The Cat Above and the Mouse Below was the second Tom and Jerry cartoon to be directed and produced by Chuck Jones and one of the best.
In this short film, Tom is a famous opera singer about to give a major concert. However, Jerry is underneath the stage, Tom is performing on and is trying to get some sleep. When Tom's singing wakes Jerry up, Jerry does everything he can to make the concert end early.
This is a bit of an oddball entry in the Tom and Jerry series. While cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or Mickey Mouse play human type roles in their films, Tom has always been treated as a real cat not a humanoid one. The idea of Tom being an opera singer is also a strange one as in most cartoons Tom doesn't speak. It is no secret that when he took over the series, Chuck Jones molded Tom and Jerry into more typical Chuck Jones characters. This is probably the most extreme example of that.
Just because this doesn't feel like a typical Tom and Jerry short does not make it a bad cartoon. On the contrary, this is a great cartoon. Everything about this film simply works. The opening scenes with Tom arriving for his concert are my favorite part of the film. These scenes make for a wonderful satire on celebrities and high culture. These scenes take the concept of high culture to a ridiculous extreme. From the exaggerated extravagance of Tom's limo to a group of women fighting over a flower that Tom throws, this is a truly hilarious satire made funnier by the dignified and nonchalant facial expressions on Tom. After these opening scenes the film morphs into a more typical Tom and Jerry fight. While this may not be as funny as the earlier scenes, the slapstick moves at a fast pace and is a lot of fun. Meanwhile the opera singing itself is fantastic and compliments the slapstick perfectly. I don't know why cartoon slapstick and classical music work so well together, but they do.
The opera singing is provided by Terrence Monk (sometimes spelled Terence Monck). Born on January 10, 1936 (in Long Beach, California), Monk was a trained opera singer studying at UCLA and Juilliard as well as the San Francisco Opera. In 1964 (the year this cartoon was released) he won the San Francisco Opera auditions. Over the course of his career, he had appeared with such stars as Judy Garland, Shirley Jones, Carol Lawerance, Anne Bylth and Barbara Eden. He would appear in such productions as My Fair Lady, Panama Hattie, Mack and Mabel, I Do, I Do!, See-Saw. He would also appear in soap operas including Days of Our Lives. He would go on to provide Tom with a singing voice in one more cartoon Cat and Dupli-cat (1967). Despite his impressive career it is these Tom and Jerry cartoons that he is best known for. He passed away on January 3, 2003 (in Long Beach, California) at the age of 67 from lung cancer.
Maurice Noble gets a co-director's credit. Tom Ray, Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris and Don Towsley. The music is credited to Eugene Poddany. Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese (who collaborated on some of the greatest Looney Tunes) share a writing credit. This was the first Tom and Jerry film of 1964 and the 129th Tom and Jerry cartoon overall. The film is available on the DVD sets, Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Tom and Jerry: Classic Collection Volume 6, Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection as well as the Laserdisc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons.
This short film marks the first Tom and Jerry cartoon of 1967 and returns Chuck Jones to the director chair. The cartoon marks a very strong start for 1967 for our favorite cat and mouse duo.
In this short film, Tom is drifting along the sea singing classical music when he spies Jerry. He decides Jerry would make a tasty snack. Unfortunately for Tom, another cat spies Jerry as well and the two cats fight over him.
This is a surprisingly good Tom and Jerry cartoon for being this late in the game. The film has a unique feel to it. The abstract night themed backgrounds and the dock setting give this whole cartoon a great sense of atmosphere that helps it stand out from other Tom and Jerry shorts of this era. The opening with Tom singing as he is floating down is simply lovely, especially when paired with the beautiful backgrounds. This opening scene has stayed in my mind since I first watched this film as a kid, and I still find it just as charming today. However, as well as having a lovely sense of atmosphere this film has pretty good gags in it. The timing and execution of these gags is prefect and multiple of them made me chuckle. The character animation here is also perfect, making the characters seem completely real to us without any dialogue needed.
Terrence Monk (sometimes spelled Terence Monck) provided Tom's singing voice in this cartoon. He had previously provided Tom's singing voice for The Cat Above and the Mouse Below (1964). Born on January 10, 1936 (in Long Beach, California), Monk was a trained opera singer studying at UCLA and Juilliard as well as the San Francisco Opera. In 1964 (the year this cartoon was released) he won the San Francisco Opera auditions. Over the course of his career, he had appeared with such stars as Judy Garland, Shirley Jones, Carol Lawerance, Anne Bylth and Barbara Eden. He would appear in such productions as My Fair Lady, Panama Hattie, Mack and Mabel, I Do, I Do! and See-Saw. He would also appear in soap operas including Days of Our Lives. Despite his impressive career it is these Tom and Jerry cartoons that he is best known for. He passed away on January 3, 2003 (in Long Beach, California) at the age of 67 from lung cancer.
Jerry's falsetto singing voice is provided by Dal McKennon. Dal is a voice actor who should be familiar to most cartoon fans. He was the voice of Woody Woodpecker's arch-enemy Buzz Buzzard. Art Clokey's Claymation character Gumby and eternal teenager Archie Andrews. This was his only credit on a Tom and Jerry cartoon.
The song, they are singing is Santa Lucia. This song from Naples has sometimes been credited to Teodoro Cottrau. However, the actual writer of the song is unknown. Teodoro Cottrau translated the song from Neapolitan into Italian. That Italian version of the song was published in 1849 making it the first Neapolitan song to be translated into Italian. This is not the only language the song would be translated into. The song would also be translated into English. One of the English translations would be entitled Here In The Twilight. This version of the song by American lyricist Howard Johnson (I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream, When the Moon Comes over the Mountain) and was copyrighted in 1932. However, the most popular American versions of the song were sung in Italian including when Elvis Presley sang in the movie, Viva Las Vegas (1964) and later on the 1965 studio album, Elvis for Everyone.
The lyrics we hear in this film go:
Sul mare luccica I'astro d'argento,
Placida e l'onda, prospero e il vento.
Sul mare luccica l'astro d'argento,
Placida e l'onda, prospero e il vento.
Venite all'agile barchetta mia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Venite all'agile barchetta mia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
One of the highlights of this film is the scene with Tom and another cat doing what is known as the mirror routine. In this classic comic skit, one character pretends that his is the other's reflection but mimicking everything the other character does perfectly. Though this skit has appeared in countless films, its origins date back to the stage. By 1911 a German comedy duo named the Schwartz Brothers had a good following due to a popular routine known as the broken mirror routine. A critic for Variety described this routine, "The master of the house, who is an actor, is suffering from the effects of a late night. When he goes to look at himself in the mirror he sees what he thinks is a reflection of himself, but which is actually his manservant. The movements of the two are identical, the only appreciable difference being that the manservant is by no means. . . [as] good-looking as his master. Finally, the master tries to kiss the maid, and the manservant in his jealousy knocks the mirror over, leaving the impression that it has been newly broken." This is hardly much different from the skit that we know today. The success of this routine made it so that the team was able to tour in London. While in London they discovered an act that had a routine was uncomfortable close to their own. Lauri Wylie, starred in this similar comedy skit titled "Early Morning Reflections." However, that skit has supernatural elements where a man saw his disembodied spirit. Despite this the Schwartz Brothers took Lauri Wylie to court on December 8, 1911. Unfortunately for the Schwartz Brothers, it was decided that the skit wasn't exactly original. A similar comedic sketch had appeared in H. A. Du Souchet's play, My Friend from India. In that play a man in drag pretends to be an elderly woman's reflection as she passes by a broken mirror. That play was published in 1894. It debuted in France and later had an American version which premiered at Broadway's Bijou Theatre on October 6, 1896. In 1897 the play was adapted from British audiences as My Friend the Prince. In 1900, the American vaudeville team the Lyman Twins were performing the skit on the American stage. With all these previous versions in mind, the judge ruled the skit as being public property.
It was only natural that this routine would find its way to the silver screen. A very early example is a silent film from the French comedian Max Linder entitled Le Duel de Max (1913). Linder would later repeat the gag in Seven Years Bad Luck (1921). Charlie Chaplin would do a variation on the routine in his short film, The Floorwalker (1916). However, the routine is best associated with The Marx Brothers. Their version of the routine in the classic movie, Duck Soup (1933) is considered the best version of the skit. The skit has become so associated with the Marx Brothers that when in 1955 Harpo Marx guest starred on the beloved TV show, I Love Lucy, Lucy and Harpo did a version of this skit together. Everyone from Charley Chase to the Muppets to Stewie Griffin to Woody Allen has done this beloved comedy sketch.
THe credited animators on this film include Dick Thompson, Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley and Tom Ray. Philip DeGuard is the credited background artis. Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese share a story credit. Maurice Noble is credited as a co-director. Eugene Poddany is credited for the music. This marks the 152 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 and Tom and Jerry: No Mice Allowed! as well as the VHS set Tom and Jerry: Cat and Dupli-cat and the Laser Disc set The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons.
The cartoon was shown in its entirety on the Toon in With Me episodes Meet the Tooners (2021), Toons & Temptations (2021), Bill Is Predict-a-Bill (2022) and Rival of the Ages III (2025). A brief clip is shown in the show's opening as well.
About the Tom and Jerry films, film historian and critic Leonard Maltin said, "A series of outstanding shorts that exemplify the Hollywood cartoon at its best. This writing-directing team (William Hanna and Joseph Barbera) may hold a record for producing consistently superior cartoons year after year." While there were some misses later on, in the 1940's it seemed like Tom and Jerry could do no wrong. During this time period, every Tom and Jerry film hit the mark near perfectly. The only other theatrical cartoon series I can think of that had this level of consistency of great cartoons was Chuck Jones' Coyote and Roadrunner films. However even with the amount of great Tom and Jerry cartoons made during this era, Trap Happy manages to truly stand out.
Like all of the best Tom and Jerry films, this cartoon has a very simplistic storyline. Tom is trying to catch Jerry and is constantly failing. So, Tom calls in a mouse exterminator to help him. The mouse exterminator ends up being Butch (the black cat) who doesn't end up being much help.
This may be my favorite Tom and Jerry short film. One of my favorite things about it is that it is exactly what you think of when you hear Tom and Jerry. There are no plot complications or anything to deviate from simple cat chasing mouse fun. This cartoon moves at a very quick speed offering gag after gag after gag. Yet there is impressively not one gag in the entire film that misses. Each gag works perfectly. Some of these gags are some of the most memorable moments in Tom and Jerry history. Tom calling the exterminator on the phone, Jerry playing Butch and Tom's fingers as a musical instrument, the magnetic cheese gag and of course the wonderful ending all stick in your mind well after the cartoon ends. Like many of the best Tom and Jerry cartoons, the execution is often just as great as the gags. This is especially seen in the opening scenes with Tom chasing Jerry before he calls Butch. The gags in these scenes are not as imaginative as what would come later in the film. However, the animation and timing are perfect and make it hard to watch these scenes without a smile on your face.
Michael Lah (an MGM animator who had for Bill and Joe and then for Tex Avery) once stated "Tex had a crazy way of pacing things, and it had started to rub off on Bill and Joe. Then it became a race. Each picture that would come out, from one unit or the other, was faster. Pretty soon it got to the point where the only guys who could understand it were the guys who had worked on it." This is one of the fastest paced Tom and Jerry cartoons. However, the pacing is never too fast to follow or enjoy. In fact, as well as the gags themselves there are some wonderful little character moments in here. The expressions on the character's faces and how they can perfectly convey just what is going on in their minds (without much dialogue) are a major part of why this cartoon is so great. The fact that the filmmakers can fit this into such a fast paced and gag filled cartoon without ever sacrificing its wonderful comic energy is very impressive. Also adding to the pure comic energy in this film is Scott Bradely's very fun and infectious score. This score is not only a joy to listen to but it always compliments and enhances the action on screen.
The following is an exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "TRAP HAPPY: Tom and Jerry Cartoons— Tops. This series is one of the best. This one is above average for the series. -Fred J. Hutchings, Community Theatre, Leader, Sask. Can."
The credited animators on this film are Kenneth Muse, Michael Lah and Ed Barge. A much later Tom and Jerry cartoon would reuse a clip from this short. In an episode of TV's, The Tom and Jerry Show entitled The Last Laugh (2014), a character can be seen watching this cartoon on a movie screen.
Heard on the soundtrack of this film is Ja-Da, a jazz standard. This song was written in 1918 by jazz pianist, Bob Carleton and was his biggest hit as a composer. In 1918 the same year it was written it was recorded by both Original New Orleans Jazz Band and Arthur Fields. Alice Faye sang it in the feature film, Rose of Washington Square (1939). This song was recorded by many artists over the years including Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and Louis Armstrong. The Firehouse Five Plus Two (a jazz band consisting of Disney animators) even recorded the song on their 1962 album, At Disneyland. Below are the two aforementioned 1918 recordings.
Resources Used
Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin
