The Framed Cat (1950)

 

The Framed Cat is an underrated gem of the Tom and Jerry series. 

In this short film, Tom steals a piece of chicken and frames Jerry for eating it. To get revenge Jerry frames Tom for stealing Spike the bulldog's bone. 

This is a pure delight of a cartoon. Everything about this film works perfectly. It does just what a great 7-minute short should. That is to take a very simple story and tell it in the most entertaining way possible. That is definitely the case here as there is not one dull moment. I feel that anyone who is interested in becoming an animator should study the Tom and Jerry films and this is a perfect example of why. These characters perfectly express themselves and everything going on in their mind with minimal dialogue. There are many moments of great character animation here, but the highlight is the scene with the magnet and the bone. This is not only the funniest part of a film full of great gags but it also an example of character animation at its finest. What is so funny about this scene is not the gag itself, but the character animation. Tom's complete confusion as to why the bone keeps coming back to him and Spike's growing frustration are what make this scene funny. The timing on this scene is also perfect. During this time period William Hanna's sense of comedic timing was at its peak. The magnet making Tom turn around every time Spike moves the bone is a hilarious gag that would have fallen flat without great timing. 

In this film, Spike is missing white part on his chest, which appears in every other cartoon with the character. Instead in this film his whole body below his head is entirely gray. This is also a rare cartoon where Tom and Spike live in the same house. 

The credited animators on this cartoon are Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence and Ray Patterson.

Below is the movie poster for this film. It is definitely better looking than many of the earlier movie posters for these cartoons.