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
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