in the cartoons that Chuck directed himself. 

This marks the first Tom and Jerry short to have a story by Bob Ogle. Ogle would also write the Tom and Jerry shorts, Filet Meow (1966), The A-Tom-inable Snowman (1966), Rock 'n' Rodent (1967), The Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R. (1967), Surf Bored Cat (1967), Shutter Bugged Cat (1967) and Advance and be Mechanized (1967). He also wrote some Pink Panther cartoons for DePatie-Freleng as well as all 16 of the Crazylegs Crane shorts. He also worked on such TV shows as Groovie Goolies, The Flintstone Comedy Hour, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Yogi's Gang, Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics and The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show. 

This marks the first of four Tom and Jerry cartoons for which, Carl Brandt would do the music for. Cartoon-wise Brandt also did the music for the TV series The Dick Tracy Show and The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. Most of his work was for live action though. He composed music for such movies as THe Cowboy (1954), Seven Angry Men (1955) and Shotgun (1955) as well as for the TV shows Mister Roberts, The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle: USMC, That Girl, Mayberry R.F.D. and Mod Squad.

The credited animators are Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray and Dick Thompson. The credited layout artist is Don Morgan. The credited background artist is Philip DeGuard. This cartoon is available on the DVD set Tom and Jerry: Chuck Jones Collection. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

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