DarthGonzo
11-23-2001, 07:40 PM
Here's something I thought I'd try. Ever so often I'll take a Tom and Jerry cartoon, summarize it and discuss it, with hopes that members here will in turn give their thoughts. I figured I'd start with a more notorious Tom and Jerry cartoon
His Mouse Friday
released July 7th, 1951
directed by William Hannah and Joseph Barbera
animated by Irven Spence, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge and Kenneth Muse
musical direction by Scott Bradley
Summary
Tom (wearing a torn pair of red pants and a pair of shoes) is floating in the middle of the ocean aboard a wooden raft, and is literally so hungry that he eats his shoe. Eventually he spots an island and apparently the ocean is so eager to get him there that it flicks him off the raft onto the island. After some painful attempts at eating both a coconut and a turtle, Tom runs across Jerry, who apparently is also marooned on the island. The chase begins after Tom tries to cook Jerry on a frying pan and eventually the pair end up in a deserted native village. Tom is already on pins and needles thanks to the surroundings, so Jerry plays on his fear by dressing as a cannibal and ordering the terrified cat to cook himself in a pot. When Jerry's desguise falls apart, Tom discovers that he's been had. Just as the chase begins anew, Tom runs into a group of real cannibals who decide the cat looks good enough to eat. Jerry is also not so lucky, as a pigmy cannibal decides mouse would also be a tasty dish.
Nits
Toms remaining shoe dissapears into thin air as soon as he hits land at the beginning of the cartoon.
Comments
His Mouse Friday is not a terribly funny short, most likely because the characters are quite out of their element here. The island theme works with certain characters such as Bugs (see Wackiki Wabbit) but really doesnt fit Tom and Jerry. However, this cartoon is infamous because it has the longest lasting blackface gag in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Jerry's desguise is the focal point of the entire second half of the cartoon, and it is not surprising that this cartoon has not shown up in any form on Cartoon Network. Making this cartoon's situation much worse is the fact that, upon rerelease, all the native dialouge, both from Jerry and the cannibals, was muted. This has the unfortunate consequence of making the cartoon completely incomprehensible, althouh a "hold the onions" gag is easy to spot. The cartoon was released on both the "Art of Tom and Jerry" laserdisc and the VHS tape "Tom and Jerry on Parade" in this form. When and if it will ever been rereleased on video or DVD is not known, but it does not look likely, considering the recent trend towards officially altering Tom and Jerry cartoons by redubbing all Mammy Two-Shoes shorts and the recent editing of The Little Orphan for video and television airings.
The animation is decent for this period in the series, with Patterson, Spence and Barge all getting good portions of the cartoon to work with. As expected, Patterson animates most of the scenes of Jerry talking, as he was always the animater who handled such scenes. As always, Spence animated the sequences requiring the most physical movement, such as the opening raft scene. As is typical for the early 1950s Tom and Jerry shorts, Kenneth Muse has little to do. Although his animation was usually the strongest among the staff working on the cartoons, the scene he's given toward the end of the cartoon comes and goes so quick (and is interspliced with some Barge stuff) that it's a shame.
Bradley's score is top notch here, with quite a few new themes popping up here and there. His most skillful arrangement is a nice melding of a deep native dance beat with a brassy fanfare for a scene in which Jerry drops his native "character" to quickly tap dance for the camera. The central theme here is the peppy "The Worry Song" instrumental (from Anchors Aweigh) which was also used in The Truce Hurts and Hatch Up Your Troubles.
All in all, His Mouse Friday is a very interesting Tom and Jerry cartoon. It's different from most cartoons before it, and worth tracking down simply for that reason alone. Having never seen a version complete with original dialouge, I cannot reccomend a way of tracking down a copy that is not edited. If anyone knows what Jerry and the natives are saying, please post a response.
His Mouse Friday
released July 7th, 1951
directed by William Hannah and Joseph Barbera
animated by Irven Spence, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge and Kenneth Muse
musical direction by Scott Bradley
Summary
Tom (wearing a torn pair of red pants and a pair of shoes) is floating in the middle of the ocean aboard a wooden raft, and is literally so hungry that he eats his shoe. Eventually he spots an island and apparently the ocean is so eager to get him there that it flicks him off the raft onto the island. After some painful attempts at eating both a coconut and a turtle, Tom runs across Jerry, who apparently is also marooned on the island. The chase begins after Tom tries to cook Jerry on a frying pan and eventually the pair end up in a deserted native village. Tom is already on pins and needles thanks to the surroundings, so Jerry plays on his fear by dressing as a cannibal and ordering the terrified cat to cook himself in a pot. When Jerry's desguise falls apart, Tom discovers that he's been had. Just as the chase begins anew, Tom runs into a group of real cannibals who decide the cat looks good enough to eat. Jerry is also not so lucky, as a pigmy cannibal decides mouse would also be a tasty dish.
Nits
Toms remaining shoe dissapears into thin air as soon as he hits land at the beginning of the cartoon.
Comments
His Mouse Friday is not a terribly funny short, most likely because the characters are quite out of their element here. The island theme works with certain characters such as Bugs (see Wackiki Wabbit) but really doesnt fit Tom and Jerry. However, this cartoon is infamous because it has the longest lasting blackface gag in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Jerry's desguise is the focal point of the entire second half of the cartoon, and it is not surprising that this cartoon has not shown up in any form on Cartoon Network. Making this cartoon's situation much worse is the fact that, upon rerelease, all the native dialouge, both from Jerry and the cannibals, was muted. This has the unfortunate consequence of making the cartoon completely incomprehensible, althouh a "hold the onions" gag is easy to spot. The cartoon was released on both the "Art of Tom and Jerry" laserdisc and the VHS tape "Tom and Jerry on Parade" in this form. When and if it will ever been rereleased on video or DVD is not known, but it does not look likely, considering the recent trend towards officially altering Tom and Jerry cartoons by redubbing all Mammy Two-Shoes shorts and the recent editing of The Little Orphan for video and television airings.
The animation is decent for this period in the series, with Patterson, Spence and Barge all getting good portions of the cartoon to work with. As expected, Patterson animates most of the scenes of Jerry talking, as he was always the animater who handled such scenes. As always, Spence animated the sequences requiring the most physical movement, such as the opening raft scene. As is typical for the early 1950s Tom and Jerry shorts, Kenneth Muse has little to do. Although his animation was usually the strongest among the staff working on the cartoons, the scene he's given toward the end of the cartoon comes and goes so quick (and is interspliced with some Barge stuff) that it's a shame.
Bradley's score is top notch here, with quite a few new themes popping up here and there. His most skillful arrangement is a nice melding of a deep native dance beat with a brassy fanfare for a scene in which Jerry drops his native "character" to quickly tap dance for the camera. The central theme here is the peppy "The Worry Song" instrumental (from Anchors Aweigh) which was also used in The Truce Hurts and Hatch Up Your Troubles.
All in all, His Mouse Friday is a very interesting Tom and Jerry cartoon. It's different from most cartoons before it, and worth tracking down simply for that reason alone. Having never seen a version complete with original dialouge, I cannot reccomend a way of tracking down a copy that is not edited. If anyone knows what Jerry and the natives are saying, please post a response.