The title of this short film is a play on Kitty Foyle, a 1939 bestselling book by Christopher Morley that was turned into a hit live action movie in 1940 (which gave Ginger Rogers a best actress Oscar). This cartoon is in no way a parody of either the book or the live action feature though.
This film's plot is incredibly simple. This time instead of just after Jerry, Tom is often both Jerry and his little bird friend. They work together to outwit the cat.
This is a near perfect Tom and Jerry cartoon. Though it may have the slimmest of plots, that actually works to the film's favor. It allows this short to be nothing but gag after gag. This allows the film to move at a very fast pace and never lose its comedic energy. This is why even if you have seen this cartoon enough times to know everything that is going to happen, it is still a lot of fun. It simply so easy to get caught up in the pure energy of this cartoon. Like all Tom and Jerry films of this era, this energy is enhanced by Scott Bradley's wonderfully fun music. None of this is to say that the jokes aren't funny though because they are wonderful. Once again, the best part of these gags is the delivery. The wonderful sequence with Tom, Jerry and the bird shaking hands is perfectly timed and features some incredible character animation. The way Tom goes from being confused to becoming caught up in the moments is truly hilarious and is what makes this simple joke work. Tom riding on the train is probably one of the simplest and most elementary chase cartoon gags, but the goofy-ly devious look on Tom's face is truly hilarious. The same can be said with Tom going into a George Raft imitation during his "dying" scene. The sheer ridiculousness of that moment makes what could have been a gruesome gag, very silly and funny. Most of all though this film is just Tom and Jerry boiled down to their bare essentials and shows us that sometimes this is more than enough.
This is the debut of Jerry's little bird friend. This character has been named Cuckoo by Tom and Jerry fans, yet I can't think of an instance where he is named in any of the films. Perhaps he received this name, from a brief gag (in this film) where he pops out of Tom's mouth like a bird in a cuckoo clock. He would appear in a few Tom and Jerry cartoons after this one. He would have another major role in The Flying Cat (1952) and a smaller role in Hic-cup Pup (1954). He would also appear in Life with Tom (1952) and Matinee Mouse (1966), but only in clips reused from Kitty Foiled and The Flying Cat.
The credited animators on this cartoon are Ed Barge, Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse and Irving Levine. This is the only animation credit Irving Levine got on a Tom and Jerry cartoon. However, the same year as this film, he got credit on another MGM cartoon, The Bear and the Hare (1948) starring Barney Bear. The title of Kitty Foiled appears on a movie theatre in an episode of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show entitled, It Ain't Over Until The Cat Lady Sings (2014). Cartoon Network and Boomerang have often run cut versions of this film without the scene where Jerry and the bird dress up like Native Americans. On some channels in the UK the scene involving the gun was cut. This film would be reissued to theatres in 1956 and again in 1964.
The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "KITTY FOILED: Tom and Jerry Cartoons— Tom and Jerry cartoons are the best in the cartoon field. This one was exceptionally funny. - Arthur Lee Burke Jr., Venita Theatre, Herculaneum, Mo."
The movie poster for this cartoon is well above average for a Tom and Jerry movie poster. Not only this but it actually depicts a scene from the film.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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