Barbecue Brawl (1956)

 

In some ways, this short film can be considered a follow up to the earlier Tom and Jerry cartoon, Pup on a Picnic (1955). The two films have a similar premise about Spike and Tyke trying to have an outdoor meal and Tom and Jerry interrupting it. The cartoons also both featuring pretty much the same ending gag. 

This short film begins with Spike wanting to treat Tyke to an outdoor barbecue. However, Tom and Jerry's fighting ends up ruining their barbecue. 

Like many Tom and Jerry films of this period, this cartoon is more charming than actually funny. There is only one gag that made me audibly laugh here (the giant steak shrinking to a very tiny one). However, this despite a lack of real laughs, this cartoon is a lot of fun. Spike and Tyke are wonderful here and there is a real sweetness and charm to their interactions with each other. This is a rare cartoon where Tom and Jerry are really supporting characters in their own cartoon, however due to some strong character animation (even if the animation itself was getting more limited by this time). I especially love how when Jerry is hiding in the pepper and later the bread, these objects move in a way that seems to have Jerry's personality. This cartoon also benefits from some very strong background art. When viewed in the right aspect ratio, the background art is simply lovely to look at. I especially love the trees that look like a beautiful minimalist painting. The suburban atmosphere to much of the background art also gives this film the feel of Hanna-Barbera's early TV output and the same charm can be found here.  

The credited animators on this film were Irven Spence, Lewis Marshall, Kenneth Muse and Ed Barge. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle, and the credited layout artist is Dick Bickenbach. Gentle worked on such Hanna-Barbera shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends and many more. 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) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. This is the 104th Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

This cartoon is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 4, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection, Vol. 3 and Tom and Jerry: Pint-Sized Pals as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume II and the new Blu-ray set, Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection.

This marks the first MGM cartoon with the sound recorded in Perspecta Stereo. Every subsequent MGM cartoon was recording using this method. 

Like many of the Tom and Jerry cartoons that were released in the widescreen CinemaScope format, this film has often been cropped when shown on TV. There was an especially bad example of this that aired on TV in the 1990's, which only showed 1/3 of the picture making much of what was happening indecipherable. Luckily with the new Blu-ray set that came out this year, we can watch this film looking beautiful.  

Blue Cat Blues (1956)

 

Note: This review contains spoilers. 

Even for those who don't watch Tom and Jerry on a regular basis (I don't know what is wrong with those people either) may be familiar with Blue Cat Blues. You may have seen online a picture of Tom and Jerry sitting on a railroad track with text saying something like, "The last episode of Tom and Jerry ends with Tom and Jerry killing themselves." The film being referenced here is Blue Cat Blues. However, the claim that this is "the last episode" is ludicrous, and someone just started stating that for shock value. There were a few more Hanna-Barbera directed Tom and Jerry films after this and of course the series would continue under other hands after that. That being said, this is truly a cartoon that ends with our two main characters killing themselves. However, this is handled more as a form of dark humor than a conclusion for these characters' adventures.   

In this short film, Tom is sitting on the railroad tracks waiting to die. Jerry recounts how he ended up like this. We see Tom fall in love with a female cat. However Butch also falls for the same cat. Butch however is rich while Tom is poor and therefore Tom is unable to compete with him. When his girlfriend decides to marry Butch, Tom decides to kill himself. Jerry laments that it is sad that Tom couldn't have a faithful girl like he does. However, when he sees that his girlfriend has just married another mouse he joins Tom on the railroad tracks. 

Though the storyline of Tom and Butch fighting over a girl cat, this is a very unusual film for the duo. Here, Tom and Jerry are best friends, rather than rivals. Also, this is a rare Tom and Jerry short with spoken words through nearly the whole film. The dialogue comes from Jerry's inner monologue. Also, unlike usual much of the humor revolves around this monologue instead of being told completely visually. For instance, at one moment Jerry states that Tom flipped his lid, and we see the top of Tom's head literally flip. 

This is not one of my favorite Tom and Jerry shorts. This is mostly because of both the depressing ending and the focus on dialogue rather than the usual slapstick. I don't however think this is a bad cartoon by any means. There is a lot that actually works here. There are a couple good gags here including the gag of Tom "drinking" and the including of a slavery clause when Tom signs for the car. Scott Bradley's musical score is also wonderful here and I love the sleazy jazzy version of Frankie and Johnny that becomes the girl cat's theme. I also feel that Tom and Jerry are very likable here and as always Butch works very well as a rival for Tom. Still, I feel the final gag is too depressing for a comedy short and that some of the puns here are much too obvious. 

Frankie and Johnny is not the only song that Scott Bradley uses on the soundtrack. He also uses the song I’ve Got a Feelin’ You’re Foolin. This song was introduced in the movie Broadway Melody of 1936 (1936), where it was performed by Frances Langford. The song was written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. This is the same team that wrote such songs as Broadway Rhythm, You Are My Lucky Star, All I Do Is Dream Of You, Singin' in the Rain, You Were Meant For Me and Temptation. Many of their best songs can be heard in the classic movie musical, Singin' in the Rain (1952). This song has also been recorded by such artists as Eddy Duchin, Anson Weeks and the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. 

The credited animators on this film are Ed Barge, Irven Spence, Lewis Marshall and Kenneth Muse. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle and the credited layout artist is Dick Bickenbach. Gentle worked on such Hanna-Barbera shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends and many more. 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) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. This marked the 103rd Tom and Jerry short. 

This short film appears on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 4, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection, Vol. 1, Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 3 and Tom and Jerry: No Mice Allowed, the VHS sets, Tom and Jerry: Festival of Fun and Tom and Jerry: Blue Cat Blues, the Laser Disc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume II as well as the new Blu-ray set Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection. This cartoon is also a bonus feature on the Blu-ray for the western, The Fastest Gun Alive (1956). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/a-musical-up-roar-1954-57/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_Cat_Blues

Down Beat Bear (1956)

 

One of the best things about watching the later William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directed Tom and Jerry shorts is seeing how they anticipate the work that Bill and Joe would soon be doing for TV. Many of the early Hanna-Barbera TV work would feature cartoon characters that were heavily inspired by popular TV and movie personalities. This short film features a pre-cursor to that with a bear who is visually inspired by Ed Norton the character Art Carney played on TV's The Honeymooners. One of the Hanna-Barbera studios most popular early TV stars was Yogi Bear, another bear inspired by Ed Norton. The two cartoon bears even wear identical hats. Of course, Bill and Joe's first primetime TV series, The Flintstones would also be inspired by The Honeymooners. 

In this short film, Jerry is trying to listen to the radio, while Tom keeps trying to turn it off. Eventually the two hear about a bear that escaped from the circus. He is a dancing bear and will dance whenever he hears music. There is a big reward for this bear. Of course, the bear shows up at Tom and Jerry's house. Tom sets his sights on capturing the bear and collecting the reward, but this becomes harder and harder when Jerry keeps playing the radio and the bear keeps dancing. 

This is another Tom and Jerry short of this time period that is more charming than actually funny. Still this cartoon is very entertaining. The bear is a very fun supporting character and the scenes where he dances with Tom are a lot of fun as well. I love the design of this bear, and the character animation of his dancing is fantastic (especially during the door gag). Also excellent is the character animation of both Tom and Jerry. The animation of Jerry happily dancing mocking Tom's predicament is delightful as is the great character animation of Tom being a reluctant dancing partner. The closing gag is also a great one. THe background art is beautiful to look at and the new CinemaScope Blu-ray (which lets us see it in the correct aspect ratio) shows just how handsome this film is. One only wishes the gags could have been funnier. 

One of the songs heard in this film is La Cumparsita, an Argentine tango that had been recorded in the U.S. by such artists as Hal Kemp, Tito Schipa, Eddy Duchin and Xavier Cugat. Below is Hal Kemp's 1933 recording of the tune. 




Also heard in this film is the traditional gypsy number, Two Guitars. Below you can listen to The Hungarian Zingari Orchestra's 1931 recording of the song. 





The credited animators on this film are Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Irven Spence and Lewis Marshall. Irv Spence animates the first shot of the bear dancing down the sidewalk and his first time dancing with Tom. Ken Muse animates the wonderful door dance scene. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle and the credited layout artist is Dick Bickenbach. Gentle worked on such Hanna-Barbera shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends and many more. 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) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. This marked the 102nd Tom and Jerry short. 

A version of the gag where Tom's head turns into various objects including a cymbal, a cowbell and a drum was used earlier in the short film, Saturday Evening Puss (1950). However, in the earlier cartoon, this happened to Jerry not Tom. 

This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 4, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection, Vol. 2 and Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 4, the Laser Disc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume II and the new Blu-ray set, Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection. 

This film was submitted and screened for consideration for an Academy Award but was not nominated. The nominated films that year were all from the UPA studio, Gerald McBoing Boing on Planet Moo (1956), The Jaywalker (1956) and Mr. Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956). The winner was Mr. Magoo's Puddle Jumper, a fun but hardly outstanding entry in that series. This marked the only year when all the nominees were from the same studio, a feat not even Disney accomplished. You can watch the award be accepted below. 



-Michael J. Ruhland


Resources Used

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1956/

https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2024/11/less-cowbell.html

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Down_Beat_Bear

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/a-musical-up-roar-1954-57/

Muscle Beach Tom (1956)

 

Nine years after Salt Water Tabby (1947), Tom and Jerry return to the beach in this short film. The storyline between the two cartoons is even quite similar. Both involve Tom trying to find a little romance at the beach, only to get into a fight with Jerry. Tom even wears the same bathing suit (yes, I know he wears a bathing suit to the beach, despite normally not wearing clothes) in both films.   

In this short film Tom is taking his girlfriend to the beach. When Tom carelessly places his things down on top of Jerry, the two get into a big slapstick fight. However, this is not the only obstacle that Tom has to face as Butch (the black cat) is trying to steal Tom's girl. 

This is an excellent cartoon and one of the duo's best CinemaScope outings. This is the rare film from this time period that can hold its own against the duo's 1940's output. Like the duo's 40's output, this cartoon offers one great sight gag after another. Some of these gags made me smile, some made me chuckle and some made me laugh out loud. Some of these gags are even quite clever (the one with the crab sticks out to me). The opening even makes a clever use of the CinemaScope format with a long pan across the beach with a series of cute little gags featuring cats working out. Due to the CinemaScope format, we can see multiple of these gags at once, making the scene all the more charming. Another gag that makes perfect use of the format involves Butch dancing while Tom has is digging a ditch for Butch to fall into. Giving this gag a larger portion of the screen helps make it all the funnier as we have room to watch Butch dancing and Tom impatiently waiting for Butch to fall in at the same time. This is a rare Tom and Jerry short of this period that makes full use of CinemaScope to do what the filmmakers couldn't do in earlier films. The film also benefits from a great Scott Bradley score that is simply a joy to listen to. 

Scott Bradley's score includes as snippet of the song I Got Out of Bed On the Right Side from the feature length movie, Dangerous When Wet (1953), which featured a cameo by Tom and Jerry. The lyrics to this song (which we don't get to hear here) were written by Johnny Mercer (I'm an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande, Too Marvelous for Words, Blues in the Night, On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, Moon River). The music was written by Arthur Schwartz (I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan, Dancing in the Dark, That's Entertainment!). 

The credited animators on this film are Lewis Marshall, Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Irven Spence. Robert Gentle is the credited background artist here. Robert Gentle would not only work with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera on these theatrical shorts but also many of the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoons. He worked on such Hanna-Barbera shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends and many more. The credited layout artist is Richard Bickenbach. 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) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. A clip from Muscle Beach Tom would appear in the background (on a TV) in the made for TV Tom and Jerry short, The Mansion Cat (2001). This marked the 101st Tom and Jerry short overall.

This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 4, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection, Vol. 2, Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 4 and Tom and Jerry's Summer Holidays as well as the new Blu-ray set, Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection and the Laser Disk set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume II. 

The Tom and Jerry Wiki states that the female cat here is Yvonne Jockalong, a love interest for Tom that appeared in three episodes of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show (The Ski Bunny (1975), Beach Bully (1975), The Tennis Menace (1975)). While the cat here has a very similar design, I remain skeptical about this being the same cat.

The Ski Bunny

A cartoon called Muscle Beach Droopy (1991) would appear on an episode of TV's Tom and Jerry Kids. This short would not feature Tom and Jerry but as the title suggests would star Droopy instead. In that cartoon Droopy and his son Dripple would take a trip to the beach, where loudmouthed bodybuilder Hunk Hardbody is trying to impress the ladies. However, the ladies are so charmed by Droopy that Hunk gets very jealous. 

Muscle Beach Droopy

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Muscle_Beach_Tom

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/a-musical-up-roar-1954-57/

Busy Buddies (1956)

 

In 1975, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera would revisit their characters of Tom and Jerry with a TV show entitled, The Tom and Jerry Show. That series would feature Tom and Jerry not as rivals but as best friends who work together to solve problems. Though Busy Buddies was a theatrical short film Bill and Joe made nearly two decades before that TV series, this film much more resembles that series than the typical Tom and Jerry short of the 1950's. 

This short also casts the cat and mouse duo as best friends. When the owners of the owners of the house go out on a date, they leave teenager babysitter Jeannie to watch over their baby. However, Jeannie is much more interested in talking to her friends on the phone than actually watching the baby. When the baby finds himself in increasingly dangerous situations, it is Tom and Jerry who must help protect him.   
This is a charming little short, even if it doesn't feel like a typical Tom and Jerry cartoon. The background art is lovely to look at. The stylized look to the background provides a delightful 50's charm to the film. Unfortunately, this is not as obvious if you watch the film in the cropped version that often appears on TV. If you watch this cartoon in widescreen or its original CinemaScope format, the artwork is lovely to see. The basic storyline is a fun one and a good setup for a cartoon. The humor here may not be laugh out loud funny but is really charming. This cartoon is more likely to make you smile than laugh but there is no problem with that sometimes.

The main problem I have with this short though is that Tom and Jerry's personalities don't shine through as much as in the average Tom and Jerry short. Tom and Jerry are really interchangeable with any number of cartoon characters here. However, this flaw doesn't keep this film from still being really charming. 



The credited animators on this film are Irven Spence, Lewis Marshall, Kenneth Muse and Ed Barge. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle. Robert Gentle would not only work with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera on these theatrical shorts but also many of the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoons. He worked on such Hanna-Barbera shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends and many more. The credited layout artist is Richard Bickenbach. 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) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. You can see some of his background art for the Hanna-Barbera TV shows here.

This marked the 100th Tom and Jerry theatrical short film. It premiered in theaters on May 5, 1956. This film would receive a semi-sequel with the last Hanna-Barbera directed Tom and Jerry theatrical short, Tot Watchers (1958). The basic plotline of a pet (in this case Tom) having to look after a neglected baby would later be the basis of the Mindy and Buttons segments on TV's Animaniacs. Those segments would also feature a similar ending to this film. 

This cartoon is available on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 3, the Laserdisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume II and the new Blu-Ray set, Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection (this features the best home version of this film. 

The 2006 album, TOM AND JERRY & TEX AVERY, TOO! Volume 1: The 1950’s, features musical scores from various MGM cartoons. Included here is Scott Bradley's score for Busy Buddies. 

A 1963 Gold Key Tom and Jerry comic book was also titled, Busy Buddies. However, that comic book would not be an adaption of this film. The title would also be the name of a 1944 Three Stooges short. 

As a special treat for the 100th post on this blog, here are some pages from classic movie magazines about our favorite cat and mouse duo. 

Motion Picture Herald 1946

 

Motion Picture Herald 1952

Variety 1949

If you have trouble reading the following article (from a 1949 issue of The Exhibitor), click on the pages below and use your touch screen to zoom in. If you don't have a touch screen click here.

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Egg and Jerry (1956)

 

The Egg and Jerry marks the first of three Tom and Jerry CinemaScope remakes. These films would be shot for shot remakes of earlier Tom and Jerry shorts, adapting the cartoons into the CinemaScope format. These remakes would be so similar to the earlier shorts that they would even reuse the same audio. The other two Tom and Jerry CinemaScope remakes are Tops with Pops (1957, remake of Love That Pup (1949)) and Feedin' the Kiddie (1957; remake of The Little Orphan (1949)). MGM would release three other CinemaScope remakes at this time. Millionaire Droopy (1956, remake of the Droopy cartoon, Wags to Riches (1949)), Good Will to Men (1955; remake of the Hugh Harmon short, Peace on Earth (1939)) and Cat's Meow (1957; remake of the Tex Avery short Ventriloquist Cat (1950)). All these remakes would be produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who would receive directing credit Good Will to Men as well as the Tom and Jerry shorts. Cat's Meow would be the last directorial credit for Tex Avery. 

The Egg and Jerry is a remake of Hatch Up Your Troubles (1949). Being a shot for shot remake, the story is exactly the same here. In this film, an egg rolls out of its nest, while a mama woodpecker is away. The egg rolls into Jerry's home and hatches there. Since the first thing the baby woodpecker sees is Jerry, he assumes that Jerry is his mama. Jerry tries to return the little woodpecker to his nest, but the little woodpecker just wants to follow Jerry. Unfortunately for the little woodpecker, when he pecks on Tom's chair and breaks it, he has an angry cat after him. Jerry then tries to protect the woodpecker from Tom.

This type of film may feel pointless today, when Tom and Jerry air on TV every day (and pretty much all their films are available on DVD and/or Blu-ray. However, it is important to remember that these were originally short films made for theaters. There is a good chance that the average moviegoer had never seen the cartoon this was remaking before or at least had not seen it since 1949. Because of this, this cartoon would have seemed like a completely new film to them. Taken for what it is, I definitely enjoyed watching this film. The original did a great job mixing humor and sentimentality and since this is a shot for shot remake the same is true here. Adapting to CinemaScope meant that this cartoon had new background art. This background art here is more stylized and inspired by UPA. This type of stylized background also looks forward to the backgrounds William Hanna and Joseph Barbera would soon use in their early TV cartoons. These backgrounds look very handsome here, while also perfectly suiting the characters and story.      

The credited animators on this film are Ed Barge, Ray Patterson, Irven Spence and Kenneth Muse. These are the same animators who are credited on Hatch Up Your Troubles. Unlike that earlier short, there is a background credit and a layout credit here. The credited background artist is Don Driscoll. This is Driscoll's only credit on a Tom and Jerry cartoon. The credited layout artist was Richard Bickenbach. This marked the 99th Tom and Jerry short film. This cartoon is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 3 and Tom and Jerry: Follow that Duck! as well as on the new Blu-ray set, Tom and Jerry the Complete CinemaScope Collection. 

Later an episode of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show would be entitled The Egg and Tom and Jerry (1975). This TV cartoon would bear little resemblance to the theatrical short film in a similar name. In that episode, Tom and Jerry would get in trouble as a baby eagle thinks Tom is his mother, while the mother thinks Jerry is her baby. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Flying Sorceress (1956)

 

This short film marks the first Tom and Jerry cartoon (and the 98th short film overall) of 1956, landing in movie theaters on January 28 of that year. For their first film of 1956, Tom takes center stage with Jerry almost in a supporting role here. 

In this short film, Tom breaks a lamp while chasing Jerry. His owner (Joan) is very angry and makes him clean up the mess he made. Tom then sees an ad in the newspaper stating, "Wanted: Intelligent cat to act as traveling companion for elderly lady. Apply in person, 13 Sunnydale Road." Tom decides to run away and get this job. However, he soon learns that this elderly lady is really a witch. When the witch goes to bed, Tom decides to take her broomstick for a joy ride. 

This is a delightful cartoon and one I watch every October. The plot of this film is a departure from the typical Tom and Jerry short. However, it is a plot that works perfectly with Tom's character. This story takes full advantage of Tom's childlike playfulness, mischievousness and cockiness. Though the animation was getting more limited around this time, the animators were still able to express all these emotions perfectly without Tom having to say a word. Though Jerry receives a smaller role in this film, he also gets some good character animation here, especially his bewilderment when he sees Tom on the broomstick. This cartoon also benefits from a great sense of atmosphere, especially the scenes in the witch's house. The background art in these scenes create a very fun Halloween-like atmosphere. The humor may not be as laugh out loud funny here as it was in the 1940's Tom and Jerry shorts. However, it is very charming and sometimes that is enough. 

The title for this film would later be reused for an episode of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show, The Flying Sorceress (1975). In that episode, a witch named Free Fall Frieda recruits Tom and Jerry to help her test out her 1401 wide-bodied flying cauldron. Th kind witch wants to use this invention to help people and first the trio tries to use it to help farmers dust crops and then later as a transportation service.

This cartoon features the character of Joan as Tom's owner. This is the third short to feature this character and the first where you see her face. This is one of eight films this character appears in and one of four, where she is seen without her husband George. 

The credited animators on this film are Ed Barge, Irven Spence. Lewis Marshall and Kenneth Muse. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle. The credited layout artist is Richard Bickenbach. 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) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. Robert Gentle would also work on many of Bill and Joe's later TV shows including The Huckleberry Hound Show, Quick Draw Mc Graw, The Atom Ant Show, Space Ghost, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends, Pac Man and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. He also worked on the Hanna-Barbera feature films Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964), The Man Called Flintstone, Charolette's Web, Hedi's Song (1982) and Rock Odessey (1987) as well as the Loopy De Loop theatrical shorts. You can see some of his background art for the Hanna-Barbera TV shows here. The witch is voiced by June Foray, who the same year first voiced the Looney Tunes character Witch Hazel in the Bugs Bunny cartoon, Broomstick Bunny (1956). She had also voiced another character named Witch Hazel in the Donald Duck cartoon, Trick or Treat (1952).  June would later provide Jerry's voice in some of the Chuck Jones produced Tom and Jerry cartoons of the 1960's. Clips from this cartoon would later be reused in the cheater cartoon, Matinee Mouse (1966). This cartoon is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection and Tom and Jerry: Hijinks and Shrieks. It is also a bonus feature on the DVD and Blu-Ray of the direct to video movie, Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring (2001). 

Below is a lobby card for this short film. 

- Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/The_Flying_Sorceress

https://tomjerry1975.neocities.org/episodes/NTJ_Show6#80-19

That's My Mommy (1955)

 

That's My Mommy marked the first film that William Hanna and Joseph Barbera produced as well as directed as by this time Fred Quimby who had produced the cartoons for MGM had retired. Bill and Joe did not only produce the films they directed but also the other MGM cartoons such as the Droopy shorts. Bill and Joe would of course after the Tom and Jerry shorts to produce many of the great TV cartoons, when they started their own animation studio, Hanna-Barbera.

In this short film Quacker the duck hatches from his egg and the first thing he sees is Tom. He assumes that Tom is his mother, but Tom only has interest in eating Quacker. Jerry tries to convince Quacker that Tom is not his mother but Quacker "loves his mommy" and doesn't believe Jerry. 

Animator Michael Lah once stated that William Hanna "loved cutesie stuff ... Joe was the other way, wild as hell." This showed itself in some of the Tom and Jerry cartoons by the mixing of sentimentality with wild cartoon slapstick. Though this mixture had appeared in these films as early as the third short (The Night Before Christmas (1941)) by the 1950's the addition of sentimentality to the Tom and Jerry formula was becoming more common. In my opinion, That's My Mommy is one of the finest examples of these more sentimental Tom and Jerry shorts. It is also probably Quacker's best film.

There is a lot to love about this cartoon. Both Tom and Jerry are the characters that we know and love. They are both at their most likable and relatable. Though by this time the animation on these shorts was becoming more limited, through the facial expressions and even the way they move we can always tell what both these characters are thinking without them having to say a word. Sometimes these facial expressions can even get laughs on their own. I love the look on Tom's face when Quacker says, "my mommy will protect me" and the annoyed expression on Jerry when Quacker closes the book on him. Both of these little moments make these predictable gags still quite funny. Quacker is also at his most likable here. While I may not be a fan of his cutsie voice, he is very likable here and plays well off both Tom and Jerry. There may not be as many laugh out loud moments here as there are in the 1940's Tom and Jerry films but most of the gags at least made me smile. The ending to this film is very sweet and quite touching. It also reminds us why we care about these characters as well as laugh at them. 

The credited animators on this film are Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Irven Spence and Lewis Marshall. The credited background artist is Robert Gentle and the credited layout artist is Richard Bickenbach (credited as Dick Bickenbach). 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) as well as the Loopy the Loop theatrical shorts. Robert Gentle would also work on many of Bill and Joe's later TV shows including The Huckleberry Hound Show, Quick Draw Mc Graw, The Atom Ant Show, Space Ghost, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Super Friends, Pac Man and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. He also worked on the Hanna-Barbera feature films Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964), The Man Called Flintstone, Charolette's Web, Hedi's Song (1982) and Rock Odessey (1987) as well as the Loopy De Loop theatrical shorts. You can see some of his background art for the Hanna-Barbera TV shows here.

This marked the 97th Tom and Jerry cartoon and the last of 1955. This cartoon was released in Cinemascope and all the rest of the Hanna-Barbera directed Tom and Jerry shorts afterwards would be as well. This cartoon is available on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 3 and will be on the upcoming Tom and Jerry the Complete Cinemascope Collection Blu-ray. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age by Michael Barrier

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/That%27s_My_Mommy

https://www.imdb.com/

Pecos Pest (1955)

 

This short film marked the last of the Hanna and Barbera directed shorts to not be in Cinemascope and the last Tom and Jerry cartoon to be produced by Fred Quimby. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera would take over the producing these cartoons (and other MGM cartoons like the Droopy shorts) after their next film (the non-Tom and Jerry cartoon, Good Will to Men). Pecos Pest also marks the 96th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

In this short film, Jerry's folk-singing Uncle Pecos comes to visit. He is going to perform on TV the next night and spends his whole visit practicing. Unfortunately, his guitar strings keep breaking. He pulls off Tom's whiskers to use as his guitar strings. 

This is a fun cartoon. This film mostly benefits from Uncle Pecos being a really fun character. His singing and guitar playing are very enjoyable to listen to and how he never lets anything stop him from performing his song makes him kind of appealing. His whole gimmick of using Tom's whiskers as guitar strings allows for some good slapstick gags. Few of these gags are laugh out loud funny but most of them made me at least chuckle. The ending gag though is fantastic. 

The song Uncle Pecos is singing is the old folk song, Froggie Went a Courtin. The words to this song originally appeared as a poem (called The Frog Came to the Myl Dur) in 1548 in Wedderburn’s Complaynt of Scotland. The first musical version appeared in Thomas Ravenscroft's 1611 collection of folk music, Melismata. In 1928 Chubby Parker (a star on WLS Barn Dance in Chicago) recorded a country version of this song. In 1940's Burl Ives recording a very popular version of this song. Folk singers like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger would make recordings of this song as well. perhaps inspired by those versions, Bob Dylan would record this song on his 1992 album, Good as I've Been to You. Bruce Springsteen would record this song on his 2006 album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.

Providing the singing voice for Uncle Pecos was Shug Fisher. In 1937 he was recorded by Decca as Hugh and Shug’s Radio Pals. In 1943, he became a member of the Sons of the Pioneers when Pat Brady and Lloyd Perryman were drafted. He not only sang with the group, but he also wrote some of their songs including Out on The Open Range, Ridin' Down To Santa Fe and Forgive and Forget. He is a familiar presence to fans of old B-Westerns, appearing in many including quite a few with Roy Rogers. He would continue acting in westerns into the TV era and appeared on many episodes of Gunsmoke. He also had a nightclub act around this time. Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera caught this nightclub act and decided to build a cartoon around it. This cartoon was not the first time that Shug Fisher had recorded Froggie Went a Courtin'. He had earlier sung the song on the Sons of the Pioneers' Luck-U Ranch radio program in 1951. You can listen to that below. 

Though Uncle Pecos only appeared in one theatrical cartoon short, he has remained a fan favorite. He would later star in an episode of TV's Tom and Jerry Tales entitled Cry Uncle (2006). He would also appear in mulitple episodes of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show including I Quit (2017), Uncle Pecos Rides Again (2018), Cat-a-Tonic Mouse (2018), (Not) Your Father's Mouse-Stache (2021), Attachment Disorder (2020) and The Not So Ugly Duckling (2021). Clips from Pecos Pest are reused in Uncle Pecos Rides Again. He also had a non-speaking cameo in the direct to video feature film, Tom and Jerry: Cowboy Up! (2022). 

The credited animators on this film are Ed Barge, Irven Spence, Ray Patterson and Kenneth Muse. Robert Gentle was the credited background artist. The cartoon is available on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1.

Below is a layout drawing for the telegram seen in this film. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Pecos_Pest

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/a-musical-up-roar-1954-57/

https://allnurseryrhymes.com/frog-went-a-courtin/#:~:text=Originally%20from%20Scotland%2C%20%E2%80%9CFroggy%20Went%20A%20Courtin%E2%80%9D%20is,was%20first%20recorded%20by%20Thomas%20Ravenscroft%20in%201611.

https://folklore.usc.edu/frog-went-a-courtin-english-language-folk-song/

Smarty Cat (1955)

 

Smarty Cat is the fourth and last cheater cartoon of the original Hanna and Barbera era. The term cheater cartoon refers to a short that relies heavily on clips from previous films. This short film features clips from Solid Serenade (1946), Cat Fishin' (1947) and Fit to Be Tied (1952). There is a bit of new animation of Tom whistling after seeing his girlfriend in the window. 

In this short film, Tom's cat friends come over to visit. Butch brings along some home movies he took of Tom getting the best of Spike the bulldog. 

This is a typical cheater cartoon. The clips shown are wonderful and quite funny even without the full context. For their last cheater, the Hanna and Barbera team picked some truly wonderful clips to use. When it comes to the quality of the clips used, this is one of the better cheater films. However unfortunately the new footage is kept to a minimum. The basic connecting storyline is charming but very little time is dedicated to it. Because of this the cartoon is fun to watch but seems pointless today, when you can watch the other cartoons in full whenever you'd like.   

The credited animators on this film are Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Michael Lah. This is Michael Lah's first animation credit on a Tom and Jerry film since Salt Water Tabby (1947). The credited background artist is Vera Ohman. 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. The credited layout artist is Richard Bickenbach.  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. This marks the 95th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. Despite his large amount of screentime, Spike has no dialogue in this short. This would be the first short to feature a generic MGM cartoon end title rather than the typical Tom and Jerry one since Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943). Meanwhile a reissue of the Tex Avery cartoon, Slap Happy Lion (1947) would erroneously feature a Tom and Jerry end title. Smarty Cat is available on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 3. 

Despite many of the Tom and Jerry shorts having gone into the Cinemascope format by this time, this film was made in the standard Academy format. There would only be one more Tom and Jerry cartoon of the classic Hanna and Barbera era to not be in Cinemascope after this.

 - Michael J. Ruhland 

Tom and Chérie (1955)

 

This short film is an oddity in Tom and Jerry's filmography. That is because the cat and mouse duo never actually interact here, though they both interact with the little grey mouse Nibbles (or Tuffy if you prefer). The only other film in which Tom and Jerry don't interact is The Duck Doctor (1952). 

This is also the third of four cartoons featuring Jerry and Nibbles as Mouseketeers. The first was The Two Mouseketeers (1952). The second was Touché, Pussy Cat! (1954). The last would-be Royal Cat Nap (1958). With this film featuring the two mice as Mouseketeers, it is worth noting that the Disney TV show, The Mickey Mouse Club (which introduced the world to Disney's Mouseketeers) premiered the same year as this short.

In this short film, Jerry is having Nibbles delivering his love letters for him. However, with every letter Jerry writes, Nibbles has to fight Tom on his way to deliver it. When Nibbles tries to explain this to Jerry, Jerry doesn't see Tom and thinks Nibbles is just a coward. 

This may be my least favorite of the Mouseketeers cartoons. However, this is a matter of personal preference over quality. I personally would rather watch Tom and Jerry battle it out over seeing the two never interact. I appreciate the filmmakers trying something new, but I miss seeing my favorite cat and mouse duo duke it out. 

This is not to say that this is a bad cartoon, however. Actually, it is quite a good one. There is a lot to enjoy here. There are some pretty good gags here, especially when Jerry sends Nibbles speeding along by poking his backside with his sword. The battles that happen offscreen while the camera shakes up and down is a great example of clever filmmaking. The film also has a perfect ending that makes me smile each time. I also really enjoy how the background art almost gives this film a storybook feel. 

The credited animators on this short are Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Lewis Marshall and Ed Barge. Robert Gentle is the credited background artist. This cartoon is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection (Volume 2) and Tom and Jerry: Merry Mice. It will be on the upcoming Blu-Ray set, Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection. This is the 94th Tom and Jerry short film. 

Unlike the previous Tom and Jerry CinemaScope shorts, where the films were released in both Cinemascope and Academy ratio formats, this cartoon was the first to be only released in the CinemaScope process. 

- Michael J. Ruhland    

Designs on Jerry (1955)

 

Designs on Jerry is a very iconic Tom and Jerry film and one of the first films cartoon fans think of when they think of the cat and mouse duo. Most every classic cartoon fan can remember the basic premise of the stick figures on Tom's blueprints coming to life. This premise is so well remembered that the 21st century TV series Tom and Jerry Tales would revisit it with the opening to each episode. 

In this short film, Tom decides to make it rich by creating a better mouse trap. He draws up a detailed blueprint and builds said mouse trap. He then goes to sleep with dreams about making it rich and plans to test the trap out on Jerry in the morning. However, while he sleeps the stick figure mouse on Tom's blueprint comes to life to warn Jerry. The stick figure cat also comes to life to catch the stick figure mouse. Jerry and his new friend must outwit this stick figure cat. 

While this cartoon may not be as laugh out loud funny as the cat and mouse duo's 1940's output, it more than makes up for this with its clever storyline. The premise of this film is irresistible. It is the kind of clever twist on the basic Tom and Jerry formula that makes for the best entries in this series. This cartoon follows the typical Tom and Jerry formula while still feeling like something unique. The juxtaposition of the traditionally designed Jerry with the more stylized blueprint drawings helps create some fun and very memorable visuals that stick in your mind while after the film is over. This cartoon also finds many fun and clever ways to use the fact that two of the characters are stick figures. That they can fight using pens and erasures and can transform their body into various shapes make this clever premise just as clever in the execution. Though Tom may have less screentime here than usual, he is still well utilized. The character animation on Tom and his dreams of becoming rich provide some fun visual gags at the start. 

The credited animators on this film are Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse and Ed Barge. The credited background artist is John Didrik Johnsen. This one of the rare Tom and Jerry shorts he gets a credit on. For the most part he worked on the cartoons Tex Avery and Dick Lundy were directing for MGM at this time. The ending of this cartoon was later reused in the Tom and Jerry cheater cartoon, Shutter Bugged Cat (1967). Designs on Jerry is available on the DVD set, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1. This is the 93rd Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

Below are some storyboard drawings for this film.

Below is a layout drawing for this film. 

Here are a couple publicity stills. 

Here is a brief look at the continuity script. 

This cartoon is also available to watch for free (and legally) on YouTube.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Designs_on_Jerry