Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1940, Tom & Jerry centers on the never ending rivalry between a domestic cat named Tom, and a little brown mouse named Jerry. The original series won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film seven times. On television for decades, Tom & Jerry is one of the most popular cartoons of all time.
In October, Warner Bros. released Tom & Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures: Vol. 3. Like the previous releases, this set includes a variety of great episodes. The ones included here are as follows: “Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life,” “Bad Say at Cat Rock,” Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary, “Beach Bully Bingo” “A Life Less Guarded,” “Northern Light Fish,” “Doggone Hill Dog,” “Love Me, Love My Mouse,” “Sasquahed,” “Shutter Bugged Cat,” “Snow Mouse,” “The Unshrinkable Mouse,” “Spook House Mouse,” and “Don’t Bring Your Pet to School Day”.
“Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life”, “Bad Say at Cat Rock,” “Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary,” “Love Me, Love My Mouse,” and “The Unshrinkable Mouse” were all produced and directed by Chuck Jones from 1965-67. “Shutter Bugged Cat,” was produced in the Chuck Jones era. Oddly, Hanna & Barbera received a special director’s credit, even though they didn’t do any work on the cartoon (with the exception of footage used from cartoons produced in their era).
For many, Chuck Jones represents the definitive Tom & Jerry era. Whether it is or not is debatable, but the cartoon grew in popularity during that time because of television. Of the Jones cartoons included here, “Love Me, Love My Mouse” is a favorite; Tom’s female friend protects Jerry as her own, until her feline instincts kick in. A short like “Shutter Bugged Cat” feels like a cartoon on the cheap—highlight reels of earlier Hanna-Barbera shorts with some fresh animation and sound. This isn’t all bad though, as it gives viewers a chance to experience various eras of Tom & Jerry in one shot.
The remaining cartoons are from Tom & Jerry Tales which ran from 2006-08 on WB Kids! The most memorable of this set are: “The Spook House Mouse” which features Jerry seeking out his next meal. In the course of all this, Tom chases Jerry through a defunct haunted house filled with all sorts of wackiness including crazy mirrors and a whacked out rollercoaster. In “Northern Light Fish,” the guys go fishing up north, and Tom tries his hardest to get Jerry’s catch of the day. But Jerry pretends to control the Northern Lights (Something like Mickey Mouse in Fantasia) to scare Tom away. In the end, they both lose out to a hungry Polar Bear.
Like the previous Tom & Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures, this volume is great for young kids and serves as a wonderful primer for adults who are interested in revisiting the wild adventures of a domestic cat and a small brown mouse!
Several of the transfers don’t look particularly sharp, with obvious scratches and a jittery picture. It was especially noticeable in some of the shorts from the ’60s. The newer Tom and Jerry Tales shorts had nice, clean transfers with little extra movement beyond what the creators wanted. Given the nearly fifty year age gap between some of the shorts and lack of remastering, the uneven transfer is to be expected. This is a non-anamorphic presentation.
The Digital 2.0 soundtrack serves the material well.
There are no special features.
