Released just in time for the holidays, Tom and Jerry the Golden Era Anthology collects 114 Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts on 6 Blu-ray discs. Even better, they are uncut and remastered, making this a must have for fans. Created by the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for MGM, Tom and Jerry remain a favorite among animation connoisseurs,
Debuting theatrically in 1940, Tom and Jerry was originally planned as a one-off Puss Gets the Boot. It was unexpectedly popular with exhibitors and was even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoon of 1940. In that first cartoon, Tom was named “Jasper,” and Jerry had no name, though Joeseph Barbera later claimed that his name was “Jinx.” By the time the second cartoon, The Midnight Snack was released, Jasper was now Tom.
Tom and Jerry shorts would go on to receive 13 Oscar nominations, winning 7 Academy Awards for Best Short Subject: Cartoon. For a series with little dialogue, based on timing and mischief Tom and Jerry feels fresh no matter how old it is.
After the MGM Cartoon Studio shut down in 1957, Hanna-Barbera went on to create the most successful TV animation studio ever, developing legendary cartoons including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Top Cat, Jonny Quest, and several more.
While much of Tom & Jerry has been released on DVD and Blu-ray before—that includes a series of shorts created in the 1960’s by Gene Deitch and, later, Chuck Jones—the headline of The Golden Era Anthology is the inclusion of several unedited shorts for the first time. While not recommended for young children, “Casanova Cat,” “Mouse Cleaning,” and “His Mouse Friday,” are a revelation for serious animation fans and scholars. The shorts are also in chronological order, making it easier to witness the evolution of the characters.
Warner Brothers has also done an excellent job remastering the set, resulting in cartoons that have never looked or sounded better. They are shown in their original theatrical aspect ratio. The negatives for the shorts before 1951 were lost in the 1978 George Eastman House fire. As a result, the source material fluctuates as does the overall quality. The later shorts look sharper than they ever have before with vivid colors and inky blacks. The entire set is free of any real debris.
The shorts on Tom and Jerry The Golden Era Anthology are presented in DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio. The overall sound is simple but effective. There is no pops, hisses or other glitches. The limited dialogue is clean, clear and concise.
English SDH subtitles are available.
The extras are a mix of new and previously released features:
DISCS 1-5
- Audio Commentaries on 20 shorts are presented with optional DVD-era commentaries featuring author Michael Mallory, animator Mark Kausler, animation historians Jerry Beck and Earl Kress, and others.
DISC SIX
- NEW! Lady of the House: The Story of Mammy Two Shoes
- NEW! Animal Hijinks: The Friends and Foes of Tom
- The Midnight Snack Pencil Test – Side by Side
- Cat and Mouse: The Tale of Tom and Jerry
- Tom and Jerry: Behind the Tunes
- Animators as Actors
- 1953 Excerpt from “Dangerous When Wet”
- How Bill and Joe Met Tom and Jerry
- Vaudeville, Slapstick and Tom and Jerry
- The Comedy Stylings of Tom and Jerry
- “The Worry Song” from “Anchors Aweigh”
- Good Will to Men
- Give and Tyke
- Scat Cats
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