The Zoot Cat
| The Zoot Cat | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster. | |
| Production company | Metro-Goldywn-Mayer |
| Distributor | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date | February 26, 1944 |
| Run time | 7:08 |
| Starring | William Hanna |
| Producer(s) | Fred Quimby |
| Music composed by | Scott Bradley |
| Story by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Animation | Ray Patterson Kenneth Muse Irven Spence Pete Burness |
| Director(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
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The Zoot Cat is the thirteenth animated theatrical short of the Tom and Jerry series. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on February 26, 1944. It was produced by Fred Quimby, and written and directed by series creators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
Tom tries to impress a girl cat by dressing up in his own "zoot" suit.
Detailed summary
Memorable quotes
Tom: Ah, I love you. When I'm with you, I am what you call, uh, a hep cat. I am hip to the jive. I'm in the groove, darling.
Toots: Now you're really sending me, Jackson.
Tom: Ah, you set my soul on fire. It is not just, uh, a little spark. It is a flame; a big roaring flame. Ah, I can feel it now—It is burning... burning... BURNING... Hey, something is burning around here! (screams in pain)
Characters
In order of appearance: | ||||||||||||
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Locations
- Earth
- United States
- Toots' residence
- United States
Objects
- Piano
Vehicles
- None
Production
Development
A model sheet for the cartoon was produced in November 25, 1942.[1][2]
The story elements were made to satirize the zoot suit, a men's fashion trend that first became prevalent in the late 1930s through its association of African American jazz musicians—namely, Cab Calloway. During World War II, it became a clothing trend among young Black American and Mexican American men, the latter known as pauchuos, although it was later seen as extravagant and unpatriotic since they used a lot of fabric to manufacture the suits, which was used for rationing at the time. In June 1943, a series of riots occurred in Los Angeles, California when thousands of pachuos and other racial minorities refused to comply with white American servicemen, resulting in a large number of arrests by the police force.[1]
Filming
The film was copyrighted in 1944 (MCXLIV).
Music
The music was composed by Scott Bradley.
Release
Dates are in order of release:
Behind the scenes
- Apparently, Tom is now an alley cat.
- It is one of the few shorts with an extensive amount of dialogue, and has more of it than any previous short up to that point.
- Tom does a Charles Boyer impression when talking to Toots on the piano, and then switches to Groucho Marx's voice after sniffing the smoke from his hot foot.
Errors
Legacy
- Beginning in 2016, a series of memes using Tom in a zoot suit were first posted on a 4Chan thread, and later went by the name of "One More Time" in reference to the Stands from the anime/manga Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. It also crossed over with a similar meme with Daffy Duck from Looney Tunes, dubbed "Literally Me", which was based on his appearance in the 1946 short Book Revue.[3]
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.
References
- ^ a b Baxter, Devon (2017). Baxter's Breakdowns: Tom & Jerry in “The Zoot Cat” (1944), Cartoon Research. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ Model sheet for The Zoot Cat (November 25, 1942) Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ Zoot Suit Daffy Duck / "Literally Me". Know Your Meme.
