There was one previous short featuring these two iconic animated characters but this was the first where they are actually called by these names. This is a fairly tame introduction to the characters; far less violent than later shorts... although it does have its moments.
It opens with Jerry stealing a wedge of cheese from the refrigerator and as he struggles under its weight Tom puts more and more items on top of it and eventually puts obstacles in front of him; inevitable Jerry drops the lot. Jerry then tries to get a smaller piece but Tom forces him to put it back. He then pins Jerry down with an iron while helping himself to a snack. When the lady of the house approaches Tom puts Jerry in the fridge so he can take the blame for the mess and stolen food and Tom can be the hero when he catches Jerry again. The woman does indeed scream when she sees Jerry but in the ensuing chase it is Jerry that gets the better of Tom; this leads to a painful finally involving a toasting fork and a grater!
While this may be a fairly tame example of Tom and Jerry it is still funny and provided a good introduction to the characters. I liked how their conflict started fairly gently before escalating to the painful finale. It is interesting that we never see the face of the lady of the house; we just see her lower body and here her shouting; always referring to Tom by his full name; Thomas. I believe that in a later version this black woman has been removed and been replaced by a white woman; apparently some people thought the character was racist but personally I couldn't see that and think removing her is worse unless more negative aspects of the character were revealed in other instalments. The animation looks great as do the backgrounds; it is clear that this wasn't made on the cheap. If you are a fan of Tom and Jerry this is obviously a must see and even if you aren't it is a lot of fun for adults and children alike.
It opens with Jerry stealing a wedge of cheese from the refrigerator and as he struggles under its weight Tom puts more and more items on top of it and eventually puts obstacles in front of him; inevitable Jerry drops the lot. Jerry then tries to get a smaller piece but Tom forces him to put it back. He then pins Jerry down with an iron while helping himself to a snack. When the lady of the house approaches Tom puts Jerry in the fridge so he can take the blame for the mess and stolen food and Tom can be the hero when he catches Jerry again. The woman does indeed scream when she sees Jerry but in the ensuing chase it is Jerry that gets the better of Tom; this leads to a painful finally involving a toasting fork and a grater!
While this may be a fairly tame example of Tom and Jerry it is still funny and provided a good introduction to the characters. I liked how their conflict started fairly gently before escalating to the painful finale. It is interesting that we never see the face of the lady of the house; we just see her lower body and here her shouting; always referring to Tom by his full name; Thomas. I believe that in a later version this black woman has been removed and been replaced by a white woman; apparently some people thought the character was racist but personally I couldn't see that and think removing her is worse unless more negative aspects of the character were revealed in other instalments. The animation looks great as do the backgrounds; it is clear that this wasn't made on the cheap. If you are a fan of Tom and Jerry this is obviously a must see and even if you aren't it is a lot of fun for adults and children alike.