The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit

Last updated
The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit
The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit title card.png
The title card of The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit.
Directed by Gene Deitch
Animation direction:
Václav Bedrich
Story byChris Jenkyns
Produced by William L. Snyder
Starring Allen Swift
Music by Steven Konichek
Animation byUncredited animation:
Jindra Barta
Antonín Bures
Mirek Kacena
Milan Klikar
Vera Kudrnová
Vera Maresová
Olga Sisková
Zdenka Skrípková
Zdenek Smetana
Checking:
Ludmila Kopecná (uncredited)
Backgrounds byBackground paint:
Bohumil Siska (uncredited)
Assistant background paint:
Miluse Hluchanicová (uncredited)
Color process Metrocolor [1]
Production
company
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [1]
Release date
  • August 10, 1962 (1962-08-10)
Running time
6:39
Countries United States
Czechoslovakia
Language English

The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit is a Tom and Jerry animated short film, produced and released on August 10, 1962. [2] It was the ninth cartoon in a series of thirteen to be directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in Czechoslovakia. [3] It updates its copyright to the current year 1962 as opposed to the 1961 copyright of Dicky Moe.

Contents

The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit is a sarcastic attack on the series as a whole and its formulaic approach, which the short mocks as excessively violent and designed solely for profit. [4] Deitch had strongly divergent views on animation compared to Tom and Jerry's creators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, that he openly expressed throughout his lifetime. [5]

Plot

The cartoon begins with a demonstration for the Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit, with which "anyone can now enter the lucrative field of animated cartoons." The items in the kit include the following:

The narrator says, "First, put the sweet, lovable mouse into a simple situation expressing a natural human need, such as eating a slice of watermelon contained in our kit. The result may not make sense, but it will last long enough for you to be comfortably seated before the feature begins." This statement refers to the original theatrical exhibition of the cartoon, which ran ahead of a feature film.

At first, Jerry eats the watermelon on the table and spits the seeds out, hitting and waking Tom, who initially grabs the hammer to attempt to hit Jerry but instead flicks him in the back of his head. Jerry swallows the seeds by accident, causing him to turn green for a moment and then make sounds like a shaker when he moves and goes into a lively dance until Tom traps him in a metal can. Tom uses Jerry as a maraca for his own dance; when the effect suddenly stops, Tom peeks inside only to get a mouthful of seeds spat into his face. Outraged, he devours the rest of the watermelon and turns his head into a cannon to fire blasts of seeds at Jerry, who takes cover in the kit box just before Tom hits it, damaging it and destroying the stick of dynamite.

The knife included in the kit sticks in the floor, barely missing Jerry, who begins to teach himself judo from a book that has landed nearby. He emerges with enough fighting skill to easily overpower Tom, even after the latter undergoes boxing training and then tries to attack with the knife. Tom eventually attends a judo school in order to face Jerry on even terms. The two then hold a breaking contest, in which each tries to outdo the other: Jerry with a wooden board, Tom with a brick, then Jerry again with a cement block. When Tom tries to break a huge block of marble, the bricks holding it up fracture and it crashes through the floor, taking him with it.

An unconscious Tom ends up in the battered box. Jerry replaces the lid as the narrator concludes, "Our next film will be for the kiddies, and will demonstrate a new poison gas. Thank you and good night." The wording on the lid has changed to read "The End – An MGM Cartoon." The music winds to a stop as if being played on a slowing phonograph record, and Jerry bows to the audience before the screen fades to black.

Reception

While the Deitch shorts were generally negatively received by Tom and Jerry fans, [6] this particular short is often considered one of the best of the thirteen cartoons, due to its inventive plotline and satirical nature. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Quimby</span> American animation producer, and journalist

Frederick Clinton Quimby was an American animation producer and journalist best known for producing the Tom and Jerry cartoon series, for which he won seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Films. He was the film sales executive in charge of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, which included Tex Avery, Droopy, Butch Dog, Barney Bear, Michael Lah and multiple one-shot cartoons, as well as William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the creators of Tom and Jerry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden age of American animation</span> Period of animation where theatrical sound cartoons were common and popular

The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound synchronized cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television. Animated media from after the golden age, especially on television, were produced on cheaper budgets and with more limited techniques between the late 1950s and 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrytoons</span> American animation studio

Terrytoons was an American animation studio headquartered in New Rochelle, New York that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973. It was founded by Paul Terry, Frank Moser, and Joseph Coffman, and operated out of the "K" Building in downtown New Rochelle. The studio created many cartoon characters including Fanny Zilch, Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Little Roquefort, the Terry Bears, Dimwit, and Luno; Terry's pre-existing character Farmer Al Falfa was also featured often in the series.

<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.

<i>Red Hot Riding Hood</i> 1943 American animated short film directed by Tex Avery

Red Hot Riding Hood is an animated cartoon short subject, directed by Tex Avery and released with the movie Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case on May 8, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994, it was voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, making it the highest ranked MGM cartoon on the list. It is one of Avery's most popular cartoons, inspiring several of his own "sequel" shorts as well as influencing other cartoons and feature films for years afterward.

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.

<i>The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show</i> 1980 American animated television program

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show is an American animated television series produced by Filmation for MGM Television featuring the popular cartoon duo Tom and Jerry. The show first aired on September 6, 1980 on CBS and continued until December 13 the same year. Its episodes were eventually added to syndicated Tom and Jerry packages in 1983. Episodes of the show also occasionally appear on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

<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.

This is a complete list of the 166 shorts in the Tom and Jerry series produced and released between 1940 and 2021. Of these, 162 are theatrical shorts, one is a made-for-TV short, one is a two-minute sketch shown as part of a telethon, and two are special shorts released on HBO Max.

<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.

The Night Before Christmas is a 1941 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the third Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby and animated by Jack Zander, George Gordon, Irven Spence and Bill Littlejohn. It was nominated for the 1941 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, but lost to the Mickey Mouse short film Lend a Paw, making it the only Tom and Jerry cartoon to lose to a Disney film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio</span> Division of MGM film studio responsible for producing animated shorts

The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to accompany MGM feature films in Loew's Theaters, which included popular cartoon characters Tom, Jerry, Droopy, Butch, Spike, Tyke, and Barney Bear.

Mouse into Space is a Tom and Jerry animated short film released on April 13, 1962. 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.

<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>Alice of Wonderland in Paris</i> 1966 Czechoslovakia film

Alice of Wonderland in Paris or Alice in a New Wonderland is a 1966 Czech-American animated film directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in extreme limited animation.

<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.

<i>Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection</i> DVD set of Tom and Jerry cartoons

The Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection is a two-disc DVD set, released by Warner Home Video.

References

  1. 1 2 Copyright Office (1963). "Works of Art". Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series. Vol. 17. United States Government Publishing Office. p. 47. Retrieved May 17, 2016– via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 150–151. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7.
  3. ↑ Beck, Jerry (February 6, 2015). "Warner Bros. Home Entertainment To Release 'Tom & Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection' DVD on June 2nd". Animation Scoop. Indiewire . Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  4. ↑ Deitch, Gene (2001). "Tom & Jerry: The First Reincarnation". How To Succeed in Animation. Animation World Network. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
  5. ↑ Gene Deitch (2001). "How to Succeed in Animation: Chapter 28: A Tangled Web". Animation World Network. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  6. ↑ Nessel, Jen (August 9, 1998). "Made In Prague, Bound for the U.S." The New York Times . p. 2. Retrieved May 17, 2016. 'All the experts say they're the worst of the 'Tom and Jerry's,' Mr. Deitch readily admitted.
  7. ↑ Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award-1961-Cartoon Research
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.