The Two Mouseketeers

[dougc]

We all know that Tex Avery got in trouble with Leon Schlesinger partially becuase Leon did not want his cartoon star (Bugs) to seemingly die due to that infamous fall off the cliff.
The Tom and Jerry cartoon "The Two Mouseketeers" ends with the implication that Tom has met his demise at the guillotine. I was curious as to why Hanna and Barbera were not afraid of any backlash from the apparent death of one of the greatest cartoon characters of the 20th Century, especially after what happened to their MGM stable mate, Tex. Does anyone know if there was any public or studio comment after "The Two Mouseketeers" was released?
In my opinion, the ending seemed rather odd for H-B. (Jerry and Nibbles at first swallow hard at seeing the guillotine fall, then Nibbles says, "Pouvre, pouvre pussycat" (Poor, poor pussycat) before ending with a jovial "C'est la guerre!" (Such is war!) as the two march merrily along eating what they took from the king's dinner table. Although they fight constantly, I believe that Tom and Jerry always seemed to have a mutual resepct for each other, and the ending seemed to brush off Tom's apparent death.
Any comments?
dougc

[PlopKat]

This is all just speculation; I've never heard of any objection to The Two Mouseketeers. Here are reasons I think there was no backlash for Hanna & Barbera:

1) Tom & Jerry had been cartoon stars for over ten years when The Two Mouseketeers was released. Bugs Bunny had only been in less than ten cartoons when The Heckling Hare was made. Seeing the amount of abuse that Tom takes on a regular basis, I think it doubtful that the majority of the audience expected this to be the last Tom & Jerry cartoon.

2). It's a period picture and takes place in the past. To use some comic book terms, it could be an "Elseworlds" or "What If."

Then again, I agree with you, dougc, and find the ending harsh. I would have liked to see Tom put his head back on and chase Jerry & Nibbles into the horizon.

-PlopKat

[BobChief]

PlopKat: 2). It's a period picture and takes place in the past.

Anyhow, neither you nor they see anything more than the top of the guillotine.
While Tom's getting the 'ziggy'* can easily be inferred by some, nobody knows for sure...

Pity, one of many things they could have asked Bill or Joe about... :(

*term attributed to a famous basketball coach

[Jon Cooke]

What about the rather depressing ending of "Blue Cat Blues"? We don't actually see our heroes die, but it's pretty close...


-Jon