Worst Tom and Jerry Cartoon?

[PorkyandDaffy]

What do you think is the worst Tom and Jerry cartoon ever? Please try to pick one from the Hanna-Barbera era. Picking a Jones or Deitch cartoon might be too easy.

For me, I'll probably vote for HAPPY GO DUCKY. I really don't care for any of the "Letterboxed" Tom and Jerry cartoons, but this one really takes the cake.

[DarthGonzo]

Originally posted by PorkyandDaffy
What do you think is the worst Tom and Jerry cartoon ever? Please try to pick one from the Hanna-Barbera era. Picking a Jones or Deitch cartoon might be too easy.

For me, I'll probably vote for HAPPY GO DUCKY. I really don't care for any of the "Letterboxed" Tom and Jerry cartoons, but this one really takes the cake.

I'm with you. Happy Go Ducky is just horrible. Tot Watchers and Busy Buddies arent very good cartoons either. If the Tom and Jerry series had ended with Robin Hookwinked then it would have been a more worthy final. Another T&J cartoon I cant stand is Southbound Duckling.

[Brandon Pierce]

I forgot the title (I have that problem with a lot of Tom & Jerry cartoons), but I don't like the one where Tom gets beheaded at the end of the cartoon.

[DarthGonzo]

Originally posted by Brandon Pierce
I forgot the title (I have that problem with a lot of Tom & Jerry cartoons), but I don't like the one where Tom gets beheaded at the end of the cartoon.

Ok, that would be The Two Mouseketeers. Actually, did you know this cartoon won an Oscar? Personally, I'm not fond of the Mouseketeer cartoons, but I wouldnt call this one a bad cartoon.

[Tintin]

I am not watch much cartoons which you but my worst at my opinion are "Little Runaway". That's it!

[Brandon Pierce]

Actually, did you know this cartoon won an Oscar?
The judge musta loved Tome losing his head... or he wasn't a big fan of cats. :p

[Lonestarr]

I detest the one (looks like you're not the only one with the title problem, Brandon) where Tom goes to Hell unless Jerry signs a contract or something. I haven't seen it in years.

[DarthGonzo]

Originally posted by Lonestarr
I detest the one (looks like you're not the only one with the title problem, Brandon) where Tom goes to Hell unless Jerry signs a contract or something. I haven't seen it in years.

Man, Heavenly Puss is such a great cartoon, especially the real feeling of frustration you get from Tom when he tried to tell Jerry to sign the contract but he's unable to talk. How can you say you hate a cartoon that you havent seen in years?

[Jon Cooke]

I actually like both "Heavenly Puss" and "Little Runaway". A Tom and Jerry cartoon I don't really care for: "Neapolitan Mouse". I find it rather boring.


-Jon

[Matthew Hunter]

Is "Neapolitan Mouse" the one with the jabbery mouse and the dogs that chase Tom and Jerry around? I don't necessarily dislike that one, I just don't get its point.
Now, for my least favorites, how about those "cute animal" cartoons? there was a whole slew of those...most entitled "Jerry and ___". The worst was the one with the seal, and "Jerry and Jumbo" was pretty lame too. Even the duckling has his moments compared to these chumps.
-Matthew

[DarthGonzo]

Blue Cat Blues is pretty bad too. They start out as best friends in the whole world and then decide to commit suicide together?!

[GrantM]

I was given the impression that the Tom And Jerry cartoons by Gene Deitch were the worst ones made

[Jack]

Originally posted by GrantM13459
I was given the impression that the Tom And Jerry cartoons by Gene Deitch were the worst ones made
PorkyandDaffy specified that we pick Hanna-Barbera episodes for this particular thread.


Jack :D

[chuckamuck43]

I agree with DG - Blue Cat Blues has got to be one of the worst toons EVER!

Tom & Jerry are radically out of character, the animation/design sucks (I hate the Cinema
-scope TJ's), Frees' narration is soporific, and the suicide thing is morbid (not that it does'nt have comic possibilities - can you imagine what Avery could have done with it?).
This whole cartoon is a downer.

Even as a child I remember thinking "poor Tom & Jerry, having to stoop to this..."

[Jon Cooke]

Originally posted by chuckamuck43
I agree with DG - Blue Cat Blues has got to be one of the worst toons EVER!


I think "Blue Cat Blues" has it's moments, it is far from my least favorite T&J.

But that depressing ending does kind of ruin the whole cartoon. I wonder what the heck Hanna and Barbera were thinking when they thought the sight of T&J on the railroad tracks would be a funny way to end a cartoon...


-Jon

[DarthGonzo]

Originally posted by Jon Cooke



I think "Blue Cat Blues" has it's moments, it is far from my least favorite T&J.

But that depressing ending does kind of ruin the whole cartoon. I wonder what the heck Hanna and Barbera were thinking when they thought the sight of T&J on the railroad tracks would be a funny way to end a cartoon...


-Jon

Blue Cat Blues is a really, really depressing cartoon. Most other "Butch steals Tom's girl" plots (such as Muscle Beach Tom, made around the same time) are pretty funny, and the characters never get too depressed over losing their loves. BCB, on the other hand, makes Tom a depressed wreck of a character, and the narration doesnt help matters. The only thing positive I can say about this cartoon is that the music is ok. No wonder CN doesnt show this often. I personally think the best cinemascope cartoon is Tom's Photo Finish.

[Jack]

I really like Mucho Mouse... I think that's a good Cinemascope cartoon.

[J Lee]

"The Flying Sourceress," "Muscle Beach Tom," "Down Beat Bear" and "Pet Peeve" were pretty good Cinemascope cartoons, IMHO, and I hold a special place in my heart for "The Vanishing Duck," because Tom finally gives the annoying gravel-voiced mallard the beating he had long deserved at the end of the cartoon.

"Blue Cat Blues" is pretty awful, and so is "Happy Go Ducky," while the animation short-cuts on "Robin Hoodwinked" are getting uncomfortably close to the level of the H-B made-for-TV stuff (practice run? -- they knew the studio was closing by the time they made it and that they were going to try TV cartoons). "Busy Buddies" also could stay on the shelf for a while without too many people complaining, though at least "Tot Watchers" had the sense to borrow a decent couple of plot themes from the old Fleischer Popeyes (it's a hybrid of "A Dream Walking" and "Lost and Foundry").


Of the non-Cinemascopes, "Neopolitan Mouse" is just plain boring and "The Two Mousketeers" proved that the Academy Oscar judges HAD to be cat haters. And of the Mammy films, my least favorite is the last one, "Push Button Kitty" since Tom really doesn't do anything to deserve what happens to him at the end.

[PorkyandDaffy]

Yeah, I also don't like NEOPOLITAN MOUSE. The cartoon starts out funny, but once the foreign mouse is introduced, it slows way down and gets too tame and boring.

[DarthGonzo]

Originally posted by J Lee
"The Flying Sourceress," "Muscle Beach Tom," "Down Beat Bear" and "Pet Peeve" were pretty good Cinemascope cartoons, IMHO, and I hold a special place in my heart for "The Vanishing Duck," because Tom finally gives the annoying gravel-voiced mallard the beating he had long deserved at the end of the cartoon.

"Blue Cat Blues" is pretty awful, and so is "Happy Go Ducky," while the animation short-cuts on "Robin Hoodwinked" are getting uncomfortably close to the level of the H-B made-for-TV stuff (practice run? -- they knew the studio was closing by the time they made it and that they were going to try TV cartoons). "Busy Buddies" also could stay on the shelf for a while without too many people complaining, though at least "Tot Watchers" had the sense to borrow a decent couple of plot themes from the old Fleischer Popeyes (it's a hybrid of "A Dream Walking" and "Lost and Foundry").

Funny thing about Pet Peeve. Is it really in widescreen? All versions I've ever seen are in full frame (not pan-and-scan) and have no mention of cinemascope.

I agree, the ending of The Vanishing Duck is great.

I just posted a view of Blue Cat Blues.....

And as far as Push Button Kitty is concerned. Yeah, that was kinda cruel to treat Tom that way in the cartoon. He did nothing to Jerry to deserve that.

[Jack]

Originally posted by DarthGonzo


Funny thing about Pet Peeve. Is it really in widescreen? All versions I've ever seen are in full frame (not pan-and-scan) and have no mention of cinemascope.

I agree, the ending of The Vanishing Duck is great.

I just posted a view of Blue Cat Blues.....

And as far as Push Button Kitty is concerned. Yeah, that was kinda cruel to treat Tom that way in the cartoon. He did nothing to Jerry to deserve that.
When Cinemascope was new, not many theaters were equipped to show Cinemaccope films, so MGM filmed cartoons like pet Peeve, Southbound Duckling, and Dixiland Droopy in BOTH formats for wider distribution.

Two versions of Lady and the Tramp also exist, a flat and a widescreen version. Disney did the same thing with its early Cinemacope shorts.

Early live action Cinemascope films were also handled this way.


Jack :D

[Dub]

I think that of the cinemascope pics I like Timid Tabby the best. The ending where Tom and his cousin "grow heads" and scare the bejeezus out of Jerry is ridiculously funny! :D

But of all the T&J's I absolutely abhor any that star the Little Duckling. That duck just annoys the devil out of me. At least the T&J's that had cute characters didnt make the "cute characters" as overbearing as that dang blasted duck :P

You'd swear that he was used so much that he almost became a third wheel. :P At least when Mammy or Tuffy?nibbles was used, they enhanced the story. The duckling never did this and was just used as a "cute vehicle" :P

I dunno - but I like the one with the babies :D Tot Watchers and Busy Buddies. I just like the music of the baby theme. I can hum it in my head right now actually ^^

Blue Cat Blues isnt bad bad...but its extremely depressing. And not mediocre depressing but just plain wrong :(

I'm not sure why the suicide gag was used but it just ended so miserably...and Tom and Jerry just looked miserable...and it makes YOU feel miserable having watched it :(

Show it to a suicidal persona and you'll most likely have him jumping off a cliff :P

[Larry T]

WOW, "Push-Button Kitty" has GOT to be one of my all-time favourite T&J cartoons, I howl with laughter anytime I ever see it!! True, I agree that Tom didn't deserve what happens to him in the ending (but when does he really deserve anything that happens to him in the endings...?), but the sheer fact that Jerry gets bashed around by the mechanical cat and the house gets demolished because of Mammy's so-called "machine age" thinking makes it totally worthwhile!! But, to each his own, I guess...

I also really quite appreciate "Timid Tabby", again, for the unrelentless degradation of Jerry (no, nothing personal really, I just value a sense of balance.... that's one reason I like Woody Woodpecker so much :cool: ). Yes, that ending is thigh-slapping funny!! "Blue Cat Blues" is indeed depressing, but for some reason I think that because it's so out of theme for regular T&J cartoons, there must have been a popular movie or something that influenced the making of this type of cartoon..... :confused:

Although I absolutely can't stand "Dicky Moe" (but we promised to keep Mr. Ditch, oops, I mean Deitch out of this) I'd have to go with "Puppy Tale" as my pick for worst T&J cartoon. Yeah, it's all cute and packed with moralistic values and yappy puppies, but really, it could have been done replacing Tom and Jerry with any other characters. They're just stand-ins for showcasing the attempt to create another character as endearing as the little duck :rolleyes: :mad: . Plus, it's boring. Give me a great beat-em-up cartoon like "Kitty Foiled" or "Trap Happy" any day.....

[lislebartman]

My least favorite T & J cartoons:

"Neopolitan Mouse" - boring
"Hiccup Pup"
"The Puppy Tale"
"Downhearted Duckling"
any of the Gene Deitch T & J cartoons (just pick one)
any of the Chuck Jones "T & J in Outer Space" 'toons
the made-for-TV Hanna-Barbera & Filmation T & J 'toons

Confidentially, they stink!

[DarthGonzo]

Originally posted by lislebartman
My least favorite T & J cartoons:

"Neopolitan Mouse" - boring
"Hiccup Pup"
"The Puppy Tale"
"Downhearted Duckling"
any of the Gene Deitch T & J cartoons (just pick one)
any of the Chuck Jones "T & J in Outer Space" 'toons
the made-for-TV Hanna-Barbera & Filmation T & J 'toons

Confidentially, they stink!

Funny how not many people ever say Tom and Jerry cartoons made between 1940 and 1953 are the worst. Usually the ones the get voted as the worse are all made from 1954 onward. It's funny how, starting that year, alot of very weak Tom and Jerry cartoons started getting made. I think the series went downhill just after Mammy was nixed and Tom lost the white between is eyes.

[J Lee]

Maybe I should have qualified my earlier post -- I don't hate "Push Button Kitty," not in the way I hate those duck cartoons, but in the category of "Cartoons With Mammy" it's on the bottom of that list.

I think having to do nothing but Tom & Jerry cartoons for 14 years finally caught up to Hanna-Barbera in the early 1950s. Tom did start getting a better break in the series, but Joe started running low on story ideas and the Cinemascope/budget cut changes -- MGM cartoons went from looking more lavish than the WB toons in the early 1950s to looking as cheap as the Paramount Noveltoons/Modern Madcaps by 1958 -- really hurt the series.

(Also not all the Dietch cartoons are a waste -- I like the story line for "Carmen Get It" much better than "Tom and Jerry at the Hollywood Bowl," even if the Prague animation is pretty low-rent)

[Frank]

"The Flying Sourceress," "Muscle Beach Tom," "Down Beat Bear" and "Pet Peeve" were pretty good Cinemascope cartoons, IMHO, and I hold a special place in my heart for "The Vanishing Duck," because Tom finally gives the annoying gravel-voiced mallard the beating he had long deserved at the end of the cartoon.

"Blue Cat Blues" is pretty awful, and so is "Happy Go Ducky," while the animation short-cuts on "Robin Hoodwinked" are getting uncomfortably close to the level of the H-B made-for-TV stuff (practice run? -- they knew the studio was closing by the time they made it and that they were going to try TV cartoons). "Busy Buddies" also could stay on the shelf for a while without too many people complaining, though at least "Tot Watchers" had the sense to borrow a decent couple of plot themes from the old Fleischer Popeyes (it's a hybrid of "A Dream Walking" and "Lost and Foundry").


Of the non-Cinemascopes, "Neopolitan Mouse" is just plain boring and "The Two Mousketeers" proved that the Academy Oscar judges HAD to be cat haters. And of the Mammy films, my least favorite is the last one, "Push Button Kitty" since Tom really doesn't do anything to deserve what happens to him at the end.

Was the budget of these 1956-1958 Tom and Jerry cartoons at or below $40,000? They do seem more cheaply animated than the ones in the 1940's and the early 1950's!

[B Mode]

A Toonhead episode(the many faces of Tom) mentioned that they had a budget of 50k, and the Deitch films(made in Czech) had so little that the sound effects and music were almost non-existant.

BTW-I love Blue Cat Blues, and no it doesn't make me suicidal. Haven't you ever felt that bad? If not, your living a wonderful life.

My vote for least favorite H&B toon is Happy Go Ducky and Barbecue Brawl, but they still made my DVD collection. After all, Hanna-Barbera was just too darn good.

Oh, and I've never seen a true Cinemascope T&J on TV, everything is 4:3 aspect ratio. I wish I could of viewed it on the big screen back in the day.

[Thad Komorowski]

Guys, please don't dig up another thread this old again... You've been warned...