Thus is another Tom and Jerry film in which Jerry befriends another animal and has to protect his new friend from Tom. This friend is a little seal. Though this marks the only appearance of this seal in a theatrical cartoon short, the character would later appear in episodes of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show (the 2014 version) and Tom and Jerry in New York.
In this short film a seal escapes from the circus and hides in the pool in Tom and Jerry's yard. However, when Tom hears that there is a reward for returning the seal, he does what he can to capture the seal and Jerry must protect his new friend.
This is a delightful cartoon. The story may be simply and familiar, but it is charming. The seal makes a wonderful sidekick for Jerry. He is a very cute character but never in a way that feels forced or cloying. The scene with him telling Jerry his story is simply adorable. Humor-wise, this film may not have the sheer number of gags that appear in the cat and mouse duo's cartoons of the 1940's but there are some wonderful comedic moments here. The gags involving the bicycle and glass of water always make me laugh out loud. The cartoon also benefits from some very strong character animation. The best example of this is the scene where Jerry is hiding behind the fish and makes the fish dance. What makes this scene so wonderful is that the fish has no emotion on his face and yet the dancing and movement is incredibly expressive. It doesn't hurt that the scene is also very funny.
The credited animators on this film are Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence and Ray Patterson. The cartoon is available on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 3.
Below is the movie poster for this film.
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