Mouse Trouble

Mouse Trouble is the seventeenth animated theatrical short of the Tom and Jerry series. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 23, 1944. It was produced by Fred Quimby, and written and directed by series creators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

Tom receives a how-to book on catching mice and attempts to follow its instructions on Jerry.

Memorable quotes
Tom: Don't you believe it!

Girl mouse toy: Come on and see me some time.

Characters
Harry E. Lang
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mailman
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Tom Cat
 * style="background-color:#clear"| William Hanna
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Tom Cat
 * style="background-color:#clear"| William Hanna
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jerry Mouse
 * style="background-color:#clear"| William Hanna
 * style="background-color:#clear"| William Hanna

Locations

 * Earth
 * United States
 * Mammy Two Shoes's residence

Objects

 * How to Catch a Mouse
 * Mouse trap
 * Cheese
 * Stethoscope
 * Double-barreled shotgun
 * Bear trap
 * Mallet
 * Gift box disguise
 * First aid kit
 * Girl mouse toy (Sara Berner)
 * Block Buster

Music
The music was composed by Scott Bradley. The jazz standard "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" is used as one of the background melodies.

Crew credits

 * Animation: Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Pete Burness

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: November 23, 1944; December 15, 1951 (reissue)

Behind the scenes

 * How to Catch a Mouse is "A Random Mouse Book", a parody of Random House books.
 * Tom's phrase, "Don't you believe it!", is a reference to the tagline for Don't You Believe It!, a radio program from the late 1930s to early 1940s that focused on unique facts and debunking myths.
 * This short is the first one in the Tom and Jerry series to have a main character die on-screen, which in this case is Tom.

Errors

 * When Tom winds the girl mouse toy, he has multiple bandages covering him from his previous injuries. But when he accidentally eats the toy, all his bandages are gone.

Everlasting influence

 * Tom reads about this short in Jerry's diary (with accompanying flashbacks) in the aptly named short Jerry's Diary. He marked it May 12, Thursday.
 * Tom would say the "Don't you believe it!" line at the end of The Missing Mouse.
 * In the live-action film Tom & Jerry, Jerry redoes the gag where he tricks Tom into thinking he's hiding something in his hands so he can punch Tom in the eye.

Home availability

 * In the United States:
 * October 19, 2004: Warner Home Video releases Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection on DVD.
 * February 12, 2008: Warner Home Video releases Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection on DVD.
 * October 25, 2011: Warner Home Video releases Tom and Jerry Golden Collection: Volume 1 on DVD.
 * October 25, 2011: Warner Home Video releases Tom and Jerry Golden Collection: Volume 1 on Blu-ray Disc.
 * In France:
 * November 23, 2011: Warner Home Video releases Tom and Jerry Golden Collection: Volume Un on DVD.