Tom and Jerry 2-9-02

[Mike]

A Filmation T&J (sorry, folks, missed the title)
"Switchin' the Kitten" (1960/Gene Deitch)
"Dr Jekyl and Mr Mouse"


No Mammy cartoons today :( , but boy it sure was weird to see a Filmation T&J again. I've always missed them on the rare occasions CN would show one. The Filmations were included in the syndication T&J package my local TV station showed in the '80s, so watching that cartoon really brought me back.

And, boy, what a terrible cartoon!

Mike

[PorkyandDaffy]

What a terrible show. They have only one more broadcast of the Saturday late night Tom and Jerry, and they'd better make it a special one. Showing PART TIME PAL or A MOUSE IN THE HOUSE wouldn't hurt ;)

[Jon Cooke]

If anyone's curious, the title of the Filmation T&J was "When the Rooster Crows".


-Jon

[Pilmedium]

This was not a good show. The worst part must be the Filmation cartoon. This show is for classic cartoons, right?

[Howard]

I didn't think that "When the Rooster Crows" was that bad, myself. The sound effects were pretty obnoxious, but overall it wasn't a bad cartoon. I haven't seen the Filmation shows for a while, and I didn't mind seeing them again.

[J Lee]

I didn't think that "When the Rooster Crows" was that bad, myself. The sound effects were pretty obnoxious, but overall it wasn't a bad cartoon.

Well, the plot wasn't that bad -- it was really a variation on the plot for McKimson's 1952 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon "Sock-A-Doodle-Doo," or even Hanna-Barbera's own 1956 "Down-Beat Bear" -- but the lifeless animation killed the impact of the gags.

There was at least one Filmation T&J that had a mad scientist plot. If they had used that one, at least last night's show would have had a theme to it, going with Deitch's "Switchin Kitten" and H-B's "Dr. Jeckly and Mr. Mouse."

Combined with the dull selection of shorts on Late Night Black and White that followed, I figure either Cartoon Network is setting us up for some major surprises with the final shows next week, or they're going to air three of the 1975 Hanna-Barbera Tom & Jerrys, followed by seven Betty Boop cartoons starring Pudgy on LNB&W. :(

[Howard]

That mad scientist Filmation T&J short was "The Incredible Shrinking Cat", if I remember correctly. Honestly, the stiff and often very off model animation combined with 1980's Saturday morning guidelines for kids' shows hurt Filmation's version of Tom and Jerry, although I think that some of them had some funny storylines. I also liked how characters ignored by Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones, Tuffy (a.k.a Nibbles), Spike and Tyke, made appearances in Filmation's shorts. I still like the original MGM shorts the best, though.