Purr-Chance to Dream marked the end of an era for Tom and Jerry. This was the last theatrical short from the 20th century that would star the famous cat and mouse duo. Today one thinks of any film or TV series ending with an entry that feels like a finale. This however is a fairly recent development. It was definitely not true for the classic theatrical cartoon shorts. Each series of theatrical cartoon shorts ends with a film that simply feels like another cartoon. There is nothing about Purr-Chance to Dream that would make it feel like anything more than just another Tom and Jerry cartoon.
In this short film, Tom is having nightmares about a big bulldog beating him up. After waking up he chases Jerry to a giant doghouse. However, the dog that comes out is a very tiny bulldog. At first Tom thinks this is funny but the dog ends up being much tougher than he looks.
This is a fun short. Though the basic premise had been done before in The Cat's Me-Ouch (1965), this film does have its clever moments. Tom turning into sausages and the great ending gag are especially clever. Though the premise is similar to a previous cartoon, this film never out and out copies the previous short. Each of the gags is unique to this cartoon and the nightmares add a fun new touch. The nightmares are another highlight due to the delightfully surreal background art that perfectly contrasts with the rest of the cartoon. All the while, Tom and Jerry are same wonderful characters that we have loved in the previous shorts.
Unfortunately, this film also features the same flaws of the non-Chuck Jones directed shorts from this era. That is to say the timing can be off at times and there are some poor drawings.
This may not fully reach the heights of the Tom and Jerry cartoons of the 1940's and early 50's but it is still a fairly strong note for this era to end on.
When MGM decided to end the Tom and Jerry series, it was because they were losing interest in animation as a whole. The studio was feeling that these cartoons cost too much for the amount of money that they made. They felt that there was much more of a financial future in live action film and TV. Chuck Jones' unit made some more TV specials, but this was also short lived. Chuck stated that MGM, "saw no future in $100,000 a year net from every TV special." Film Historian and Critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his essential animation history book Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, "This time there was no reprieve. Like other studios with major cartoon properties, MGM failed to see how continued production - for television or theaters - could stack up against the millions one could derive from live action features and TV series."
Ben Washam is the director, and Irv Spector is the writer for this cartoon. The credited animators are Dick Thompson, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray and Philip Roman. Philip DeGuard is the credited background artist. Don Morgan is the credited layout artist.
This film is available on the DVD sets Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6 and Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, the VHS set Tom and Jerry: Little School Mouse and the Laserdisc set, The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons.
This film appeared on the Toon in With Me episodes Two Drink Minimum at the Cackle Barrel (2021), Bill's Legs Leave His Body (2022), Bedtime Stories (2022), In Your Dreams (2023), Be Prepared (2024), Our Worst Nightmares (2024), Trekkin' the Blue Grass State (2025) and TWIM's Horror Show (2025).
My goal with this blog was to cover every theatrical Tom and Jerry short length film. Because of this, after this post I will skip ahead to the 21st century and review two shorts that received limited theatrical releases. After that I will pretty much be done with this blog. I may occasionally go back and review TV cartoons or feature length movies, but these will not be on a regular basis as I will have already done what I set out to do. For the most part the time I have given to this blog will shift to my Three Stooges blog.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Resources Used
Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin.
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