DarthGonzo
11-26-2001, 08:12 PM
Texas Tom
released March 11, 1950
directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
animated by Kenneth Muse, Ireven Spence, Ray Patterson and Ed Barge
musical direction by Scott Bradley
Summary
"I was ridin' on the trail to Santa Fe, when I met a pretty girl along the way. I said, 'Baby your a dream'. She said 'Touch me and I'll scream'. So I tipped my hat and slowly rode away." So begins our cartoon set in the old west, where Tom spends his days lassoing Jerry and dragging the poor mouse along sharp objects. However, the games end when a sexy cowgirl steps off a bus and onto the ranch. Tom does some Tex Avery style wild takes and approaches the girl in full cowboy get-up, using Jerry to lick his cigarette closed. Tom lip-syncs the song, "If Your Ever Down in Texas Look Me Up", with Jerry altering the RPMs of the record player, forcing Tom to mouth along as best he can. A branding iron to the rear end ruins Tom's fun, so the cat comes after Jerry with another lasso. Instead of lassoing the mouse, Tom ropes a very large bull, who is definitely not happy when Toms accidentely rips off his horns. Donning a new pair of larger, sharper horns, the bull continues chasing Tom, eventually cornering the cat in a dead end. Realizing he's screwed, Tom blindfolds himself and whips out a cigarette before the bull plows into him. Tom lands right in front of the kitten he was trying to impress and Jerry, now fully dressed in cowboy duds, hops on his back and rides him into the sunset. "Bye-bye. I'm headin' for Texas, so-looooong!!!"
Commentary
If Texas Tom sounds a little like Solid Serenade, it's because it really is a little like Solid Serenade. Both cartoons begin with Tom wooing a female cat via song and both cartoons end with Tom fighting a losing battle with an enemy bigger then he is. In fact, a scene from Solid Serenade featuring Spike replacing his teeth with sharper ones is reworked here. Does that mean Texas Tom is a bad cartoon? Of course it doesnt. Texas Tom is still a very funny short, it's just not original aside from the western setting. The traditional Tom and Jerry violence that starts the cartoon is a nice diversion, especially when Jerry fills Tom's mouth with bullets from a six shooter, then slams the back of the cat's head to set them off. It appears the entire cartoon was built around the musical number, becauce it really is the funniest part of the short. Watching Tom try to keep up with the music at various speeds in funny enough, but the cowgirl's astonished face is priceless. It does seem a tad strange that Tom was able to sing fine in this cartoon's 1946 blueprint, but needs to lip-sync here. Of course, there wouldnt be a joke if he didnt. The final fight with the bull is largely undistinquised, save for the end where Tom stops, shrugs and takes what's coming to him.
The animation by Barge, Spence and Muse is strong as ever, although there really is no stand-out scene animated by any of them. It's Patterson who has a blast with Tom's facial expressions and mouth movements as he tries to match the speed of the music he's mouthing along to. His look directly at the audience, as if to say, "Help me, please!" is beyond funny, and truly is Patterson's best work.
Bradleys score is more or less typical Tom and Jerry tweaked with a western twang to it. It's hard to compete when a cartoon contains not one, but two songs, but he does a good job.
Texas Tom is an enjoying, yet hardly original Tom and Jerry outing. However, it's using a Tom and Jerry classic as source material, and it never fails to please.
released March 11, 1950
directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
animated by Kenneth Muse, Ireven Spence, Ray Patterson and Ed Barge
musical direction by Scott Bradley
Summary
"I was ridin' on the trail to Santa Fe, when I met a pretty girl along the way. I said, 'Baby your a dream'. She said 'Touch me and I'll scream'. So I tipped my hat and slowly rode away." So begins our cartoon set in the old west, where Tom spends his days lassoing Jerry and dragging the poor mouse along sharp objects. However, the games end when a sexy cowgirl steps off a bus and onto the ranch. Tom does some Tex Avery style wild takes and approaches the girl in full cowboy get-up, using Jerry to lick his cigarette closed. Tom lip-syncs the song, "If Your Ever Down in Texas Look Me Up", with Jerry altering the RPMs of the record player, forcing Tom to mouth along as best he can. A branding iron to the rear end ruins Tom's fun, so the cat comes after Jerry with another lasso. Instead of lassoing the mouse, Tom ropes a very large bull, who is definitely not happy when Toms accidentely rips off his horns. Donning a new pair of larger, sharper horns, the bull continues chasing Tom, eventually cornering the cat in a dead end. Realizing he's screwed, Tom blindfolds himself and whips out a cigarette before the bull plows into him. Tom lands right in front of the kitten he was trying to impress and Jerry, now fully dressed in cowboy duds, hops on his back and rides him into the sunset. "Bye-bye. I'm headin' for Texas, so-looooong!!!"
Commentary
If Texas Tom sounds a little like Solid Serenade, it's because it really is a little like Solid Serenade. Both cartoons begin with Tom wooing a female cat via song and both cartoons end with Tom fighting a losing battle with an enemy bigger then he is. In fact, a scene from Solid Serenade featuring Spike replacing his teeth with sharper ones is reworked here. Does that mean Texas Tom is a bad cartoon? Of course it doesnt. Texas Tom is still a very funny short, it's just not original aside from the western setting. The traditional Tom and Jerry violence that starts the cartoon is a nice diversion, especially when Jerry fills Tom's mouth with bullets from a six shooter, then slams the back of the cat's head to set them off. It appears the entire cartoon was built around the musical number, becauce it really is the funniest part of the short. Watching Tom try to keep up with the music at various speeds in funny enough, but the cowgirl's astonished face is priceless. It does seem a tad strange that Tom was able to sing fine in this cartoon's 1946 blueprint, but needs to lip-sync here. Of course, there wouldnt be a joke if he didnt. The final fight with the bull is largely undistinquised, save for the end where Tom stops, shrugs and takes what's coming to him.
The animation by Barge, Spence and Muse is strong as ever, although there really is no stand-out scene animated by any of them. It's Patterson who has a blast with Tom's facial expressions and mouth movements as he tries to match the speed of the music he's mouthing along to. His look directly at the audience, as if to say, "Help me, please!" is beyond funny, and truly is Patterson's best work.
Bradleys score is more or less typical Tom and Jerry tweaked with a western twang to it. It's hard to compete when a cartoon contains not one, but two songs, but he does a good job.
Texas Tom is an enjoying, yet hardly original Tom and Jerry outing. However, it's using a Tom and Jerry classic as source material, and it never fails to please.