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