Fit To Be Tied

Fit To Be Tied
Theatrical poster.
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributor	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	July 26, 1952
Starring	William Hanna Daws Butler
Producer(s)	Fred Quimby
Music composed by	Scott Bradley
Screenplay by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Animation	Kenneth Muse Irven Spence Ray Patterson Ed Barge
Director(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
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Fit To Be Tied is the sixty-ninth animated theatrical short of the Tom and Jerry series. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on July 16, 1952. It was produced by Fred Quimby, and written and directed by series creators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

After removing a tack from Spike's foot, Jerry is given a bell that he uses when he's in trouble. It gets to a point where Tom becomes his servant, but when Tom reads the news of a new leash law, he seeks an opportunity to harass both Spike and Jerry.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Jerry Mouse	N/A
Spike	Daws Butler
Tom Cat	William Hanna

Organizations

• News Daily (mentioned)

Locations

• Earth
  • United States

Objects

• Tack
• Bell
• Gumball machine
• Cheese
• News Daily newspaper
• Spike's doghouse
• Leash
• Pie
• Cymballs
• Boxing glove
• Baseball bat
• Metal pipe
• Croquet mallet

Vehicles

• None

Production

Filming

It was copyrighted in 1952 (MCMLII).

Music

The music was composed by Scott Bradley.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: July 26, 1952

Behind the scenes

• The title is a play on the expression, "fit to be tied"; meaning to get very angry.
• The MPAA certificate number is 15202.
• The plot of the short is an allusion to two fables, "Androcles" and "Belling the Cat."
  • Similar to the tale of Androcles helping out a lion, Jerry saves Spike be removing a pointed object on his foot. Both the lion and Spike show mercy to Androcles and Jerry, respectively, and later get tied by a leash before they are set free.
  • Jerry uses the bell in a reference to "Belling the Cat," as an idiom describing a group of persons agreeing to propose impossible tasks.

Legacy

I know he ate a cheese.

• An image of Jerry's misshapen body after eating a wedge of cheese was first spread onto Tumblr as early as 2014, and later became the basis for the "I Know He Ate a Cheese" meme.
  • The aforementioned meme was referenced in the Tomu to Jerī episode "Cheese Day."

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • September 11, 2007: Warner Home Video releases Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 3 on DVD.