The Brothers Carry-Mouse-Off (1965)

 

The Brothers Carry-Mouse-Off marks the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to be produced by Chuck Jones but not directed by him. In Leonard Maltin's landmark book, Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon, Maltin states, "Jones' agreement with the studio brass enabled him to launch other projects for theaters and television. He handed directing assignments on Tom and Jerry to Abe Levitow, Ben Washam, Jim Paiban, and Tom Ray, freeing himself to work on two unusual shorts - The Dot and the Line and The Bear That Wasn't." I am glad he did as I love The Dot and the Line (1965). Easily Jones' most popular and endearing non-Tom and Jerry project for MGM was the TV special, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966). For many, including myself, it doesn't feel like Christmas without watching that TV special.

  The director would on this short film would be Jim Pabian. Jim Pabian is a name that is less known than other Tom and Jerry directors. This is for an understandable reason as much of his work on classic cartoons was uncredited. A rare on-screen credit for him was on the feature length movie, Snoopy Come Home (1972). Though The Brothers Carry-Mouse-Off was his first time directing a cartoon for MGM, he had previously worked at the studio as an animator on many of the cartoons of Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. He had previously worked with Harman and Ising on their Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for Warner Brothers, and he would even work on the one Silly Symphonies cartoon Harman and Ising made for Disney, Merbabies (1938). Jim Pabian was not the only Pabian working for Harman and Ising as his brother Ton Pabian also worked for them. Animation historian Devon Baxter noted, "One perplexing footnote in the annals of animation history concerns the Pabian brothers. Both James Anthony Pabian (born April 14, 1909) and Anthony Albert Pabian (born March 3, 1914) referred to themselves as 'Tony,' though James often adopted the name 'Jim.' According to Rudy Ising, the two brothers often traded their namesake on a regular basis at Harman-Ising." Because of this sometimes one brother would be credited on studio documentation where another brother actually animated. The Brothers Carry-Mouse-Off marked Jim Pabian's only time directing a Tom and Jerry cartoon, though he would receive a story credit on the Chuck Jones directed Haunted Mouse (1965).    

Despite Chuck not directing this film, it still has a Coyote and Roadrunner feel to it. There is no real story here outside of Tom chasing Jerry. Rather the film is made up of various spot gags. The final gag involves Tom dressing up as a girl mouse to attract Jerry but instead he attracts a whole plethora of mice that won't leave him alone. This gag is very much borrowed from the ending of Chuck's Roadrunner cartoon, Ready.. Set.. Zoom! (1955). 

This is a fun but flawed little cartoon. Once again, the gags are charming rather than funny. Despite this some of them are very clever. I always loved the gags with Tom laying food in front of Jerry's mouse hole. Though borrowed from another cartoon, the ending gag is a very strong one. For the most part the animation is quite good here and the characters are their usual fun selves. 

However, there are three moments that fall flat, that have always kept me from enjoying this cartoon as much as I should. One is a gag involving a door that doesn't even make sense by cartoon standards. Another is that often Tom accidently gets a fish in his mouth, he immediately removes it. Tom has shown in previous cartoons that he likes to eat fish, so why would he do this, when his goal is to eat Jerry. The last is the most glaring visual error in the history of Tom and Jerry. Jerry's disguise in one scene very obviously disappears for a few frames. It is rare to find such an obvious error in a Tom and Jerry film and this makes it stand out all the more.  


The credited animators on this film are Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris and Don Towsley. The credited background artist is Robert Gribbroek and the credited layout artist is Maurice Noble (who also receives a co-director credit). Chuck Jones and Jim Pabian both receive a story credit. Eugene Poddany has a music credit. The title of this film is a reference to Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov, which received a movie adaption in 1958. 

This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection as well as the VHS set, Tom and Jerry: Blue Cat Blues and the LaserDisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons. This marks the 137th Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

Resources Used

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

Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merrit and J.B. Kaufman. 

The Animated Movie Guide Edited by Jerry Beck.

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brothers_Carry-Mouse-Off 

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/mgms-alias-st-nick-1935/

Bad Day at Cat Rock (1965)

 

Bad Day at Cat Rock marked the 136th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall and the 9th directed and produced by Chuck Jones. 

Like the previous couple of Tom and Jerry shorts, this film adheres to spot gag format similar to that of Chuck Jones' coyote and roadrunner cartoons. This time Tom is chasing Jerry on a construction site. The climax of this film features Tom using a beam on top of a rock as a see saw, planning to throw and a rock on the other end to get tossed into the air to catch Jerry, who is up high. He tries this multiple times each with varying (though equally unsuccessful) results. This climax has a similarity to how the coyote would attempt various times to use a catapult to capture the roadrunner in To Beep or Not to Beep (1963). 

This is one of Jones' best Tom and Jerry cartoons. The surreal opening gag is a bit of a misfire. That type of surreal gag may have worked in one of Chuck's one-shot cartoons for Warners but feels out of place in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Luckily everything after this works wonderfully. Even the opening credit scene is quite creative with Tom having fallen down the sewer and using a match to find his way back up. This opening credits scene has a great sense of atmosphere as well as some great background art. Once we get back to the construction site most of the gags work quite well. Though not all of them made me audibly laugh, I thought they were all clever and fun. A construction site is a great setting for a chase cartoon, and this film takes full advantage of that. The film also saves the best for last with a series of similar gags that all made me laugh. This cartoon also features one of Eugene Podday's best and memorable Tom and Jarry scores.   


The credited animators on this film are Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley and Dick Thompson. Eugene Poddany receives a music credit. Phil DeGuard is the credited background artist. Mel Blanc receives credit for vocal effects (there is no spoken dialogue). The title of the cartoon is a reference to the movie, Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) starring Spencer Tracy and directed by John Sturges. The film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures - Volume 3 and Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons and the VHS set, Tom and Jerry: Bad Day at Cat Rock. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Tom-ic Energy (1965)

 

Like Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life (1965), this Chuck Jones directed short film once again has a similar feel to Jones' earlier coyote and roadrunner cartoons. This is heavily due to most of the film featuring our two main characters running at great speed (employing character animation very similar to that of the aforementioned characters) and the film's spot gag structure. The main differences though are that the film takes place in an urban environment, Jerry actively fights back against Tom and other characters briefly become involved. 

Again, there is no real storyline here. The film is rather a collection of very spot gags that revolve around Tom chasing Jerry. We begin with the chase underway, and the chase is still underway when the film ends. 

This is a fun little cartoon. It may have never made me laugh out loud, but it did keep me entertained from start to finish. The cartoon moves at a very fast pace and keeps a fun momentum going throughout. Though the gags may not be hilarious, they do fall flat either. Instead, they are simply more charming than actually funny. But there is no problem with cartoons sometimes making you smile rather than laugh. In true Chuck Jones fashion, it is the facial expressions and character animation that are this film's greatest asset. Though again, these expressions and character animation may resemble the coyote and roadrunner, they are quite effective and endear these characters to us. The facial expressions also make even the most basic cartoon gags kind of work. 

One gag here recalls another series of cartoons that Chuck Jones directed. Tom finds himself mixed up in women's clothes and a male cat quickly becomes infatuated with him. The male cat has a French accent and speaks much like Pepe Le Pew (enhanced by both characters being voiced by Mel Blanc). 

Eugene Poddany's score incorporates themes from the classic piece, Paganini's Moto Perpetuo (Op. 11). 

The credited animators on this short are Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson and Ben Washam. Philip DeGuard is the credited background artist. Maurice Noble receives a co-director credit and Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese credit for the story. This is the 135th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall and the 8th directed and produced by Chuck Jones. 

This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection as well as the Laserdisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons and the VHS set, Tom and Jerry: Professor Tom.

-Michael J. Ruhland

 

Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life (1965)

 

When Chuck Jones began making films with the Tom and Jerry characters, the characters often felt more like Chuck Jones characters than the characters that William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directed. This is very clear in Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life. This cartoon feels more like one of Chuck's Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons than an earlier Tom and Jerry short. 

Like Chuck's Roadrunner cartoons, there is no real story here beyond just a series of spot gags involving Tom chasing Jerry.

This is one of the best Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry shorts. It moves at a very fast pace and never once loses its sense of comic momentum. There is also a surreal quality to many of the gags (one example is that Jerry gets angry and daggers appear above his head, which he throws at Tom) that is simply a lot of fun. A surprising number of these gags are legitimately funny as well. In previous Chuck Jones directed Tom and Jerry shorts, the gags were often more clever than funny. Here they manage to be both funny and clever. Once again, the star of the character is the character animation. Though the character animation often more resembles Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, it is still top notch and makes many of the pantomime gags even funnier.    


The credited animators on this film are Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley and Tom Ray. Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones share a writing credit. Eugene Poddany receives a music credit. This is the 134th Tom and Jerry cartoon and the 7th Tom and Jerry short, produced and directed by Chuck Jones. This also marks the 1st Tom and Jerry film of 1965. It is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6,  Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection and Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures - Volume 3 as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons and the VHS set Tom and Jerry: Blue Cat Blues, The cover for the VHS set is based off a scene in this cartoon. 

A clip from this cartoon was used in the feature length movie, Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. The title for the cartoon was based off of a song called Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life from the 1910 operetta Naughty Marietta. That operetta is probably best known for its 1935 film adaption starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

-Michael J. Ruhland

 

The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse (1964)

 

The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse marks the 6th Tom and Jerry film directed and produced by Chuck Jones and the 133rd Tom and Jerry short overall. It also marked the 5th and final Tom and Jerry film of 1964.

In his short film, Tom is living the life of Reily in his nice comfortable house and is treating Jerry as if he is a servant. However, Tom's happy life is upset when his owner adopts a new kitten. Tom decides to get rid of this new kitten. However, Jerry has befriended the new kitten and tries to stop Tom at every opportunity. 

Like previous Chuck Jones directed Tom and Jerry shorts, this film is more charming than it is funny. The storyline is quite a good one. It is a perfect fit for these characters, yet not one that has been overdone. The film moves at a fast pace and never loses your interest for a second. The kitten is a delightful supporting character as he is very cute without ever feeling cloying. Tom and Jerry are both their lovable selves here and the character animation is excellent. 

Despite this, the cartoon has the simple problem that it is not especially funny. The gags never made me even chuckle. Some of them even feel phoned in and too reminiscent of better gags from previous cartoons.  

The credited animators on this film are Don Towsley, Tom Ray. Dick Thompson, Ben Washam and Ken Harris. Maurice Noble gets a co-director's credit. The credited writers are Michael Maltese, Chuck Jones and John Dunn. Eugene Poddany gets a music credit. This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection and Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures - Volume 3 as well as the VHS sets, Tom and Jerry: Puss 'n' Toots and Tom and Jerry: Snowbody Loves Me as well as the Laserdisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Snowbody Loves Me (1964)

 

Note: This review contains spoilers.

Though Tom and Jerry are best known for slapstick violence, many of their films have a surprising amount of sentimentality in them. Most of these sentimental films come from the original era, where the cartoons were directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. However later directors would also occasionally create more sentimental Tom and Jerry cartoons. Snowbody Loves Me was the first time Chuck Jones directed a more sentimentally inclined Tom and Jerry short. 

In this short film, Tom is relaxing all nice, cozy and warm in a nice warm cheese shop, while everything is covered in snow outside. Jerry however is outside freezing. Jerry finds his way inside and Tom tries to kick him out. Eventually Tom gets Jerry out in the snow. While Jerry freezes outside guilt overtakes Tom. Tom lets Jerry back in, nurses him back to warmth. The film ends with Tom playing the piano and his new friend Jerry dancing along. 

This is a very charming cartoon. Tom and Jerry are both at their most likable and relatable here. It is hard not to automatically sympathize and care about them. The story itself is very charming a sweet. It may be very reminiscent of previous films like The Night Before Christmas (1941) and Puppy Tale (1954). When the sentimental ending comes around it feels earned. The character animation is often excellent and makes the characters come to life, even if sometimes the drawings can look a little too cutesy. 

However, this film is lacking in any real laughs. Still, it is charming enough to make up for this. 

Eugene Poddany's score includes multiple uses of the music of Frédéric Chopin. The opening scene uses his Étude Op. 10 No. 12 "Revolutionary." Grande valse brillante Op. 34 no. 1 plays when Jerry sees the sign to the cheese shop. Grande valse brillante Op. 18 plays as Jerry peers through the window. Nocturne Op. 15 no. 2 plays as Tom is warming himself with his blanket. Étude Op. 10 no. 2. can be heard as Tom goes down the chimney. Étude Op. 10 no. 4 plays as Jerry lights the fireplace. Étude Op. 25 no. 9 "Butterfly" is heard when Tom is blowing air into a block of cheese. Prélude Op. 28 no. 20 plays as Tom drops the anvil. Étude Op. 25 no. 1. is heard as the cheese explodes. Scherzo Op. 31. plays as Tom clasps his hands around Jerry. Impromptu in c-sharp minor Op. 66 “Fantaisie-Impromptu” is heard as Tom throws Jerry out into the cold. This music is not only great to listen to but fits the action perfectly. 



The credited animators on this film are Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley and Tom Ray. Maurice Noble gets a co-directing credit. Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese share a story credit. This marks the 132nd Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Paws for a Holiday, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures - Volume 2, Tom and Jerry's Winter Wackiness, Tom and Jerry: Winter Tails as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons and the VHS sets Tom and Jerry: Tom and Chérie, Tom and Jerry: Snowbody Loves Me, Christmas Cartoon Capers and Christmas Collection: Looney Tunes. Though the latter VHS has Looney Tunes in its name as well as including many Looney Tunes shorts it also features three Tom and Jerry shorts. These shorts are The Night Before Christmas, The A-Tom-Inable Snowman (1966) and Snowbody Loves Me.

-Michael J. Ruhland 

Much Ado About Mousing (1964)

 

This short film marks the fourth Tom and Jerry cartoon to be directed and produced by Chuck Jones and the 131st Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

In this short film, Tom is going fishing. However, he is not fishing for fish but for mice. He baits his hook with cheese and sets it in front of Jerry's mouse hole. Jerry figures out that Tom means to eat him and finds refuge with a big sleeping dog. He keeps tricking Tom into accidently waking up the dog leading to the dog pummeling Tom. 

Like most of these Chuck Jones directed Tom and Jerry shorts, this cartoon is charming but not exactly funny. The look of this film is very handsome with some lovely backgrounds and character animation. The setting is not a usual one for our favorite cat and mouse duo. While the seaside pier setting had been used in a few previous cartoons and would be used in a few more afterwards, it is still one that was not used that often. It gives this short a nice, relaxed feel to the cartoon that is instantly charming. While reminiscent of Spike from the earlier Tom and Jerry shorts, the dog is a fun supporting character. He has a great design (though he looks more like a Looney Tunes character (his look seems inspired by the Looney Tunes characters Marc Anothny (whose films were directed by Chuck Jones) and Hector) than a Tom and Jerry character). The storyline may be familiar, but it is a fun one that moves at a fast pace. The character animation is as excellent as we have come to expect from Chuck Jones. There are many of the subtle facial expressions that are a trademark of Chuck Jones. These facial expressions are delightful and really bring the characters to life. The only real problem with this cartoon is that the gags aren't exactly funny. These is nothing bad about these gags, but they just don't elicit any actual laughter. 

The credited animators on this film are Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray and Dick Thompson. Michael Maltese is the credited writer. Maurice Noble gets a co-director credit. The backgrounds are credited to Philip DeGuard. Mel Blanc gets a credit for the voices though the characters don't speak any actual dialogue (they did make noises though). Eugene Poddany composed the music. This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons and the VHS set Tom & Jerry Volume 6 Much Ado About Mousing. 

The Tom and Jerry Wiki states "This cartoon marks the first appearance of Tiny Bulldog, albeit in size similar to Spike Bulldog instead of miniature mouse-size." A dog with the same design expect much smaller in size would appear in The Cat's Me-Ouch (1965) and Purr-Chance To Dream (1967). I am guessing this name comes from his size in those shorts, though he did not receive a name in any of his cartoon appearances. The dog would also appear as a full size dog in Tom-ic Energy (1965). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Is There a Doctor in the Mouse? (1964)

 

This short film marks the third Tom and Jerry cartoon to be directed and produced by Chuck Jones and the 130th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

In this short film, Jerry creates a potion that allows him to move around incredibly fast (faster than Tom's eye can see in fact). This allows him to eat Tom's food with Tom not even knowing what happened. 

Like many of the Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry shorts, this film is more charming and clever than actually funny. There is a lot to enjoy about this film. Typical of Chuck Jones' work, the character animation is excellent. Chuck's signature subtle facial expressions really make the characters come to life. I especially love the facial expressions on Tom as he tries to figure out what is going on. You can truly see what is going on in his mind and this makes him more human to us (even if he is a cat). The storyline is also quite clever. The basic premise is a perfect one for Tom and Jerry and there are a lot of clever touches throughout. I found Tom using the camera to figure what was going on very clever. The only real problem with this cartoon is that there are no real laughs here. However sometimes a simply charming cartoon is enough. 

The credited animators on this film are Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray and Dick Thompson. The credited writers are Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones. The credited co-director is Maurice Noble. The music is credited to Eugene Poddany. The film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Hijinks and Shrieks (also available on VHS), Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry's Magical Misadventures and Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble as well as the VHS set Tom and Jerry: The Missing Mouse and The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons. 

-Michael J. Ruhland 

The Cat Above and the Mouse Below (1964)

 

The Cat Above and the Mouse Below was the second Tom and Jerry cartoon to be directed and produced by Chuck Jones and one of the best. 

In this short film, Tom is a famous opera singer about to give a major concert. However, Jerry is underneath the stage, Tom is performing on and is trying to get some sleep. When Tom's singing wakes Jerry up, Jerry does everything he can to make the concert end early. 

This is a bit of an oddball entry in the Tom and Jerry series. While cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or Mickey Mouse play human type roles in their films, Tom has always been treated as a real cat not a humanoid one. The idea of Tom being an opera singer is also a strange one as in most cartoons Tom doesn't speak. It is no secret that when he took over the series, Chuck Jones molded Tom and Jerry into more typical Chuck Jones characters. This is probably the most extreme example of that. 

Just because this doesn't feel like a typical Tom and Jerry short does not make it a bad cartoon. On the contrary, this is a great cartoon. Everything about this film simply works. The opening scenes with Tom arriving for his concert are my favorite part of the film. These scenes make for a wonderful satire on celebrities and high culture. These scenes take the concept of high culture to a ridiculous extreme. From the exaggerated extravagance of Tom's limo to a group of women fighting over a flower that Tom throws, this is a truly hilarious satire made funnier by the dignified and nonchalant facial expressions on Tom. After these opening scenes the film morphs into a more typical Tom and Jerry fight. While this may not be as funny as the earlier scenes, the slapstick moves at a fast pace and is a lot of fun. Meanwhile the opera singing itself is fantastic and compliments the slapstick perfectly. I don't know why cartoon slapstick and classical music work so well together, but they do. 

The opera singing is provided by Terrence Monk (sometimes spelled Terence Monck). Born on January 10, 1936 (in Long Beach, California), Monk was a trained opera singer studying at UCLA and Juilliard as well as the San Francisco Opera. In 1964 (the year this cartoon was released) he won the San Francisco Opera auditions. Over the course of his career, he had appeared with such stars as Judy Garland, Shirley Jones, Carol Lawerance, Anne Bylth and Barbara Eden. He would appear in such productions as My Fair Lady, Panama Hattie, Mack and Mabel, I Do, I Do!, See-Saw. He would also appear in soap operas including Days of Our Lives. He would go on to provide Tom with a singing voice in one more cartoon Cat and Dupli-cat (1967). Despite his impressive career it is these Tom and Jerry cartoons that he is best known for. He passed away on January 3, 2003 (in Long Beach, California) at the age of 67 from lung cancer. 

Maurice Noble gets a co-director's credit. Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris and Don Towsley. The music is credited to Eugene Poddany. Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese (who collaborated on some of the greatest Looney Tunes) share a writing credit. This was the first Tom and Jerry film of 1964 and the 129th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. The film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons.

Here is part of the storyboard for this film. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

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

https://variety.com/2003/scene/people-news/terrence-monk-1117885275/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/255233906/terence-monk

Pent-House Mouse (1963)

 

Pent-House Mouse marks the first Tom and Jerry film to be directed and produced by Chuck Jones. After Chuck Jones was fired from Warner Brothers for essentially moonlighting (working on the feature film for UPA, Gay-Purr-ee (1962)), he formed his own studio called Sib Tower 12 Productions. After Gene Dietch was removed from making Tom and Jerry films, MGM hired Chuck Jones' studio to continue to make the series. Like with Gene Deitch, Tom and Jerry was not a passion project for Chuck Jones. Jones personally said, "I accepted solely because the budgets I submitted would allow me to continue with full animation." With a budget of $42,000, these films were made for $12,000 more than some of Chuck's last Warner Brothers projects. Unlike Gene Deitch who set out to make his Tom and Jerry shorts feel like those of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Chuck Jones modified the characters to his own personal style. His Tom and Jerry cartoons focused less on the fast-paced slapstick action and more on being a showcase for strong character animation. The designs were made to make them look more like Chuck Jones characters and more capable of making the type of subtle facial expressions (that helped define Chuck's personal style). Because of this the character animation and facial expressions can feel more like Chuck's Warner Brothers character, Wile E. Coyote than like Tom and Jerry. Because of these changes Chuck's Tom and Jerry fans remain decisive among fans. Some love the character animation and this unique take on the characters. Others dislike that the new designs, the slower pace and feel that this era is lacking in laughs. Film historian and critic Leonard Maltin's opinion was a mixture of these two types of thought. Leonard wrote, "The results are, without question, the handsomest cartoons of the 1960's - and among the most strikingly designed cartoon shorts ever made. The only problem was that they weren't funny." To make these changes more complete Chuck Jones brought many of those who had worked with him at Warner Brothers to work on these films. This included writer Michael Maltese, layout artist Maurice Noble, background artist Philip De Guard and animators Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Richard Thomas and Tom Ray. 

In this short film, Tom is relaxing on top of a penthouse. He is very happy, except for one little thing, he is hungry. We he sees Jerry on a nearby construction site; he decides Jerry would make a perfect lunch. 

This first film is typical of Chuck's Tom and Jerry cartoons. It is very charming, but it is not really that funny. Though the designs may be quite different from the Tom and Jerry, we are used to, they work very well. These designs are very pleasant to look at and allow for some very expressive and subtle character animation. This character animation makes these characters feel more real to us than they ever felt in the Gene Deitch era. The background art is very handsome and simply a joy to look at. There are also some very clever filmmaking touches here. I love the bit of Tom and Jerry doing math in their head, including uses of a thought bubble above them. However, this delightful moment also shows the biggest fault of this cartoon. This type of gag is very clever and charming, but it doesn't exactly make you laugh. This would become reoccurring theme in these cartoons. The Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry cartoons are full of gags that are simply more clever than actually funny. 

The credited animators on this film are Ken Harris, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson and Ben Washam. Chuck Jones would get a directing credit and Maurice Noble would get a co-director credit. The story credit would go to Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. This is the 128th Tom and Jerry cartoon and the only one released in 1963. It is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection as well as the VHS set Tom & Jerry Volume 6 Much Ado About Mousing and the Laserdisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons. 

There would later be an episode of TV's Tom and Jerry Kids also called Penthouse Mouse (1992). In this episode Tom and Calaboose Cal (a character created for the TV series) are hired by a penthouse owner to rid her penthouse of Jerry. 

Resources Used

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

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tom-jerrys-greatest-hits/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Pent-House_Mouse

 

Carmen Get It! (1962)

 

Carmen Get It! marked the end of another era for our favorite cat and mouse duo. It would be the final Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Gene Deitch. The next year the theatrical cartoon series would be taken over by animation legend Chuck Jones. Though Deitch respected some of Jones' other work, he felt that his Tom and Jerry cartoons were in fact superior to Jones' work with the characters. The reason for this is that he felt that his films followed the groundwork William Hanna and Joseph Barbera had set for the series, while Chuck simply remade the series into something completely different. Deitch has written "Today, our T&Js are mixed right in with the earlier Hanna-Barbera's on the Cartoon Network, and I am confident that few viewers find them that much out of synch with the originals, whereas Chuck's are easily spotted as odd. Chuck himself wrote me that he simply remade the characters as his own." He would also write "...  my T&Js are not really up to the standards of the originals, though better than the Chuck Jones later versions." 

As to how his run of Tom and Jerry films came to an end, Deitch felt that this was because of movie mogul Joe Vogel, no longer being in charge of MGM. About Vogal he stated, "But even though our Tom & Jerrys were never good enough for the animation history mavens, Joe Vogel and his MGM team were well-satisfied with our results." He would go on to state, "Before we had even finished our first 12 cartoons, Joe Vogel, who had seemed to me to be the very symbol of the powerful movie studio tycoon, was booted out of MGM. Thus, we lost our T&J patron. The new bosses wanted the production closer to home. So just as we felt we were beginning to get the hang of T&J, we were not allowed to develop further, as had the original Hanna and Barbera crew. Just look at the first 12 Tom & Jerry films they did and tell me they were hilarious classics!" Deitch was not however bitter by the end of his run with Tom and Jerry. About them he stated, "It was OK when it ended. That was a great learning experience, but it was not my kind of thing" as well as "And hey, they sure did work for me. Our T&J tenure was wholly supported by the then head honcho of MGM, Joe Vogel. When he was ousted, so were we. But the project had served its purpose for me. Along with the following Popeye and Krazy Kat series for King Features TV, it kept me in Prague long enough to marry Zdenka [who he would remain married to until his death in 2020] and assured us of enough work to keep me busy here quite possibly forever!" Though his Tom and Jerry cartoons are disliked by many cartoon fans (me included), Deitch kept a certain pride about them. Deitch would later gladly point out, "A wonderful sidelight to my Tom & Jerry films occurred in the year 2000, when I was told that an 11-year-old American boy named Pietro Shakarian actually put up a web page honoring my T&Js, pronouncing the 'best of all.'" And would also take every opportunity to defend his Tom and Jerry films and state how it is truly incredible that they turned out as well as they did consider all that was stacked against him.  

In this last Deitch directed shot film, Tom is chasing Jerry around the streets of New York. Jerry runs into an opera house unnoticed, but Tom is thrown out by a guard. To get in Tom disguises himself as a musician and Tom and Jerry end up wreaking havoc on a performance of Carmen. 

 This film contains nearly all the major flaws of the other Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry films. The animation once again feels stilted and there are some poor drawings found here. None of the gags elicit even the slightest laughter. The sound effects are bizarre and often ill fitting. The European art style is often at odds with the American slapstick characters of Tom and Jerry. The opera singer is stylized in both design and movement. While this could work in a more European flavored film, she simply does not belong in the same cartoon as Tom and Jerry. The conductor is slightly better as his movement isn't as stylized. Still his odd coloring and very stylized design does not belong in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

The saving grace for this film is the music. Using music from Carmen, the score is lovely to listen to and actually fits what is happening on screen quite well. This is a departure from previous Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry cartoons, where the music sounds good but feels at odds with the action on the screen. 

As well as a director's credit, Gene Deitch receives a story credit. Štěpán Koníczek receives a music credit and Wáclaw Bedřicz receives credit for animation direction. This marked the 127th Tom and Jerry cartoon. The film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection, Tom and Jerry: Chaos Concerto, Tom and Jerry's Musical Mayhem and Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5. 

Gene Deitch would later write about the soundtracks of his Tom and Jerry cartoons and this one in particular. "What I couldn’t tell anybody at the time is that I brought my own Ampex 1/4” tape recorder into the studio, and recorded the orchestras myself, with little more than a volume control and only two microphones, all my own property! The engineers here thought I was crazy, but I got brighter results than they did. (They had only one-channel mono recording. I recorded all the tracks in stereo. Stereo did not exist here at all in 1961! I also created all the sound effects at home, except the sounds Tod Dockstader made, and sent me on quarter-inch tape! I can only imagine how far we would have gotten, if a half-century ago MGM knew that the entire soundtracks of our Tom & Jerry soundtracks, including the symphony orchestra for Carmen Get It, were recorded on an Ampex 601-2 recorder, no bigger than a carry-on suitcase! And that all my tracks were edited and mixed in our tiny bachelor apartment in communist Prague!" 

The Tom and Jerry Wiki states, "This is the fourth and final cartoon to feature The Ants who previously appeared in Cat Napping, Pup on a Picnic, and Barbecue Brawl." Saying that these are the exact same ants that appeared in those William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directed shorts seems like more than a small stretch. Still, this is the fourth Tom and Jerry cartoon to end with a gag involving ants. 

-Michael J. Ruhland 


Resources Used

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

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tom-jerry-the-gene-deitch-collection/

https://www.awn.com/genedeitch/chapter-twentyone-tom-and-jerry-the-first-reincarnation

https://www.tcj.com/the-gene-deitch-interview/2/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Carmen_Get_It!

Buddies Thicker Than Water (1962)

 

Buddies Thicker Than Water is the 12th out of 13 Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Gene Deitch and the 126th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

In this short film, Jerry is living in a mouse hole in nice apartment, while his friend Tom is outside freezing. Jerry lets him in the house to warm up. When the lady of the house comes home and finds Tom there, Tom pretends to have caught Jerry and throws Jerry out in the cold. The woman appreciates this and makes Tom her pet. However, Jerry seeks out revenge on his ex-pal. 

This is one of the better Gene Deitch directed shorts. This is because rather than focusing on slapstick (which has always been a weak point for Deitch), it focuses on telling a story. The story itself is quite well written, and we sympathize and understand both Tom and Jerry. The shattered friendship between the two allows for some sentimentality that works surprisingly well. The short does not have any real laughs in it but because it is not a gag fest like most Tom and Jerry cartoons this is no big problem. 

However, this film still does have some of the same issues that plague other Gene Deitch shorts. The soundtrack is awful. The sound effects are bizarre, ill-fitting and annoying. The music also never fully fits the action. There are also some poor drawings here and a strange rubbery feel to the characters. 

The credited writer is Larz Bourne. Wáclaw Bedřicz receives an animation credit. The music is credited to Štěpán Koníczek. This marks the last Tom and Jerry short to use Scott Bradley's original version of the Tom and Jerry theme. The next cartoon would use a new version that incorporates elements of the opera Carmen, and the Chuck Jones cartoons would feature a new version of the classic theme. This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5, Tom and Jerry's Winter Wackiness and Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Sorry Safari (1962)

 

Sorry Safari marked the 11th out of 13 Tom and Jerry films directed by Gene Deitch and the 125th Tom and Jerry short overall. 

In this short film, Tom's owner (who is not Clint Clobber) takes Tom along with him on a hunting trip in Nairobi. However, Jerry sneaks along in the luggage and causes lots of trouble that Tom is blamed for. When a loin and an elephant get involved, our friends find themselves in quite a bit of danger. 

This is a very weak short. It starts with a decent little gag, admittedly one that is more charming than funny, with a regular lion roaring in the jungle rather than Leo the MGM lion. However, after this the rest of the cartoon is very lackluster. Despite taking Tom and Jerry into a new environment, this cartoon does nothing special with this new setting. The gags are all very typical chase cartoon gags and not especially funny ones at that. What hurts these gags the most though is that they come off as meanspirited thanks to Tom's owner. Why this guy owns a cat is beyond me as he seems to hate Tom with a passion. While we are always supposed to feel a certain sympathy towards Tom, we are never supposed to feel this uncomfortable when he is the brunt of slapstick gags. However, with how overly cruel and violent his own owner is with him the slapstick gags come off as simply unpleasant to watch. This cartoon is also hurt by the same flaws that are found in all these Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry shorts. The sound effects are rather annoying and often distract from the gags instead of adding to them. There are some rather poor drawings of Tom and Jerry (but especially Tom). The designs of various jungle animals would feel at home in a European art film but feel at odds in a short of all American slapstick. 

Credit where credit is due, the background art is quite pleasing, and the musical score is better than in other Tom and Jerry shorts of this era. 

The credited writer on this film is Larz Bourne. Štěpán Koníczek receives a music credit. Wáclaw Bedřicz is credited as animation director. Luckily this marked the last appearance of Tom's constantly angry owner who only appeared in these Gene Deitch cartoons. This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5 and Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection. 

Box Office, 1962

-Michael J. Ruhland

Tall in the Trap (1962)

 

Tall in the Trap marks the only Tom and Jerry cartoon to be written by Tedd Pierce. Though he wrote cartoons for other studios, Tedd Pierce is best known for his work at Warner Brothers where he was a writer on some truly great Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. As well as writing for these shorts, Pierce also provided voices. He voiced Bertie in some of the Hubie and Bertie cartoons and Babbit in Babbitt and Catstello, Looney Tunes' version of the comedy team Abbott and Costello (who first appeared as cats and then later as mice). 

In this short film, Jerry is a cheese bandit in a western town. Sheriff Mutt Dillin (a play on Matt Dillon on the popular TV western Gunsmoke) hires Tom, "Fastest Trap in the West" to stop Jerry. Tom naturally finds this a much harder job than he anticipated. 

In all these Gene Deitch directed Tom and Jerry cartoons, the European visual style seems at odds with the essentially Amercian slapstick of Tom and Jerry. Never is that more evident than in this short. With a writer well versed in American cartoon slapstick, this film is full of great slapstick gags. However, these gags don't mesh well with the art style and therefore are never as funny as they ought to be. The European art style and feel here also seem at odds with the very American western setting. Once again, I must complain about the sound effects which often come off as distracting and annoying. However, I very much enjoyed the musical score here. Having much of it being played on guitar and featuring old cowboy song helped make it stand out.   

This is the 10th of 13 Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Gene Deitch and the 124th Tom and Jerry short all together. Wáclaw Bedřicz receives credit as "Animation Director." Štěpán Koníczek and George Jirmal receive credit for the music. This short film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5 and Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection. 

This marks the last Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon short to feature a western setting. Previous films in the series with a western setting include Texas Tom (1950) and Posse Cat (1954). The duo would later return out west in some of their TV adventures as well as the direct to video movie, Tom and Jerry: Cowboy Up! (2022). 

According to the Tom and Jerry Wiki, "The cartoon's concept was originally written by Warner screenwriter Tedd Pierce and co-writer Bill Danch for a Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies short featuring Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester the Cat, which may explain the presence of the light-switching gag previously used in the Bugs Bunny cartoon The Windblown Hare. It was pitched to director Robert McKimson, but McKimson decided against purchasing it (or, according to some other sources, was not able to purchase it due to the imminent closure of Warner Bros' cartoon studio). Instead, Pierce sold it to Deitch, who was desperately looking for suitable storylines for Tom and Jerry. Ironically, McKimson would later do his own Have Gun – Will Travel parody with the cartoon Feather Finger about three years later, which like the original story for this short, featured Speedy Gonzales (though with Daffy Duck as his opponent instead of Sylvester)." If you can find any other sources confirming this story, please let me know. It is a fascinating story but one should not take what they read on any wiki as automatic truth. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit

 

Though still quite flawed The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit is easily the best of the 13 Tom and Jerry films directed by Gene Deitch. 

In this short film we are given an insight into how to make a Tom and Jerry cartoon ourselves with The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit. A narrator explains to us how to properly use this kit to make our own Tom and Jerry cartoon. 

Unlike his previous Tom and Jerry films, this cartoon plays to Deitch's strengths as a filmmaker to a certain extent. Deitch often excelled at clever satire but was nowhere near as gifted at slapstick, which made him a poor fit for Tom and Jerry. With this cartoon you can see both the strengths and weaknesses of Deitch as a filmmaker. When this cartoon is satirizing the Tom and Jerry formula and the familiar nature of many chase cartoon shorts, it is actually quite good. This is actually the only of Gene Deitch's Tom and Jerry cartoons that ever made me laugh (the narration at the start and finish are especially funny).However when the attention turns to the physical slapstick, it often falls flat. Some of the stylized artwork is very pleasant and the transitions can be pretty clever. However the gags themselves don't even elicit a smile. Instead these slapstick gags feel uninspired, poorly-timed and most of all unfunny. It is strange to say that the slapstick is the weakest part of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, but strangely that is the case here. 

This film was submitted for an Academy Award but ended up not being nominated. The other cartoons submitted but not nominated were Abner the Baseball (Paramount, 1961), Catch Meow (Columbia, 1961) (Loopy De Loop cartoon directed by Tom and Jerry creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera), Drum Roll (TerryToons, 1961, Hector Heathcote), Hawaiian Guy (UPA, 1961, Dick Tracy), The Lion and Albert (Contenintal, 1961), Red Riding Hood Magoo (UPA, 1961, Mr. Magoo), Sleeping Beauty (Jay Ward, 1961, Fractured Fairy Tales), Snidely’s Monster (Jay Ward, 1961, Duddley Do-Right) and Tree Spree (Terry Toons, 1961, Sidney the Elephant (a character created by Dietch)). Interestingly Hawaiian Guy, Sleeping Beauty and Snidely's Monster were all original made for TV which is perhaps why they weren't nominated. The films that were nominated were Aquamania (Disney, 1961, Goofy), Beep Prepared (Warner Brothers, 1961, Coyote and Roadrunner), Nelly's Folly (Warner Brothers, 1961),   The Pied Piper of Guadalupe (Warner Brothers, 1961, Slyvester and Speedy Gonzles) and Ersatz (Zegrab, 1961). Amazingly Ersatz was the winner marking the first time this award was won by a non-American film (It came for the country of  Yugoslavia). You can watch the acceptance speech for the winner below. 

The credited writer was Chris Jenkyns. The music is credited to Štěpán Koníczek. Wáclaw Bedřicz is credited as animation director. This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5 and Tom and Jerry: Paws for a Holiday. It marks the 123rd Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

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

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1961/

https://www.toonopedia.com/sidney.htm

Dicky Moe (1962)

 

Dicky Moe marks the eighth Tom and Jerry film directed by Gene Deitch and 122nd Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

In this short film, Tom is shanghaied by a Captain Ahab like sea captain, who has driven the rest of his crew insane with his pursuit of Dicky Moe, the pink whale. On board Tom finds Jerry and the two's fighting makes capturing Dicky Moe even more difficult for the sea captain.

This cartoon is one that is well remembered by many cartoon fans, because of how strange and bizarre it is. However just because it is memorable doesn't mean it is good. It is in fact a very bad cartoon. The sea captain's very stylistic design (which would look more at home in an art house film), and his various mumblings make him feel like he should be in a completely different film than Tom and Jerry. He simply never meshes well with the cat and mouse duo. The sound effects are always one of the worst aspects of the Gene Deitch directed Tom and Jerry shorts. However here it is even worse than in the other cartoons. The noise of the captain's peg leg as he walks is annoying enough to drive a sane man crazy. The other sound effects are as always incredibly ill-fitting and often distract from the action instead of adding to it. Jerry's vocal effects (which are also quite annoying) also feel quite ill-fitting for the character as well. The music is better (at least it is not annoying) but it still doesn't add anything to the action, the way Scott Bradely's music did in the 1940's and 50's shorts.  The gags themselves are somewhat typical Tom and Jerry gags but here they feel rather phoned in. They are quite predictable, and the pacing being off makes it so we can always see what will happen before it happens. 

Eli Bauer and Gene Deitch receive story credit, Štěpán Koníczek gets a music credit and Wáclaw Bedřicz recieves a credit for animation direction. This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection and Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5. References to the film can be seen on the menu screen for the DVD/Blu-Ray set Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection, though the cartoon itself is not on that set. 

This cartoon appeared in the Toon in with Me episodes, Bill the Pirate (2021), Fan-Tastic Friday #5 (2021), Fantastic Friday #34 (2022), Ride Along with Bill (2023), Yachts Rock (2024) and Throwback Thursday: 1962 (2025)

This film was inspired by the 1851 Herman Melville novel, Moby Dick. Later this same decade, Tom and Jerry's creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera would create a TV series that was extremely loosely inspired by Moby Dick. This series was Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor, which first aired on September 9, 1967. Each action-packed episode would contain two segments featuring the superhero Mighty Mightor (who bears some resemblance to the Marvel hero Thor) and one featuring Moby Dick. This cartoon reimagines the titular whale as a benevolent character, who helps two kids Tom and Tubb as they face many dangers. The series also featured a seal named Scooby, two years before the name would be more famously used for a cartoon dog. Tom and Tub would later appear in an episode of Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated entitled The Midnight Zone (2012). Moby Dick himself would later appear in the made-for-TV movie Yogi's Ark Lark (1972) and the Jellystone episode, The Sea Monster of Jellystone Cove (2022). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

 

Calypso Cat (1962)

 

Calypso Cat marks the 7th of 13 Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Gene Deitch and the 121st film in the series overall. 

In this short film, Tom is chasing Jerry when he notices a lovely lady cat getting on to a cruise ship. Tom naturally follows her onboard. Tom starts up a romance with her despite Jerry's best attempts to sabotage the romance. When the ship docks, Tom must compete with a Calypso cat for the affections of his new girlfriend. 

The storyline here is a very solid one. In fact, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera had used similar stories and created masterpieces. However, once again it is the execution that is lacking. The timing on all the gags is completely off and the music and sound effects are very ill-fitting. The Calypso music isn't bad itself, but it seems very out of place in the early scenes before we meet the Calypso cat. On the other hand, the sound effects come off as simply obnoxious. The character drawings also feel quite off with the near permeant smile on the Calypso cat being more distracting than anything else. 

Larz Bourne receives a story credit, Wáclaw Bedřicz receives a credit for animation director and Štěpán Koníczek receives a music credit. This marks the first short in which the opening music is by Štěpán Koníczek instead of the filmmakers simply reusing Scott Bradely's music for the Hanna and Barbera Tom and Jerry shorts as was done in the previous Deitch films. This film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection and Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5. 

Tom and Jerry had previously been on a cruise ship in Cruise Cat (1952) and the love triangle is similar to that Tom had with Butch in such shorts as Springtime for Thomas (1946), Casanova Cat (1951) and Blue Cat Blues (1956). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Landing Stripling (1962)

 

Landing Striping was the 6th Tom and Jerry film to be directed by Gene Deitch and the 120th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

In this short film, a little yellow bird wearing a littler red helmet annoys Tom and Tom gives chase. Jerry tries to help protect the bird. This is a rare Tom and Jerry short, where Tom's animosity never turns towards Jerry.  

This is possibly the weakest of the theatrically released Tom and Jerry cartoons. The film does however have what should be a solid cartoon premise and in some ways is similar to some of the films featuring Jerry befriending Quacker the duck or the little canary. It is the execution that is truly terrible. None of the gags are especially good and the delivery of them is even worse. The timing is horrible, and the drawings are often downright poor. The sound effects here are even more annoying than in the other Gene Deitch shorts. This is especially true of the sound effects that surround the little bird character, which are not only distracting but also very irritating. The music here is also very distracting and annoying. This is just a poor short all around. 

The credited animation director for this film is Wáclaw Bedřicz. Eli Bauer gets a story credit and Štěpán Koníček gets a music credit. Gene Deitch himself provided the "boing-boing-boing" sound effects. This cartoon is avilable on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection and Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-best-of-tom-and-jerry.html

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

Mouse Into Space (1962)

 

Mouse Into Space marks the first Tom and Jerry film of 1962, the fifth directed by Gene Deitch and 119th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. 

In this short film, Jerry is annoyed with Tom and tired of fighting with his constant foe. He reads that there are no cats in space and deicides to volunteer for a space program for mice. With Jerry gone and no one to fight with Tom falls into depression and alcoholism. After drinking too much Tom accidently falls asleep inside the same rocket as Jerry is going to space in. 

This film is a slight improvement over the previous Gene Deitch directed cartoons. This film shows that while Deitch never understood the over-the-top slapstick humor of Tom and Jerry, he did understand the characters. He understood that Tom is not a villain but rather a very sympathetic character and this film actually makes us care for him. Deitch also understands that despite their feud, Jerry provides Tom with a purpose in life. Without having Jerry to fight with, Tom simply feels lost. The storyline for this film is also basically a good one. It provides a new take on the established formula and fits these characters to a tee. 

Despite these positives this is still a bad cartoon. The main offender once again is the music and sound effects. They are once again very distracting and ill-fitting. The sound effects alone are so ill-fitting that they take away from any effectiveness that any of the slapstick gags might have had. The slapstick gags also suffer from the characters often being a bit too rubbery, which takes any real bite out of them. The drawings of these characters are often very poor at times as well. 

This marked the first time Tom and Jerry went into outer space. During the era where the Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced by Chuck Jones, Tom and Jerry appeared in three shorts that took place in outer space. These films were O-Solar-Meow (1967), Guided Mouse-ille (1967) and Advance and Be Mechanized (1967). The duo would later return to space for the direct to video DVD movie, Tom and Jerry Blast Off to Mars (2005) and multiple episodes of the TV series Tom and Jerry Tales including Cat Nebula (2007), Spaced Out Cat (2007) and Martain Mice (2007).  

  Tod Dockstader receives a story credit. Štěpán Koníczek receives a music credit. Wáclaw Bedřicz receives a credit as animation director. The film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5 and Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection.

High Steaks (1962)

 

High Steaks marked the first Tom and Jerry short of 1962 and showed that year getting off to just as poor of a start as 1961. 

In this short film, Tom's owner (who is not Clint Clobber) is having a barbeque. Jerry smells the steaks cooking and decides to steal some. Tom tries to stop him but gets blamed for trying to ruin his owner's barbeque. 

The main problem with this cartoon is the same as in Down and Outing (1961). While we are supposed to feel sympathy for Tom and like him as a character, seeing him suffer the brunt of the slapstick violence shouldn't feel this painful. Tom's owner here comes off as overly cruel to the point of unpleasantness. This makes one wonder why this guy even has a cat. Meanwhile some of the slapstick gags come off as painful rather than funny, the "Kooky Cola" gag being one of the worst offenders. This film also suffers from the same problems as most Gene Deitch shorts mainly the annoying and ill-fitting sound effects and the obnoxious musical score. I will admit that the drawings of the characters are getting better than the ones in the previous year, but this is hardly enough to make this cartoon worth watching.  

 Wáclaw Bedřicz receives credit as animation director, the first time such a credit was given on a Tom and Jerry short. The story credit goes to Larz Bourne and Štěpán Koníczek receives a music credit. This marks the 118th Tom and Jerry short as a whole. In one scene you can see on the street signs that this takes place on the intersection of Deitch and Synder referring to director Gene Deitch and producer William Synder. The plot of Tom and Jerry's fighting ruining someone's barbeque had been done before and much more effectively in Barbeque Brawl (1956). In that film Tom and Jerry ruin Spike and Tyke's barbeque. High Seaks is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry Classic Collection Volume 5, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection and Tom and Jerry's Food Fight.

Box Office, 1961

-Michael J. Ruhland

It's All Greek to Me-Ow (1961)

 

This short film marks the third final Tom and Jerry short of 1961, which proved to be a very poor year for the cat and mouse duo. 

In this short film, we find Tom and Jerry in ancient Greece, where they are chasing each other as always. 

As is common with these Gene Deitch directed shorts, on paper it seems like this should be a strong cartoon. However, it fails to live up to its potential. Having Tom and Jerry have their usual battles in the setting of ancient Greece is a great idea and should lend itself to some great variations on typical Tom and Jerry gags. The idea of that their fighting inadvertently led to the creation of the Greek Acropolis is also a very clever idea. That makes it unfortunate that the execution is so poor. The drawings and character animation are often downright poor. The characters are too rubbery, which takes away any sort of weight from them, making the slapstick much less effective. One of the worst examples is the scene where Jerry uses the mace on Tom. The action has little weight and Tom's reaction is completely minimal. This is the top of gag that needs over the top action or a Tex Avery like take or even just an exasperated reaction from Tom. Without any of these things, the gag is just kind of there leaving no effect on the audience. However once again, the sound effects are the worst offender. They are simply bizarre and completely ill-fitted to the actions on screen. Rather than add to the humor (as the sound effects in the Hanna and Barbera directed shorts did), they distract from it. It doesn't help that the volume on these sound effects is often much too loud. The music, meanwhile, tries much too hard to emulate Scott Bradley's music from the Hanna and Barbera directed shorts. Instead, though it also comes off as distracting and sometimes ill-fitting from the action on screen. I will admit however the background art is very nice. 

A similar gag to the one where Tom uses the garbage can as a type of armor would be used in the Chuck Jones produced short, Filet Meow (1966). 

Once again there are no animation credits for this film. However, Eli Baurer receives a story credit, Tod Dockstader receives a sound effects credit and Allen Swift receives a voice credit (he provided the narration at the start of the film). This marks the 117th Tom and Jerry cartoon short overall. It is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection and Tom and Jerry: Once Upon A Tomcat. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Down and Outing (1961)

 

This short film is the second Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Gene Deitch. It is definitely not an improvement over his first Tom and Jerry film. 

In this short film Tom's owner takes him fishing. Unknowingly to Tom's owner Jerry tags along on this trip. Tom's attempts to eat Jerry end up ruining the whole trip. 

This is another very weak Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry short. Once again, the story is a promising one for Tom and Jerry. It may be basic, but it fits in the mold of some the Hanna and Barbera Tom and Jerry shorts quite well. Some of the gags would have been strong if William Hanna and Joseph Barbera had been directing as well. However, under Deitch's direction, the whole film falls flat. The timing is consistently off, some of the drawings are often downright poor, the sound effects are bizarre and ill-fitting and many of the slapstick gags come off as more painful than funny. It also doesn't help that Tom's new owner is distinctly unlikable, come off as overly cruel to Tom to the point of unpleasantness. It makes you wonder why this guy even has a cat. Especially when he seems to hate him so much.

I will admit this cartoon has a few things going for it. The background art is quite pleasing to look at. Also, the use of Scott Bradley's Tom and Jerry theme music adds a bit of life to the otherwise uninspired proceedings. 

This is the first appearance of Tom's new owner. This new character visually resembles Clint Clobber, a character from Deitch's time at the Terry Toons studio. Some online have even referred to this character as Clint Clobber. However, the two are actually quite different. Underneath his rough exterior Clint Clobber actually has a good heart. The same cannot be said for Tom's owner, who is often extremely abusive to Tom and loses his temper very easily. He is voiced by Allen Swift. Swift is best known as the voice for the villainous Simon Bar Sinister on Underdog. He also worked as a kiddie show host. He hosted the popular kiddie show, The Popeye Show from 1956 to 1960. He would play a sea captain named Captain Allen Swift in live-action segments between the cartoons. He also voiced and played plenty of characters on the kiddie show, Howdy Doody. Tom's owner would only appear in two more cartoons, High Stakes (1962) and Sorry Safari (1962). 

The credited writer for this film is Larz Bourne and Tod Dockstader is credited as the sound effects artist. This is a rare Tom and Jerry short where no animators are credited. This marks the 116th Tom and Jerry short overall. This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 5, Tom and Jerry's Summer Holidays, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection, Tom and Jerry: Tough and Tumble and Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble as well as the VHS Tom and Jerry: Little School Mouse. 

-Michael J. Ruhland