Nit-Witty Kitty (1951)

 

This was one of my favorite Tom and Jerry cartoons as a kid and I still love it today. 

In this short film Tom gets hit in the head and thinks he is a mouse. As a mouse, Tom makes Jerry's life completely miserable by eating all the cheese for himself and going into Jerry's mousehole. Jerry does whatever he can to turn Tom back to normal. 

This film is simply wonderful. The plot idea itself is very creative and a wonderful twist on the typical Tom and Jerry formula. This gives it a unique feel that makes it stand out from the pack. Adding to this unique charm is that through much of the film Tom gets the better of Jerry. As a Tom fan (even as a kid I found myself rooting for Tom) this turnabout was delightful. Making it work even better was the great character animation of Jerry as he gets more and more frustrated with Tom. Seeing Jerry have the same sort of frustrated reaction to his plans backfiring as we usually see on Tom make this cartoon all the more enjoyable. The character animation on Tom as he thinks he is a mouse. He not only acts different from his usual self, but he moves differently and reacts differently. Even if we haven't studied the animation in these shorts, we subconsciously know how Tom is supposed to move and the facial expressions he should have. The drastic change here in the way he is animated changes who the whole character is even if his design remains mostly the same. Because of this Tom becomes a whole new character and this not only shows why this film is so delightful but also how real these characters have become to us by this point. When it comes to the humor, this film lacks the sheer number of great gags we saw in the 1940's Tom and Jerry shorts, but it makes up with simply how funny the gags that work are. The ending gag is one of my favorite Tom and Jerry ending and always puts a smile on my face. One could argue that it is a predictable ending, but the delivery is so great that is truly hilarious. This film also begins with a great cartoon-y moment with some delightfully funny and abstract animation of Tom after he has been hit. It is no wonder this cartoon was a favorite of mine as a kid. Not only this but it holds up wonderfully now that I am in my 30's. 

The credited animators on this film include Ray Patterson, Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse and Irven Spence. A clip from this cartoon would later be used in the Tom and Jerry cartoon, Shutter Bugged Cat (1967) and it can be seen on the TV in Paul Mazursky's Alex in Wonderland (1970). This is the 61st Tom and Jerry short film. 

Below is the typically ugly movie poster for this film. Jerry especially looks horrible.