Jerry Mouse

Jerry Mouse
	;
Species	Mouse
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Tom Cat; Spike; Quacker; Robyn Starling in Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Occupation	Author
Goals	To run away and outsmart Tom
Other relative(s)	Two nephews, Tuffy and Sniffles; Two cousins, Muscles Mouse and George; One uncle, Pecos
Marital status	Single
First appearance	T&J: Puss Gets the Boot (1940)
Played by	William Hanna; Mel Blanc (1963-67); Frank Welker (1990-93, 2002); Dana Hill (1992); Samuel Vincent (2006-08)
	; Gene Deitch's Jerry.
	; Chuck Jones's Jerry.
	; The Tom & Jerry Show
	; Tom & Jerry Kids
	; The Mansion Cat
	; Tom and Jerry Tales
	File:2014 Jerry.png; The Tom and Jerry Show
	File:2021 Movie Jerry.png; Tom & Jerry
	; Tomut Jelly
	; Tom and Jerry

Jerry Mouse is the main character of the Tom and Jerry animated franchise, playing the hero protagonist, although he hasn't been entirely innocent throughout. Jerry was introduced as a character in a theatrical short series, with his first appearance in Puss Gets the Boot, and subsequently appeared in other media, such as TV series and direct-to-video films. Jerry is a mostly silent character, who was originally performed by William Hanna, whose vocalization is still in use today long after his passing. His most memorable speaking role occurred in Tom and Jerry: The Movie, in which his voice came out from actress Dana Hill's.

He has to constantly watch out for Tom, who as one might expect, wants to get rid of Jerry (or sometimes eat him), although sometimes it appears to be more about the thrill of the chase. Despite this, Jerry appears to live life fairly easily.

Character description

Whereas Tom is both a cunning and aggressive instigator, Jerry is different in that he is more of a carefree and intelligent trickster. The mouse is generally excited, free-spirited, and almost child-like. He also seeks to have fun no matter who he harms, much to the annoyance of Tom, who mainly sees him as a threat. Both he and Tom often go by a set of tricks in their many of their chases, although their chance of victory seems to vary depending on which situation they're in. In Jerry's case, he usually takes the opportunity to attack when he has the advantage of the situation.

Despite the fact that the two are enemies, Tom and Jerry both have a friendship that rivals their violent nature, and they even have their own sympathy towards one another. In some cases, Jerry does not start the conflict, and in others, he sets aside his differences with Tom to take on a common threat. In The Lonesome Mouse, for example, he goes too far with his antics and regrets having set up Tom to be kicked out of the house. Jerry also gets Tom in trouble by the humans and Spike the Bulldog, whom he doesn't usually see Jerry due to his small size.

Jerry is a brown mouse, whose color tone varies slightly depending on his appearances. He also has large ears on his head, a proportionally sized tail, and a small tuft on his head facing forward. In some television shows such as Tom & Jerry Kids, Jerry was given a red bow tie.

He rarely speaks, relying on a range of vocal effects to express his emotions, though not a fuller extent like with Tom's screams of pain.

Appearances

Video games

Stage performances

Tom and Jerry ~Yume yo Mou Ichido~

History

In The Beginning

Czechmate

Smart-Aleckus Mouse-us

You Can't Do That on Television!

The Tom and Jerry "Comedy" Show

Celebrating another 50 years! 50 years of fun!

Childhood Misadventures

Saving a Young Girl in Need

Tall Tales

Back to Basics

Disrupting a Hotel's Wedding

New York Bustle

Kawaii Jerry

Chaos in Signapore

Jerry Sells Out

Development

The concept of Tom and Jerry spurred from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at MGM, when discussing on the topic of how a conflict between two characters would work in provoking comedy, while retaining a basic situation to build a foundation on. Hanna recalled that they originally considered using a dog and a fox for these kinds of cartoons, but instead decided on using a cat and mouse for the leads.^[4]

In 1938, when the two presented their idea to producer Fred Quimby, he showed no interest in the project, believing that there was nothing original they could do with a cat and mouse. However, Quimby decided to let the two complete their short, which would later become Puss Gets the Boot in 1940.^[5] In the short, the mouse was not given a name (though referred to as "Jinx" in the animation model sheets)^[6] while the cat was referred to as "Jasper." The cartoon, which introduced slapstick comedy in relation to the duo, set the foundation for the soon-to-be-named Tom and Jerry formula, with animation historian Jerry Beck describing it as "very new and special [...] that was to change the course of MGM cartoon production".^[7]

Gallery

Main article: Jerry Mouse/Gallery

Toys and merchandise

Main article: Jerry Mouse/Toys

Behind the scenes

In popular culture

In "Many Happy Returns," an episode of the British sitcom Mind Your Language, Ali says that TV shows a lot of violence, as he sees someone drowned, shot, and having their head chopped off, which all came out of watching Tom and Jerry.
In the Married... with Children episode "Requiem for a Dead Barber," Al complained about the current state of cartoons indirectly referring to Tom and Jerry, by telling Peg how a cat will now go to a therapist after a mouse knocks flattens its head with a frying pan.
In The Simpsons, Bart and Lisa regularly watch The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
In the Full House episode, Danny tries to impress Lisa by making her guess who he is doing an impression, which is supposed to be Jerry saying, "Stop chasing me, ya mean cat!" But not only does Jerry not talk (usually), but Danny also mistakingly calls him Tom, which he is corrected on both accounts by Joey.
In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "Rondo in New York," Bebop and Rocksteady watch a cartoon similar to Tom and Jerry named Cheezy and Sleazy, to which the latter says that it's his favorite cartoon. Shredder then tells them to stop watching the stupid cartoon. At the end of the episode Bebop and Rocksteady accidentally spill
During the Weekend Update sketch in the Saturday Night Live episode "Miranda Richardson/Soul Asylum," Rob Schneider defends that cartoons are educational after the FCC ruled against it, saying that Schlomo's parents wouldn't let him watch cartoons therefore didn't know what to do when he saw a cat chasing a mouse which involved a falling avil and safe, leading to a dangerous accident for Schlomo.
In the Cowboy Bebop episode "Waltz for Venus," while Spike and Maya board a shuttle flight to Venus to catch a trio of hijackers, a Tom and Jerry-esque cartoon plays as an in-flight movie.
In the Kim Possible episode "Dimension Twist," Ron gets cable and he and Rufus get stuck watching a marathon (a Scamperthon, if you will) of The Adventures of Scamper & Bitey.
Tom and Jerry are a question in The Yes! No! Game by Paul Lamond Games.
In "The Long Night," an episode of the British sitcom Outnumbered, a police officer told the Brockmans that their neighbor had hit her husband over the head with a frying pan which he knows "sounds a bit Tom and Jerry."
In the American Dad! episode "Merlot Down Dirty Shame," Roger mentions "Tom and Jerry" as a spa package.
In the CGI cartoon Grizzy & the Lemmings episode "Wild Zapping," the Lemmings watch a 2-D cartoon with a cat chasing a mouse.
In the Sugar and Toys episode "Rebooty Call," Tom is in a therapy group for reforming villains, but Tom disagrees with being categorized as a villain as it is just nature for him to want to eat Jerry.
In series 21, episode 12 of Antiques Road Trip, Phil asks Tim what famous double act they would be together, with Tim answering Tom and Jerry.

Dead Ringers (radio)

"Episode Three" (series 5): Phil Collins follows in the footsteps of Elton John by singing a non-Disney song. Collins refers to several cartoon characters set to the tune of "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)," including briefly about how Tom becomes the shape of a table after accidentally swallowing it while chasing Jerry.
"Episode Five" (series 6): Prime Minister Tony Blair (Jon Culshaw) phoned up MGM Studios in New York to talk about resolving the conflict between Tom and Jerry. He believes that bringing them together will bring peace to all other cartoon animals. Blair's opinion is that when Spike appears, he also escalates the tension between the two. The composure and willingness to cooperate in helping, makes Culshaw break character and laugh.

The Fairly OddParents

Main article: The Fairly OddParents

Channel Chasers (part 2): Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Future Timmy travel into a parody of Tom and Jerry called Ted & Jimmy, with Timmy and the fairies in the role of Jerry and Vicky in the role of Tom. There's even a dog like Spike. Cosmo and Wanda jump in front of the screen every time there is violence and comment they can't believe how this wasn't censored in the 1940s.
"Mice Capades:" Timmy, Cosmo, and Poof tuned in to see Sleazy and Cheezy!, When it's over, the impressionable baby Poof sees the animosity between Vicky and Timmy as a means of continuing watching Sleazy and Cheezy!, so he transforms them into his very own Sleazy and Cheezy/Tom and Jerry.

Cheezy himself.

Family Guy

Main article: Family Guy

"Road to Rupert:" Stewie is superimposed on Jerry who danced with Joe Brady during "The Worry Song" in the film Anchors Aweigh.
"Valentine's Day in Quahog:" Peter and Lois spend the day in bed during Valentine's Day, which includes watching the final episode of Tom and Jerry, in which Tom hires an exterminator to get rid of Jerry. The exterminator asks Tom what he wants to be done with the body of Jerry, but Tom doesn't care about that part, Jerry can be thrown in the garbage for all he cares, but Tom does show some interest in keeping one of Jerry's oversized mallets.

References

^ Life with Tom (1953).
^ ^a ^b Feedin' the Kiddie (1957).
^ Tom and Jerry Tales: "Babysitting Blues," season 2, episode 13B (2008).
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1991). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (1991 edition), page 131. Facts on File, Inc., New York NY. ISBN 0-8160-2252-6.
^ "The Magic Behind The Cartoon". www.lafn.org. Archived from original on Febuary 12, 2005.
^ Hanna, William; Ito, Tom (1996). A Cast of Friends. Taylor Publishing Company. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
^ Beck, Jerry; Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition, p. 287. Plume. ISBN 978-0-452-25993-5.

[MGM_79-1] Life with Tom (1953).

[MGM_107-2] Feedin' the Kiddie (1957).

[3] Tom and Jerry Tales: "Babysitting Blues," season 2, episode 13B (2008).

[Encyclopedia_of_Animated_Cartoons-4] Lenburg, Jeff (1991). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (1991 edition), page 131. Facts on File, Inc., New York NY. ISBN 0-8160-2252-6.

[5] "The Magic Behind The Cartoon". www.lafn.org. Archived from original on Febuary 12, 2005.

[6] Hanna, William; Ito, Tom (1996). A Cast of Friends. Taylor Publishing Company. Retrieved April 28, 2020.

[7] Beck, Jerry; Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition, p. 287. Plume. ISBN 978-0-452-25993-5.

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