Tom & Jerry Books?

[Thad Komorowski]

I read on the internet that there were books on Tom & Jerry, like the LT&MM ones by Jerry Beck. I heard one of them was pretty awful. Is this true? I've never seen the covers of them, so could somebody supply images?

-Thad:D

[Jon Cooke]

I highly recommend Tom and Jerry: The Definitive Guide to Their Animated Adventures by Patrick Brion. It is an excellent, full color book with a complete filmography and loads of great artwork and pictures. This is the ultimate Tom and Jerry book! I bought my copy for around $20.00 about ten years ago. There is a used copy on Amazon.com going for $295.00! :eek: :eek: Look around, you can probably find a copy at a better price than that.

On the other hand...

I highly DO NOT recommend Tom and Jerry: 50 Years of Cat and Mouse by T.R. Adams. This book is terrible. Most of the artwork is from publicity art or from Filmation's T&J cartoons. The most interesting artwork --- sections of original storyboards --- are printed too small to appreciate. There is one interesting bit of trivia included in this book: Bill Hanna reveals it was he who provided Tom's famous screams.

I'll try to scan the covers later.

-Jon

[Joe Tully]

Neat! I'll keep my eyes open for that first one.

Are there any good guides to other cartoons? I would be interested in one for Fleischer or just Popeye. I guess Adamson's Tex Avery: King of Cartoons has a decent guide to his works at WB, MGM, and Lantz, but I kind of wish there was just ONE detailed guide to all MGM toons.

[Thad Komorowski]

I highly recommend John Canemaker's Tex Avery: The MGM Years. This book has an excellent biography at the beginning of Tex Avery, and the rest has a chapter devoted to each year Avery directed at MGM, and has sypnopsis for every cartoon, and has excellent artwork, including model sheets, lobby cards, and animation drawings. The book also contains the lobby cards for "Blitz Wolf", "Uncle Tom's Cabana", and "Half-Pint Pygmy". The book is great for any Avery fan.

-Thad:D

[Jack]

The book also contains the lobby cards for "Blitz Wolf", "Uncle Tom's Cabana", and "Half-Pint Pygmy". The book is great for any Avery fan.
Really? What do the lobby cards look like, I've never seen one for MGM. Are they black and white, like WB cards, or are they color like the posters MGM would make? I love lobby cards!

I'll have to seek out this book eventually. I liked "Tex Avery: King of Cartoons," so I should like this too.

Sort of a silly idea, but wouldn't it be neat if Beck and Friedwald made a book series or something of "Illustrated Guides?" Along with a new version of "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete..." they could have some for MGM, Lantz, Paramount, Columbia, Disney, 20th Century Fox, ect.


Jack:D

[Thad Komorowski]

The lobby cards are in full color. I'll have to do scans some time. Also, that's a great idea for the guides, Jack! You can order the book from AMAZON for $17.99 at this address:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572152702/qid=996363011/sr=1-2/ref=sc_b_2/107-4543426-1734948

That's the same price I payed for it, 3 years ago, along with a perfectly good hardcover copy of The 50 Greatest Cartoons for only $15 (for each book)....:cool:

-Thad:D

[rodney]

I just got my copy of the Patrick Brion book, and I highly recommend it. It's really some great reading!

[Daniel P]

Does the good book have info on Deitch/Jones ones, along with our so-called politically incorrect HB's?

[chuckamuck43]

Originally posted by dacp3
Does the good book have info on Deitch/Jones ones, along with our so-called politically incorrect HB's?


Sure does! And like the guys have been saying, it's a terrific book, beautifully illustrated with a thorough filmography.
If you can get one at a good price, buy it!

[Der Captain]

Despite the above criticisms, I can recommend both T&J books providing you can find them at a reasonable discount. The T.R. Adams book is guilty of overloading us with images from those god-awful Filmation cheapos, but it actually does feature some notable full-sized pictures from the classic MGM/HB era in addition to some interesting behind the scenes photos, model sheets and other odds and ends in addition to some history. The Patrick Brion book is a veritable feast of quality images, but as far as writing goes, it is only interesting for about one-third it's volume. The bulk of the writing is devoted to plot synopses of all the cartoons with no commentary. Can't say I've ever understood the appeal of this. If you've already seen a cartoon, why read about what just happened? If you haven't seen it, why ruin it by reading the spoilers? All in all, they are pleasant to leaf through.

There are also two books about Hanna-Barbera in general, which I hesitate to recommend only because I find their work after leaving MGM mostly disposable.

And then there are those auto-biographies - "A Cast of Friends" by Hanna and "My Life in Toons" by Barbera, which prove beyond a doubt that Joe was the better writer of the two, although how he can write about that Tom and Jerry feature film without a hint of shame is a bit disturbing.

Happy reading!