Duel Personality marks the first Tom and Jerry film of 1966, and it is a strong start to this year.
In this short film, Tom and Jerry decide to settle their feud once and for all with a duel. However, this duel does not go the way either of them planned.
This film was a childhood favorite of mine. I think the reason for that is that I was used to most Tom and Jerry cartoons having one opponent (usually Jerry) getting the better of the other. In this film, everything either character does backfires on them and both characters end up getting the worst of it. This made it feel so different to me that it stayed in my mind in a way some other Tom and Jerry cartoons of this era didn't. Watching this cartoon as an adult I still love it. The gags (while not laugh out loud funny) are quite clever. The premise and execution are rather unique to the cat and mouse duo, while still remain true to the characters and the spirit of the previous cartoons. On top of this the musical score is a lot of fun, and the character animation is excellent.
This cartoon was the first Tom and Jerry short to feature music by Dean Elliott, who would go on to score a few more of the Chuck Jones-era Tom and Jerry cartoons. He would also work with Chuck Jones on plenty of Chuck's TV specials as well as the feature films The Phantom Tollbooth (1970) and The Bugs Bunny/Road-Runner Movie (1979). Before his Tom and Jerry work, Elliott had worked on some of UPA's Mr. Magoo cartoons. He would also do some work for the DePatie-Freleng studio, working on the Dogfather cartoons and the Dr. Suess adaptations The Cat in the Hat (1971) and The Lorax (1972). Elliott also did some live action work including on the infamously bad movie, Sex Kittens Go to College (1960).
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. Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones share a writing credit. The credited background artist is Philip DeGuard. This is the 143rd Tom and Jerry cartoon.
This 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 2 and Tom and Jerry's Adventures as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons.
-Michael J. Ruhland
