DarthGonzo
11-26-2001, 09:16 PM
Nit-Witty Kitty
released October 6th, 1951
directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
animared by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge and Irven Spence
musical direction by Scott Bradley
Summay
Tom is chasing Jerry around the kitchen and Mammy is poised to hit the mouse with her broom whenever she gets an opening. She ends up swinging at the wrong one and creams Tom with the broom, hard. Suddenly, Tom starting acting like a mouse, complete with buck teeth and mouse-like squeaks. Mammy is terrified by the deranged mouse/cat and speeds out of the kitchen. Tom helps himself to some cheese and proceeds to squeeze into Jerry's mousehole, breaking the mouse's bed when he lays down on it. Meanwhile, Mammy phones the doctor, "He's actin' just like a mouse. He's even eatin' cheese!", she says. Mammy is told that Tom has amnesia but the cat chases her away before she can do anything about it. Jerry takes it upon himself to look up the illness in a medical encyclopedia. "A temporary state of forgetfullness, memory is sometimes restored by a sharp blow to the head." Swinging at Tom with with a baseball bat doesnt work, and neither does rigging a seesaw-like contraption to crack the cat's head against the ceiling. Jerry tries leaving a trail of cheese around the house, attempting to get Tom to walk under various heavy objects the mouse has rigged to fall on him. Nothing works, and Tom gives his frustrated new pal a piece of cheese. Jerry tosses the cheese aside and hits some dishes, causing a chain reaction that ends when a broom handle opens the latch of the wall mounted ironing board. Tom's memory is restored when the board hits him on the head. Jerry is so overjoyed that he gives Tom a kiss and heads inside his mousehole for some well-deserved rest. Tom, for his part, falls asleep outside the hole. However, Jerry observes Mammy sneaking towards Tom, baseball bat in one hand, the medical encyclopedia in the other. "It say here, a sharp blow on the head is a sho' cure for amnesia. And that's what he's gonna git." A shark crack is heard offscreen as Jerry returns to his mousehole, soon joined by Tom, once again acting like a mouse, who breaks Jerry's bed once more.
Commentary
Nit-Witty Kitty is a really strange cartoon, and that's part of it's lasting appeal. Seeing a squeaking, buck-toothed Tom scooting across the floor stuffing his face with cheese defies description. Mammy's reaction to Tom's transformation is both logical and funny. If your house cat suddenly started kissing mice and squeezing into mouseholes, you'd probably be walking around on stilts yourself. For once, Jerry takes Tom's role as the mouse catcher and proves that it's not as easy at it seems. Although Tom is the center of the cartoon, it's Jerry who is the one doing all the work. His seesaw contraption works initially, with a well-placed bowling ball rocketing the cat towards the ceiling. Tom comes back down to earth good as new, a little confused but back to normal. However, upon landing Tom has relaunched the bowling ball, which strikes his head and returns him to his dilusion. Nit Witty Kitty is definitely a Tom and Jerry cartoon for fans of head trauma comedy. It's hard to explain why the short is so entertaining, or why it's so funny, and that makes it all the more upsetting that it has never been released on video and only recently has started airing on Cartoon Network. The role reversal is a nice change of pace and gives the series a breath of fresh air. Although the cycle of Mammy cartoons had begun winding down, her presence is still important to the story and she's always a very enjoyable character to watch.
The animation is almost perfect in Nit-Witty Kitty. All the animtors have fun with Tom's slight redesign (he also has slightly rounded ears while in mouse form), with Barge and Patterson getting the most mileage out of the situation. The entire look of the cartoon is colorful and vibrant, as most Tom and Jerry shorts taking place inside the house usually are. The strong animation gives Nit-Witty Kitty a high watchability factor. As an additional note, it appears that Ed Barge is the only animator who is still giving Jerry eyelashes. All the other animators had stopped by 1951, but Barge would continue until early 1953 or so.
Scott Bradley's score also accentuates the silliness of the cartoon. "Three Blind Mice" is the main theme of the short, and it fits like a glove. The rest of the score is inspired, some traditional, and some silly for silliness sake. It's also one of those Tom and Jerry cartoons with musical "stings" that are very hard to forget.
Nit-Witty Kitty is an underrated classic. It's hard to describe why it's a gem, but it's one of those rare cartoons that's hard to tire of.
released October 6th, 1951
directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
animared by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge and Irven Spence
musical direction by Scott Bradley
Summay
Tom is chasing Jerry around the kitchen and Mammy is poised to hit the mouse with her broom whenever she gets an opening. She ends up swinging at the wrong one and creams Tom with the broom, hard. Suddenly, Tom starting acting like a mouse, complete with buck teeth and mouse-like squeaks. Mammy is terrified by the deranged mouse/cat and speeds out of the kitchen. Tom helps himself to some cheese and proceeds to squeeze into Jerry's mousehole, breaking the mouse's bed when he lays down on it. Meanwhile, Mammy phones the doctor, "He's actin' just like a mouse. He's even eatin' cheese!", she says. Mammy is told that Tom has amnesia but the cat chases her away before she can do anything about it. Jerry takes it upon himself to look up the illness in a medical encyclopedia. "A temporary state of forgetfullness, memory is sometimes restored by a sharp blow to the head." Swinging at Tom with with a baseball bat doesnt work, and neither does rigging a seesaw-like contraption to crack the cat's head against the ceiling. Jerry tries leaving a trail of cheese around the house, attempting to get Tom to walk under various heavy objects the mouse has rigged to fall on him. Nothing works, and Tom gives his frustrated new pal a piece of cheese. Jerry tosses the cheese aside and hits some dishes, causing a chain reaction that ends when a broom handle opens the latch of the wall mounted ironing board. Tom's memory is restored when the board hits him on the head. Jerry is so overjoyed that he gives Tom a kiss and heads inside his mousehole for some well-deserved rest. Tom, for his part, falls asleep outside the hole. However, Jerry observes Mammy sneaking towards Tom, baseball bat in one hand, the medical encyclopedia in the other. "It say here, a sharp blow on the head is a sho' cure for amnesia. And that's what he's gonna git." A shark crack is heard offscreen as Jerry returns to his mousehole, soon joined by Tom, once again acting like a mouse, who breaks Jerry's bed once more.
Commentary
Nit-Witty Kitty is a really strange cartoon, and that's part of it's lasting appeal. Seeing a squeaking, buck-toothed Tom scooting across the floor stuffing his face with cheese defies description. Mammy's reaction to Tom's transformation is both logical and funny. If your house cat suddenly started kissing mice and squeezing into mouseholes, you'd probably be walking around on stilts yourself. For once, Jerry takes Tom's role as the mouse catcher and proves that it's not as easy at it seems. Although Tom is the center of the cartoon, it's Jerry who is the one doing all the work. His seesaw contraption works initially, with a well-placed bowling ball rocketing the cat towards the ceiling. Tom comes back down to earth good as new, a little confused but back to normal. However, upon landing Tom has relaunched the bowling ball, which strikes his head and returns him to his dilusion. Nit Witty Kitty is definitely a Tom and Jerry cartoon for fans of head trauma comedy. It's hard to explain why the short is so entertaining, or why it's so funny, and that makes it all the more upsetting that it has never been released on video and only recently has started airing on Cartoon Network. The role reversal is a nice change of pace and gives the series a breath of fresh air. Although the cycle of Mammy cartoons had begun winding down, her presence is still important to the story and she's always a very enjoyable character to watch.
The animation is almost perfect in Nit-Witty Kitty. All the animtors have fun with Tom's slight redesign (he also has slightly rounded ears while in mouse form), with Barge and Patterson getting the most mileage out of the situation. The entire look of the cartoon is colorful and vibrant, as most Tom and Jerry shorts taking place inside the house usually are. The strong animation gives Nit-Witty Kitty a high watchability factor. As an additional note, it appears that Ed Barge is the only animator who is still giving Jerry eyelashes. All the other animators had stopped by 1951, but Barge would continue until early 1953 or so.
Scott Bradley's score also accentuates the silliness of the cartoon. "Three Blind Mice" is the main theme of the short, and it fits like a glove. The rest of the score is inspired, some traditional, and some silly for silliness sake. It's also one of those Tom and Jerry cartoons with musical "stings" that are very hard to forget.
Nit-Witty Kitty is an underrated classic. It's hard to describe why it's a gem, but it's one of those rare cartoons that's hard to tire of.