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/
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