Quiet Please!

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Quiet Please!
Quiet Please! (T&J) poster.jpg
Theatrical Poster
Directed by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Written byWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Produced by Fred Quimby
StarringWilliam Hanna
Harry E. Lang
Billy Bletcher
Music by Scott Bradley
Animation by Ray Patterson
Irven Spence
Kenneth Muse
Ed Barge
Layouts by Harvey Eisenberg (uncredited)
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • December 22, 1945 (1945-12-22)
  • March 28, 1953 (1953-03-28)(re-issue)
Running time
7:36
LanguageEnglish

Quiet Please! is a 1945 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 22nd Tom and Jerry short, it was released on December 22, 1945. [1] It was produced by Fred Quimby, directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with the music score by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Ken Muse and Ed Barge. Quiet Please! won the 1945 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, [2] [3] [4] their third consecutive award. [5] It was reissued on March 28, 1953.

Contents

Plot

Spike is trying to take a nap, but Tom disturbs him while chasing Jerry with Tom sometimes hitting Spike with his weapons by accident. Spike finally had enough with him grabbing Tom and telling him to keep it down or things will get physical. Spike then goes back to sleep. Jerry overhears this, and does many things to try to wake Spike with Tom having to stop Spike from waking up. At one point, Jerry made Tom drop multiple light bulbs, waking Spike up for a second, but Tom quickly makes Spike fall back to sleep by singing Rock-a-bye Baby.

To prevent Spike from waking up, Tom gives him a medication called "knock out drops". Jerry doesn't realize this, as he starts playing a drum loudly. Tom takes the drum and starts playing it on the asleep Spike and shows Jerry the medication, to his shock. Jerry runs to the kitchen and writes a will with it promising a custard pie. Tom asks Jerry to have it with Jerry throwing the pie at Tom's face. Jerry would try many ways to wake Spike up, but none of them would work.

After getting his toe flattened by Jerry hitting it with a hammer, he sees Jerry lighting a stick of dynamite under Spike. Tom tries to remove the dynamite, which would finally wake Spike up. Spike would growl at Tom, with Tom leaving him to get blown up by the explosive. This infuriates Spike as he beats Tom up. An injured Tom with casts and patches all over his body rocks Spike and Jerry in a cradle.

Voice cast

Production

Reception

Ben Simon states that Quiet Please! "plays on a similar premise as [The] Million Dollar Cat ". But he praises the cartoon's formulaic approach, stating that "it’s often amazing to see them picking up plaudits for generally routine outings or cartoons based on others’ ideas, situations and gags." [7]

Author Thad Komorowski praises the cartoon as it is "(f)unny stuff," though he finds it strange as it is "an Oscar-winner, for some reason." [8]

A Motion Picture Herald editor says that it is a "(g)ood cartoon with a lot of laughs". [9]

Quiet Please! won the 1945 Oscar for Best Animated Short Subject, making it the 3rd out of 4 consecutive wins Tom and Jerry won from 1943 to 1946. [2] [3] [4]

Availability

DVD:

Blu-ray:

References

  1. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 144. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7.
  2. 1 2 "The 18th Academy Awards (1946) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on November 11, 2025. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Joseph Barbera". the-independent.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 143. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7.
  5. ↑ Motion Picture Herald . Quigley Publishing Co. 1946. p. 310. ISBN   978-0670829781 . Retrieved January 22, 2026.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  6. 1 2 Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices: of the Golden Age, 1930-1970 - Volume Two: Selected Filmographies with Voice Credits. Orlando: BearManor Media. p. 130. ISBN   979-8-88771-010-5 . Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Warner Bros. Academy Award Animation Collection : 15 Winners, 26 Nominees". animatedviews.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Thad's Review – Part 1: "Tom & Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology 1940-1958"". cartoonresearch.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  9. ↑ Motion Picture Herald . Quigley Publishing Co. 1946. p. 128. ISBN   978-0670829781 . Retrieved January 22, 2026.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  10. 1 2 Milligan, Mercedes (September 9, 2025). "Iconic Cartoon Duo 'Tom and Jerry' Coming to 'Golden Era Anthology' Set in December". Animation Magazine . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
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