Part Time Pal (1947)

 

Though rarely mentioned among the best Tom and Jerry films, Part Time Pal has long been a favorite of mine. 

In this film Mammy Two Shoes tells Tom that he must keep Jerry from getting into the icebox. When Jerry tries to get in, Tom gives him a big chase. However, during this chase Tom falls into a barrel of alcoholic cider. Tom comes out very drunk and as a drunk he is best friends with Jerry and wants to perform various practical jokes on Mammy Two Shoes. 

In his autobiography Joseph Barbera states the Charlie Chaplin was one of his heroes. The plot of Tom being best friends with Jerry only when drunk is reminiscent of the relationship between the little tramp and the drunken millionaire in Chaplin's City Lights (1931). However, City Lights was not the first time such a plot was used so it could be just a coincidence. 

There is a lot to love about this cartoon. The very premise itself is wonderful and lots of great gags come out of it. I especially love the gag with the chicken and the gag with the pie, both of which put a big smile on my face. Like in many of the best Tom and Jerry films, the most delightful part of this cartoon though comes not just from the gags but the execution. This whole film is full of simply wonderful character animation. I simply love the animation of Tom being drunk. While the character is still clearly Tom, everything about the way he moves, his facial expressions and his reactions to everything going on around him, are completely different than when he is sober. Much of this character animation is far from subtle and quite goofy, but it never gets to the point where Tom feels any less real as a character. This drunken Tom is just as expressive and believable as sober Tom is. Through this character animation, you can often see just what is going through his drunken mind without the need of any dialogue. Jerry's reactions to the drunken Tom wanting to be his friend and his enjoyment spending time with drunken Tom is a sheer masterpiece of character animation as well. 

Because of Mammy Two Shoes being a black stereotype parts of this film have been edited for TV showings. Instead of Lillian Randolph's voice of Mammy, the character's voice had been dubbed over in many TV airings. As well as the dubbing, some of the lines where changed. For instance, instead of stating, "Well, slap my face, if this ain't a mess," she says "Well, I'll be darned, this is such a mess."  Interestingly the line "Thomas! Why- why you, crazy cat!" has been muted on many TV airings. This is strange as the line is not very stereotypical. This is also one of the few cartoons where we actually see part of Mammy's head. We only see the back of it through and she has part of her head covered. 

Clips from this film would be used in the later Tom and Jerry cartoon, Shutter Bugged Cat (1967). Tom's drunken line "1 for the money (hic), 2 for the show (hic), 3 to make ready (hic), and 4 to go!" would be used in an episode of TV's The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show entitled Most Wanted Cat (1980).

- Michael J. Ruhland