I remember sitting in front of our black and white Grundig TV watching a cartoon cat tearing his hair out because he was sick of the pesky mouse that slept in a sardine can bed behind the skirting board in his house. Try as he might to take him out with a trap loaded with cheese, the mouse, as always, safely removed the cheesy snack and sauntered away with a full belly and a huge grin every time. You probably remember what happens next. The story almost always ends with the cat yelling out in pain as yet another of his plans backfires. Sometimes he would tumble backwards down the basement steps whilst Jerry leant nonchalantly on the door, or a firecracker would explode in his face, or Spike the dog would decide to join in the fun and chase Tom up a tree. Whatever happened Tom never won and Jerry always got his cheese.
Say cheese!
Yes, I'm talking Tom and Jerry (the cat and mouse ones and not the two weird-looking sub-humans with squeaky voices who were around in the twenties). That cat and mouse duo were dreamt up by Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera who were working in MGM's animation department and struggling to have the same success that other studios were having with popular characters like Porky Pig and Mickey Mouse. Eventually though, they came up with a cat and mouse chase idea, not very original even then, but it was a winner. 'Puss gets the Boot' was the first cartoon which they released, back in 1940 with Tom a little bit furrier and quite a lot more evil looking. The unlikely pair's debut was an immediate hit and won the studio an Oscar nomination for best animated short, but despite the duo being their idea and work, Hanna and Barbera were not credited.
It was like that back then (still is actually), the 'vermin' did all the work, but it was the fat cats (the real vermin) who got the credit, in this case, it was Frederick Clinton Quimby the producer. He of the extravagant flowing swashbuckling signature fame.
Yes, I'm talking Tom and Jerry (the cat and mouse ones and not the two weird-looking sub-humans with squeaky voices who were around in the twenties). That cat and mouse duo were dreamt up by Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera who were working in MGM's animation department and struggling to have the same success that other studios were having with popular characters like Porky Pig and Mickey Mouse. Eventually though, they came up with a cat and mouse chase idea, not very original even then, but it was a winner. 'Puss gets the Boot' was the first cartoon which they released, back in 1940 with Tom a little bit furrier and quite a lot more evil looking. The unlikely pair's debut was an immediate hit and won the studio an Oscar nomination for best animated short, but despite the duo being their idea and work, Hanna and Barbera were not credited.
It was like that back then (still is actually), the 'vermin' did all the work, but it was the fat cats (the real vermin) who got the credit, in this case, it was Frederick Clinton Quimby the producer. He of the extravagant flowing swashbuckling signature fame.
At first, T and J were called Jasper and Jinx, but later transformed into Tom and Jerry as the names were more American and not at all effeminate deary. I loved the two cartoon characters and for some reason it never struck me as odd that they never spoke (well they were animals, mind you Mickey and Minnie could talk), in fact, I think that was part of the reason for their success. You had to watch, not listen and cartoons were for watching - and boy did I watch. The silent movie type music that tinkled away in the background of all that crazy violent action was composed by Scott Bradley and Tom's trademark human-like scream, as he fell off of yet another roof, was always voiced by Hanna himself.
Of course, by today's standards, Tom and Jerry was all wrong, it was way, way, too violent for today and Tom's face was often flattened and reshaped by an iron - CLANGGG! - or he'd run out of road at the edge of a cliff - AGGGGGGHHHHH! - or a firework would explode in his face - BANGGGG! He never seemed to come to too much harm though and he was always around for the next cartoon. Then there was that 'innocent' racist thing going on, with black housekeepers (from waist down only) wandering around in flappy slippers in the occasional shot, talking in the deepest of deep south stereotypical accents whilst eating watermelon and wearing pipe cleaner curlers (I think I must have imagined the watermelon and curler thing unless her head was below her stomach).
It was all innocent fun back then though especially to a boy that lived in a relatively innocent world. These days it would cause an outrageous pouring out of outrage and indignation by outraged and indignated Mr Snowflake from outer somewhere or other and his children would not be allowed to watch such derisive and divisive fun. Yep, get off your horse and drink your milk boy, it's just a cartoon so don't take it so seriously, laugh a little.
Eventually, all good things change and In 1961 MGM outsourced Tom and Jerry to a studio in Prague to save on costs, Hanna and Barbera had been sacked long before and the new whitewashed cartoons didn't really stand up to the originals. I think I can identify with Jerry a little because there was always an oppressor in my life just as Tom always tried to oppress Jerry (or eat him in a sandwich actually).
That's all Folks!
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