Mouse into Space

Last updated
Mouse into Space
Directed by Gene Deitch
Animation direction:
Václav Bedřich
Story by Tod Dockstader
Produced by William L. Snyder
Starring Allen Swift (uncredited)
Music by Steven Konichek (uncredited)
Animation byJindra Barta
Antonín Bures
Mirek Kacena
Milan Klikar
Vera Kudrnová
Vera Maresová
Olga Sisková
Zdenka Skrípková
Zdenek Smetana
(all uncredited)
Checking:
Ludmila Kopecná (uncredited)
Backgrounds byBackground paint:
Bohumil Siska (uncredited)
Helped by:
Miluse Hluchanicová (uncredited)
Color process Metrocolor
Production
company
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • April 13, 1962 (1962-04-13)
Running time
6:48
Countries United States
Czechoslovakia
Language English

Mouse into Space is a Tom and Jerry animated short film released on April 13, 1962 (copyrighted 1961). [1] It was the fifth of the thirteen cartoons in the series to be directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Contents

Plot

The short begins with Jerry reading a magazine, in which they announce "that life is much better in space for a mouse" and Tom stealthily places a revolver to Jerry's head and shoots, but Jerry reacts quickly and avoids his death. He gets angry and continues reading, but Tom plants a bomb that Jerry pushes out just before it explodes.

Jerry reads that there are no cats in space, so he packs up to head off to space. A sad Tom tries to convince him to stay putting a hammer, a revolver, and even a bomb on his head, but Jerry ruthlessly ignores him and leaves home, saddening Tom. Jerry enlists as an astro-mouse, and after passing the test he proceeds to the rocket ship. Tom falls into depression and drinks alcohol on an evening walk, and in his intoxicated state, he sleeps in a tube that was actually the gasoline hose of a rocket. By night, a fuel truck arrives and a man resembling Tom’s owner from Down and Outing and High Steaks gets down to connect the hose to the fuel tank of the truck and turns the crank, releasing gasoline into the hose. Tom wakes up from the noise but unfortunately, the gasoline has already drowned him so he tries to swim above, but moments later the astronaut hits the launch button, igniting the gasoline into the fire. Tom climbs above the fire before it reaches him and eventually, the bottommost part of the rocket falls off once the rocket enters space so Tom manages to survive. But the astronaut hits the number 2 button so the bottommost parts of the rocket again release fire and fall off and Tom jumps to the main rocket every time the bottommost part he is standing on falls off until only a small conical capsule remains on the main rocket.

When Tom opens the capsule, he is very happy to see Jerry. He immediately jumps into it, closes the cap, then moves Jerry's chair making it spin fast. While he laughs incessantly, Tom accidentally presses a button that makes the capsule spin and completely changes its track into a loopy zigzag, and the force of the spinning capsule coupled with a loosely-hinged door easily pushes Tom out of the capsule sending him slowly flying into space due to zero gravity. A different capsule manages to collide with Tom, and when he opens it he finds a Soviet Bulldog resembling Spike. The frightened Tom flees, but not knowing how to move fast in space he cannot defend himself from a stampede of moonstones, one of which traps him inside it. As a lost Jerry navigates the capsule into space he senses a falling stone, and he turns the capsule so the pointed tip splits open the moonstone, releasing Tom. Tom fell back to Earth's gravity zone, but as his downward velocity increases a piece of the moonstone stuck to Tom's waist, heats up to such a point that Tom shoots out of the moonstone, but not fast enough to escape the gravity zone, and falls to the earth in pieces in which Jerry laughs at Tom's predicament; as once he realizes that Tom was stuck in the moonstone, it cracked. Jerry's capsule calmly lands in the space center when its in-built parachute activates.

Tom barely reaches home seeing Jerry is proud and jumps through the window with a hammer, gun, and bomb, but he drops those items after instantly noticing that Jerry won a medal for his successful space trip. Tom merrily greets Jerry and Jerry merrily greets Tom back before asking him to light a cigar for him. Instead of the cigar, Tom treacherously lights his shiny medal to set him on fire and kill him, but it backfires since the medal turns out to function as a jetpack as well, and Jerry now from his medal jetpack gives chase to Tom, forcing him to pack up his belongings and move out of the house. Jerry cheerfully waves farewell to Tom as the cartoon closes.

Reception

In their book The Encyclopedia of Cartoon Superstars: From A to (almost) Z, authors John Calwey and Jim Korkis noted that while the Deitch shorts "were never as funny as the classics, they did have a quirky style all their own", believing that Deitch "was able to maintain the inner side of the characters by having them show occasional feelings". In Mouse into Space, as "one of the more bizarre examples", Tom becomes "so full of despair, that he takes to the bottle!". [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Cat</span> Fictional American cat

Thomas Jasper "Tom" Cat Sr. is an American cartoon character and one of the two titular main protagonists in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical animated short films. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, he is a grey and white anthropomorphic domestic short haired tuxedo British cat who first appeared in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss Gets the Boot. The cat was known as "Jasper" during his debut in the short; however, beginning with his next appearance in The Midnight Snack he was known as "Tom" or "Thomas".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Mouse</span> Fictional mouse

Gerald Jinx "Jerry" Mouse is an American cartoon character and one of the two titular characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical animated short films and other animated media, usually acting as the protagonist opposite his rival Tom Cat. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Jerry is an anthropomorphic brown house mouse, who first appeared as a mouse named Jinx in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss Gets the Boot. Hanna gave the mouse's original name as "Jinx", while Barbera claimed the mouse went unnamed in his first appearance.

Tom and Jerry is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the enmity between the titular characters of a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. Many shorts also feature several recurring characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Deitch</span> American illustrator, animator, and film director (1924–2020)

Eugene Merril Deitch was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons such as Munro, Tom Terrific, and Nudnik, as well as his work on the Popeye and Tom and Jerry series.

Johann Mouse is a 1953 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 75th Tom and Jerry cartoon, released in theaters on March 21, 1953 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The short is directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, composed by Scott Bradley, and animated by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge, and Irven Spence. It won the 1952 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, the seventh and last Oscar given to a Tom and Jerry short.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mammy Two Shoes</span> Character in the Tom & Jerry series

Mammy Two Shoes is a fictional character in MGM's Tom and Jerry cartoons. She is a middle-aged African American woman based on the mammy stereotype.

<i>The Little Whirlwind</i> 1941 Mickey Mouse cartoon

The Little Whirlwind is an animated short subject, part of the Mickey Mouse series, produced by Walt Disney for Walt Disney Productions. The short was released by RKO Radio Pictures on February 14, 1941. The film was directed by Riley Thomson, and animated by Ward Kimball, Fred Moore, Ken Muse, Jim Armstrong, Les Clark, John Elliotte, Fred Jones, Walt Kelly, and Frank Follmer with effects animation by Art Fitzpatrick. It was the 110th short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released, and the first for that year.

<i>The Little Orphan</i> 1949 animated short film by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera

The Little Orphan is a 1949 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 40th Tom and Jerry cartoon, released in theaters on April 30, 1949 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with music by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Ray Patterson. The short features Nibbles, a young mouse who is insatiably hungry.

<i>Pent-House Mouse</i> 1963 animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Pent-House Mouse is the first Tom and Jerry short produced by Chuck Jones after being fired from Warner Bros. Cartoons, released in 1963. Production returned to Hollywood after five years. It is the only cartoon to be produced in 1963.

The Midnight Snack is a Tom and Jerry cartoon released on July 19, 1941. It is the second of the Tom and Jerry films, returning to the basic premise of the previous film, Puss Gets the Boot, following that cartoon's Academy Awards nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike and Tyke (characters)</span> Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon characters

Spike and Tyke are fictional characters from the Tom and Jerry animated film series, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Spike is portrayed as an English Bulldog, who is generally amiable and friendly, and a loving father to his son Tyke in several episodes. However, Spike's character also has a very stern and fierce side for occasions, such as when he is defending his son Tyke.

<i>The A-Tom-inable Snowman</i> 1966 film

The A-Tom-inable Snowman is a 1966 Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Abe Levitow, written by Bob Ogle and produced by Chuck Jones, with the opening scene written and directed by Jones. The title is a reference to the legendary creature, the Abominable Snowman.

<i>Puss n Boats</i> 1966 film

Puss 'n' Boats is a 1966 Tom and Jerry short directed by Abe Levitow and produced by Chuck Jones, and is the first short with Carl Brandt as music composer. The title's a play-on-words of the phrase "Puss in Boots", and is similar to Cruise Cat (1952), from the Hanna-Barbera era.

<i>Calypso Cat</i> 1962 American film

Calypso Cat is a Tom and Jerry animated short film, produced in 1961 and released on June 22, 1962. It was the seventh of the thirteen cartoons in the series to be directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in Czechoslovakia.

<i>The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit</i> 1962 film by Gene Deitch

The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit is a Tom and Jerry animated short film, produced and released on August 10, 1962. It was the ninth cartoon in a series of thirteen to be directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in Czechoslovakia. It updates its copyright to the current year 1962 as opposed to the 1961 copyright of Dicky Moe.

<i>Soup or Sonic</i> 1980 American TV series or program

Soup or Sonic is an animated cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. It was first aired on May 21, 1980 as a part of the television special Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over and was one of three new cartoons released. This is the only canonical cartoon in which Wile E. Coyote catches the Road Runner without him escaping afterward, although due to the existing circumstances, Wile E. is physically unable to actually eat the Road Runner.

<i>Birdy and the Beast</i> 1944 American film

Birdy and the Beast is a 1944 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on August 19, 1944, and stars Tweety.

Chaser on the Rocks is a 1965 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical animated short directed by Rudy Larriva. The short was released on December 25, 1965, and stars Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The title is a pun on the phrase: "Water on the Rocks".

<i>Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection</i> Collection of Tom and Jerry cartoons

Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection is a one-disc DVD collection of animated short cartoons starring Tom and Jerry, all directed by Gene Deitch and released in 1961–62. It was released on June 2, 2015, in Region 1.

References

  1. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 150–151. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7.
  2. ↑ Cawley, John; Jim Korkis (1990). The Encyclopedia of Cartoon Superstars: From A to (almost) Z. Las Vegas, NV: Pioneer. ISBN   1-55698-269-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.