Haunted Mouse (1965)

 

After Jim Pabian took directing duties for The Brothers Carry-Mouse-Off (1965), Chuck Jones returns to the director's chair for Haunted Mouse. 

In this short film, Jerry is visited by his relative or friend (the film doesn't specify his relationship with Jerry), a mouse magician who looks just like Jerry. When Tom mistakes this magical powered mouse for Jerry, he finds himself in much more trouble than he bargained for. 

This is another short of this era that is more charming than funny. The magician mouse is a fun character and some of the tricks he plays on Tom are quite amusing. The storyline may be familiar, but it is charming. The background art and character animation are both excellent. I also really love the musical score, especially the jazzy little theme at the start. 

What hurts this film is the mixture of a slower pace with the typical short runtime. Because of this combination not much actually happens in this cartoon. There is a real lack of gags here and there is too much space between the gags that are here. The gags that are here are fun but there are too few of them for a Tom and Jerry cartoon.   

The Tom and Jerry Wiki refers to the magician mouse as Jerry's cousin Merlin Mouse. Neither this name nor him being Jerry's cousin are ever referred to in the cartoon, making me wonder where this so-called information comes from. This magician mouse would not appear in another Tom and Jerry cartoon, but he would appear in the Chinese mobile game, Tom and Jerry Chase.  

There would later be an episode of TV's The Tom and Jerry Show also titled Haunted Mouse (2014). In that episode (directed by Darrell Van Critters and written by Robert Zappia), Tom and Jerry are Sam Spade-esque private detectives, who are hired by Nibbles (or Tuffy if you prefer) to rid his house of a ghost. It turns out the ghost is just a rat named Melfred, who planned to scare Nibbles out of the house, so he and his family could move in. However, it turns out that Tuffy is a real ghost. 

There is also a Looney Tunes cartoon titled The Haunted Mouse (1941). In that short film (directed by Tex Avery), a ghost mouse torments a cat that finds himself in a ghost town. The Haunted Mouse marked the first time Michael Maltese would receive a writing credit on a Warner Brothers cartoon. Michael Maltese would of course go on to write for many of the Tom and Jerry shorts of the Chuck Jones era. That short film also marked the first Looney Tunes cartoon to star one-shot characters. Before that the Looney Tunes would always star a reoccurring character (first Bosko, then Buddy, then Porky Pig), while its sister series Merrie Melodies would feature quite a few one-off short. 

The credited animators for this Tom and Jerry cartoon are Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray and Dick Thompson. Chuck Jones and Jim Pabian share a story credit. Eugene Poddany has a music credit. Maurice Noble is credited as a co-director. The credited background artist is Philip DeGuard. Mel Blanc is credited for the vocal effects (there is no spoken dialogue in this film). This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Hijinks and Shrieks (also on VHS), 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: Tricks & Treats and Tom and Jerry's Magical Misadventures. It is also a bonus feature on the DVD for the direct to video movie, Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring (2001). The film is also available on 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. 

The cartoon ends with the magician mouse making words come out of his hat. The words keep magically changing and spell out "The End" in various different languages. 

-Michael J. Ruhland