Tom and Jerry (theatrical shorts)
- This article is about the theatrical shorts. For other uses, see Tom and Jerry.
| Tom and Jerry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Production company | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Rembrandt Films Sib Tower 12 Hanna-Barbera Warner Bros. Animation |
| Distributor | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Warner Bros. Television Distribution Warner Bros. Pictures HBO Max |
| Original release | February 10, 1940―August 1, 1958 September 7, 1961―September 8, 1967 April 8, 2001 September 26, 2005 February 26, 2021 |
| Starring | William Hanna Lillian Randolph Mel Blanc June Foray |
| Producer(s) | Fred Quimby William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Music composition | Scott Bradley |
| Writer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Director(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Second title card | |
 1945 version. | |
| Third title card | |
 1956 version. | |
| Fourth title card | |
 Alternate 1956 version. | |
| Fifth title card | |
 1961 version for Gene Deitch's shorts. | |
| Sixth title card | |
 1963 version for Chuck Jones's shorts. | |
| Seventh title card | |
 2021 version. | |
Tom and Jerry is a series of animated slapstick comedy theatrical shorts created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It was originally distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1940 to 1967, animated by three production companies; the first was their own in-house, with Hanna and Barbera directing from 1940 and 1958, releasing 114; the second was Gene Deitch from 1961 and 1962, releasing 13; and the third and last was Chuck Jones from 1963 and 1967, releasing 34. Since 2001, the series has infrequently been revived, as was the case in the aforementioned year when Hanna-Barbera themselves produced a single short which Warner Bros. Television Distribution debuted on Boomerang, while Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and distributed Warner Bros. Pictures produced and distributed, respectively, a single theatrical short in 2005. WBA also produced two shorts exclusively for HBO Max, an internet streaming service, in 2021.
The popularity of the MGM shorts, involving the eternal battle of wits between the cat named Tom and the mouse named Jerry, led to the shorts being syndicated, and specially made-for-TV series, which throughout the years have been produced by Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and WBA. There has also been a 1992 full-length theatrical film Tom and Jerry: The Movie, a 2021 animated/live-action film, Tom & Jerry, and a series of direct-to-video films since 2001, beginning with Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring.
There was also a short-lived Spike and Tyke spin-off series in 1957.
Production
Development
In the golden age of American cinema—particularly the 1930s to 1940s—film studios produced many subjects to supplement the main feature, including travelogues, serials, comedies, newsreels and cartoons. Several of these companies, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, were noted by Walt Disney and his studio's output of Mickey Mouse cartoons, and inspired to find ways to equal or surpass Disney, began to open their own animation units. MGM had some previous attempts in animation prior to 1937, beginning with a failed attempt to acquire distribution rights to Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony from Pat Powers (who distributed the animated shorts for Columbia Pictures); and their distribution of the Flip the Frog series, which was produced independently by Ub Iwerks after his departure from Disney.
In 1934, MGM signed a deal with Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising to distribute high-budget color cartoons starring their creation Bosko, previously the first star of the Looney Tunes cartoons, in addition to making shorts for the Happy Harmonies series. Despite this, budget problems threatened to plague Harman and Ising, and following Harman's denial to MGM's demands that he reduce the cost of the shorts, the studio responded in February 1937 by opening their own animation studio and hiring away most of Harmon and Ising's staff. MGM then hired films sales executive Fred Quimby, a man with no experience in animation, to set up the new department,[1] although they later hired back both Harman and Ising a year after its founding. Among the staff taken from the previous Harman-Ising studio was animator William Hanna, whose own experience dates back to its time in making Looney Tunes shorts.[1][2] At the same time, storyman Joseph Barbera, who also had previous animation experience via Fleischer Studios and Terrytoons, was united with Hanna to co-direct cartoons for Rudolf Ising's unit.
Following the lack of success spurred from an earlier cartoon series based on the Captain and the Kids comic strip, Barbera had learned that co-owner Louis B. Mayer wanted to boost the animation department by encouraging the artists to develop some new cartoon characters.[3] Barbera and Hanna then pitched new ideas, among them was a concept of two "equal characters who were always in conflict with each other."[3] The duo originally considered using a dog and a fox, but landed on the idea of using a cat and mouse for the leads instead.[4] Hanna and Barbera discussed their pitch to Quimby, who, despite showing no interest in the project, decided to let the two produce one short with the duo.[3][5]
The first short, Puss Gets the Boot (1940), features a cat named "Jasper" and an unnamed mouse (named "Jinx" in the animation model sheets),[6] in addition to an African American housemaid named Mammy Two Shoes, and the ensuing slapstick violence that was introduced. Animation historian Jerry Beck described the short as "very new and special [...] that was to change the course of MGM cartoon production".[7] The short was a critical success and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons in 1941, although it lost to another MGM cartoon entitled The Milky Way, which Quimby also produced.[8][9]
Hanna and Barbera, having been advised by management not to produce any more "cat and mouse" shorts, focused on other cartoons including Gallopin' Gals (1940) and Officer Pooch (1941).[3] The trajectory of their output changed when Bessa Short, a film distributor from Texas, sent a letter to MGM on whether more cat and mouse shorts would be produced, which helped convince management to commission a series.[10] A studio contest was held to rename both characters, which animator John Carr won for suggesting the names "Tom" and "Jerry". Carr was awarded a first-place prize of $50.[11][Note 1]
Closure of MGM's animation department
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Music
The original theme was composed by Scott Bradley.
Shorts
MGM
Rembrandt Films
| Title | Number | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Switchin' Kitten | 1 | September 7, 1961 |
| Down and Outing | 2 | October 4, 1961 |
| It's Greek to Me-ow! | 3 | December 7, 1961 |
| High Steaks | 4 | March 23, 1962 |
| Mouse Into Space | 5 | April 13, 1962 |
| Landing Stripling | 6 | May 9, 1962 |
| Calypso Cat | 7 | June 21, 1962 |
| Dicky Moe | 8 | July 20, 1962 |
| The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit | 9 | August 10, 1962 |
| Tall in the Trap | 10 | September 14, 1962 |
| Sorry Safari | 11 | October 12, 1962 |
| Buddies Thicker Than Water | 12 | November 1, 1962 |
| Carmen Get It! | 13 | December 21, 1962 |
Sib Tower 12
Hanna-Barbera
| Short | Number | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Mansion Cat | 1 | April 8, 2001 |
Warner Bros. Animation
| Short | Number | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The KarateGuard | 1 | September 26, 2005 |
| On a Roll | 2 | February 20, 2021 |
| The House That Cat Built | 3 | February 20, 2021 |
Cast
- William Hanna as Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse
- Mel Blanc voiced Tom and Jerry while June Foray would voice Jerry, in the shorts produced and directed by Chuck Jones.
- Lillian Randolph as Mammy Two Shoes
Legacy
As a result of its minimal use of dialogue, Tom and Jerry was easily translated into various foreign languages. Notable countries where Tom and Jerry are released outside of the United States include the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, India, and many others.
In Japan, Tom and Jerry made its first release in 1964, where it was first dubbed and produced as a TV series by Transglobal, and aired on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Television. A 2005 nationwide survey taken in Japan by TV Asahi, sampling age groups from teenagers to adults in their sixties, ranked Tom and Jerry No. 85 in a list of the top 100 anime of all time; while their web poll taken after the airing of the list ranked it at No. 58 – the only non-Japanese animation on the list, and beating anime classics such as Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, A Little Princess Sara, and the ultra-classics Macross and Ghost in the Shell.[12][Note 2]
In the Fish Police episode "The Two Gils," which aired in 1992, Inspector Gil visits the Oceanic Bank, where Mr. Lykin, the Oceanic Bank guard, has a black and white static image of Tom and Jerry from the sixth title card on one of his screens.
In 2021, Warner Bros. Animation Group produced an animated/live-action hybrid movie Tom & Jerry.
On December 12, 2024, it was reported that Warner Bros. Animation Group, now known as Warner Bros. Picture Animation, hired Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, and Michael Govier to write a new film.[13]
Promotion
Photos
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Tom and Jerry Special Shorts
Videos
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 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, E.T. watches The Mouse Comes to Dinner, specifically the scene where Tom's tail is set on fire.
- 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.
- When creating the theme music to The Simpsons, Matt Groening cited Scott Bradley's music for Tom and Jerry as one of his inspirations, although he specifically didn't want to use the method of using music to follow actions for the show's theme.[14] A constant feature of the series is Bart and Lisa watching The Itchy & Scratchy Show, a show parodying Tom and Jerry and other cat & mouse cartoons, but is apparently inspired by the Italian comic strip Squeak the Mouse (which itself is a black comedy satire of Tom and Jerry).
- In the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders chapter "Justice, Part 2," when the Joestar Group find a dead man full of holes, Polnareff compares him to the cheese seen in Tom and Jerry.
- 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, that Shredder orders them to stop watching. They return near the end of the episode, however, when the three villains obtain the last vial of a substance known as the vitalizer, Bebop and Rocksteady accidentally pour the vial on a Cheezy and Sleazy film reel. This brings the cat and mouse to life, causing mayhem at the Technodrome.
- In the Full House episode "Take My Sister, Please," after Joey impresses Lisa with his impression of Fred Flintstone's "Yabba-dabba-doo," 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.
- 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 to cartoons therefore didn't know what to do when he saw a cat chasing a mouse which involved a falling anvil and safe, leading to a dangerous accident for Schlomo.
- In the TV poll special TV's All-Time Favorites, clips from Sleepy-Time Tom was used (featuring Thea Vidale as Mammy), when Tom and Jerry were pitted against Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner from The Road Runner Show, Ren & Stimpy from The Ren & Stimpy Show, and Rocky & Bullwinkle from Rocky and Bullwinkle. They all lost to Wile E. and Road Runner.
- In The Drew Carey Show episode "Drew's the Other Man," the sixth title card with Tom and Jerry (the top one in the infobox) is shown during the dance montage to Tower of Power's "What Is Hip?"
- 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.
- In The Sopranos episode "Walk Like a Man," A.J. watches The Yankee Doodle Mouse on TV in the morning.
- 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 Johnny Test episode "Tom and Johnny," Johnny is turned into a mouse by his sisters, and then gets chased by Mr. Mittens in a similar manner to how Tom gets chased and tricked by Jerry. The music is also similar, and the style of the title card is similar to the Tom and Jerry title card with the underlined "and" being the same.
- In the American Dad! episode "Merlot Down Dirty Shame," Roger mentions "Tom and Jerry" as a spa package.
- Tom and Jerry are a question in The Yes! No! Game by Paul Lamond Games.
- In the Fresh off the Boat episode "Cousin Eddie," Jessica forbids Eddie to go to New York by himself because he is still too young, using the fact that he still watches Tom and Jerry as an example, although Eddie corrects her when she says "Ben and Jerry."
- 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 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.
- "Episode Five" (series 12): Alan Carr goes on a rant on the phone to a real representative of the European Commission office about powerful hoovers being banned, asking if the Prime Ministers were afraid that the whole room would be sucked in like in Tom and Jerry.
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.
-
Ted & Jimmy reenactment. -
Sleazy and Cheezy! title card. -
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.
See also
Footnotes
References
- ^ a b Barrier, Michael. Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age; p. 192, 281. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516729-5.
- ^ Cat and Mouse: The Tale of Tom and Jerry (bonus documentary from the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Vol. 3 DVD set).
- ^ a b c d Arnold, William (August 8, 1993). "Tom and Jerry make their big screen comeback". Caster Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019.
- ^ 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 February 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.
- ^ Sennett, Ted (1989). The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity. pp. 14–17. ISBN 978-0670829781.
- ^ "The 13th Academy Awards | 1941". oscars.org. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (1997). Interview With Joseph Barbera. Television Academy. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
- ^ Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century, p.76. Turner Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57036-042-8.
- ^ "日本全国徹底調査！好きなアニメランキング100". Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (December 12, 2024). "‘Tom And Jerry’ Turned Loose By Warner Bros Pictures Animation: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack & Michael Govier Set To Write Script". Deadline. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ Matt Groening on How The Simpsons Theme Was Influenced by Carl Stalling and Other Great Composers. LA Phil (September 5, 2014). Retrieved April 25, 2023.
