Little School Mouse (1954)

 

Little School Mouse is a semi-remake of the earlier Tom and Jerry short Professor Tom (1948). The biggest difference between the two films was that in this short, Tom and Jerry have switched roles. 

In this short film, Jerry is teaching Nibbles how to outwit cats in a school-type setting. However, Nibbles is more interested in making friends with Tom than outwitting him. 

This is simply a very fun cartoon. Though this is very similar to an earlier film, the role reversal makes it feel completely fresh. To have an entry in a cartoon series that had at this point been around for over a decade feel fresh is no small feat. It becomes even more impressive due to how at the same time this short stays true to the type of wordless slapstick that makes these shorts so popular. While this may not be the funniest Tom and Jerry short, there are some pretty strong gags here. However, what makes them work is more the execution than the gags themselves. When Nibbles gets his tail caught by the mechanical cat's paw, what makes the gag hilarious is how Nibbles keeps running like he is still moving forward completely unaware that he is not going anywhere. When Tom wakes up from his nap and hands Nibbles the cheese, what makes it funny is the character animation of Tom barely being awake and doing it without realizing what he is doing. Another strong bit of character animation is when Tom is overjoyed to get the bell as a gift. This is a rather standard gag, but the character animation makes it incredibly charming. 

The credited animators on this film are Irven Spence and Ed Barge. This marks one of the few shorts of this period not to have Ken Muse as a credited animator. This is the 83rd Tom and Jerry short. This cartoon can be found on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 2, Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases: Vol. 4, Tom and Jerry: Pint-Sized Pals, Tom and Jerry Classic Collection: Volume 4, Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble and Tom and Jerry: Merry Mice. This was the title cartoon of a Tom VHS Tom and Jerry in Little School Mouse. Artwork for that VHS can be seen below. 

Some of you may be aware that there is a current anime version of Tom and Jerry that can be found on YouTube (in my mind this should be playing on Cartoon Network but that is just my opinion). A recent short of this series entitled School Days (2024) is a remake of Little School Mouse. You can watch that cartoon below. It is cutesier than the classic Tom and Jerry shorts but there is a real charm to it. 

-Michael J. Ruhland