Southbound Duckling marks the 90th Tom and Jerry film and the first Tom and Jerry cartoon of 1955. The film hit theaters on March 12, 1955.
In this short film, Quacker the duck decides to fly south for the winter, despite Jerry trying to convince him that domestic ducks don't fly south for the winter. Jerry eventually gives in and tries to help his friend fly south. However, with every attempt, Tom tries to eat Quacker.
This is a delightful cartoon. The storyline is a bit of departure from your average cat chasing mouse short, while still retaining the slapstick charm that we all love about these films. Tom and Jerry are their usual delightful selves here. While the character animation may not be as lush as in the 1940's shorts, it is still very expressive and can always tell just what these characters are thinking without them saying a word (the duck gets all the dialogue in this short). This film also expands on Jerry's most likable character trait and that is his loyalty to his friends. I love how even though he doesn't like Quacker's plan to go south, he reluctantly agrees to help, when he sees that he can't talk him out of it. Tom also remains his sympathetic self. One of my favorite things about these cartoons is that Tom never feels like a villain but rather a character, we care about and kind of root for. Speaking of rooting for Tom, the ending gag is very satisfying to those of us who love the cat. Though I am not a fan of his cutesy voice, Quacker is used quite well here and there is a charm to his friendship with Jerry. The main problem with this film is that the gags are never laugh out loud funny. None of the gags fall flat but they are more likely to make you smile, or chuckle than really laugh.
The credited animators on this film are Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Irven Spence. Vera Ohman is the credited background artist, and Richard Bickenbach is the credited layout artist. Richard Bickenbach not only worked on William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry shorts but also on their later TV work. He would work on such Hanna-Barbera TV series as Quick Draw McGraw, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Top Cat, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo Where Are You and many more. He would also work on the Hanna-Barbera feature films, The Man Called Flintstone (1966) and Charolette's Web (1973) and the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. Vera Ohman's work with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera reaches past just the Tom and Jerry cartoons. She also worked on such Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, Quick Draw McGraw and The Yogi Bear Show as well as some of the Loopy De Loop theatrical shorts. Southbound Duckling would receive a semi-remake with the episode of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show entitled The Lost Duckling (1975). In that TV cartoon, both Tom and Jerry would help Quacker fly south for the winter. That cartoon marks Quacker's only appearance on that TV show. Southbound Duckling is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 3 and Tom and Jerry: Follow that Duck!
Like some other Cinemascope cartoons of this time, this film was made in both Academy and CinemaScope aspect ratios. While the same animation cels were used in both versions, the camera shots were reframed, and different backgrounds were used for both versions. Sadly, many TV airings of this cartoon feature a cropped version of the Cinemascope version rather than airing it in widescreen or using the Academy version.
Below is a production cel from this film.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Resources Used
Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin
https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Southbound_Duckling
https://hanna-barberawiki.com/wiki/Southbound_Duckling#Home_availability
https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/hit-the-beach-part-9/
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