TOM AND JERRY 011 ENERGETIC

TOM AND JERRY 011 ENERGETIC TOM and Jerry is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the enmity between the titular characters of a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. Many shorts also feature several recurring characters.

In its original run, Hanna and Barbera produced 114 Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM from 1940 to 1958. During this time, they won seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, tying for first place with Walt Disney‘s Silly Symphonies with the most awards in the category. After the MGM cartoon studio closed in 1957, MGM revived the series with Gene Deitch directing an additional 13 Tom and Jerry shorts for Rembrandt Films from 1961 to 1962. Tom and Jerry became the highest-grossing animated short film series of that time, overtaking Looney Tunes. Chuck Jones produced another 34 shorts with Sib Tower 12 Productions between 1963 and 1967. Five more shorts have been produced since 2001, making a total of 166 shorts.

A number of spin-offs have been TOM AND JERRY 011 ENERGETIC made, including the television series The Tom and Jerry Show (1975), The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (1980–1982), Tom & Jerry Kids (1990–1993), Tom and Jerry Tales (2006–2008), and The Tom and Jerry Show (2014–2021). In 1992, the first feature-length film based on the series, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, was released. 13 direct-to-video films have been produced since 2002. In 2021, a live-action/animated hybrid film was released. In 2019, a musical adaptation of the series, titled Tom and Jerry: Purr-Chance to Dream, debuted in Japan, in advance of Tom and Jerry‘s 80th anniversary.

Tom and Jerry TOM AND JERRY 011

TOM AND JERRY 011 ENERGETIC Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse

TOM AND JERRY 011 ENERGETIC Tom, named “Jasper” in his debut appearance, is a grey and white domestic shorthair cat. “Tom” is a generic name for a male cat. He is usually but not always, portrayed as living a comfortable, or even pampered life, while Jerry, whose name is not explicitly mentioned in his debut appearance, is a small, brown house mouse who always lives in close proximity to Tom. Despite being very energetic, determined and much larger, Tom is no match for Jerry’s wits. Jerry possesses surprising strength for his size, approximately the equivalent of Tom’s, lifting items such as anvils with relative ease and withstanding considerable impacts.

Although cats typically chase mice to eat them, it is quite rare for Tom to actually try to eat Jerry. He tries to hurt or compete with him just to taunt Jerry, even as revenge, or to obtain a reward from a human, including his owner(s)/master(s), for catching Jerry, or for generally doing his job well as a house cat. By the final “fade-out” of each cartoon, Jerry usually gets the best of Tom.

Other results may be reached. On rare occasions, Tom triumphs, usually when Jerry becomes the aggressor or he pushes Tom a little too far. In The Million Dollar Cat, Jerry learns that Tom will lose his newly acquired wealth if he harms any animal, especially mice. He then torments Tom a little too much until he retaliates. In Timid Tabby Tom’s look-alike cousin pushes Jerry over the edge. Occasionally and usually ironically, they both lose, usually because Jerry’s last trap or attack on Tom backfires on him or he overlooks something. In Chuck Jones’ Filet Meow, Jerry orders a shark from the pet store to scare Tom away from eating a goldfish. Afterward, the shark scares Jerry away as well. They occasionally end up being friends, although there is often a last-minute event that ruins the truce. One cartoon that has a friendly ending is Snow TOM AND JERRY 011 Body Loves Me.

Both characters display sadistic tendencies, in that they are equally likely to take pleasure in tormenting each other, although it is often in response to a triggering event. However, when one character appears to truly be in mortal danger from an unplanned situation or due to actions by a third party, the other will develop a conscience and save him. Occasionally, they bond over a mutual sentiment towards an unpleasant experience and their attacking each other is more play than serious attacks. Multiple shorts show the two getting along with minimal difficulty, and they are more than capable of working together when the situation calls for it, usually against a third party who manages to torture and humiliate them both.

TOM AND JERRY 011Tom and Jerry speaking

TOM AND JERRY 011Although many supporting and minor characters speak, Tom and Jerry rarely do so themselves. One exception is The Lonesome Mouse where they speak several times briefly, primarily Jerry, to contrive to get Tom back into the house. Tom more often sings while wooing female cats. For example, Tom sings Louis Jordan‘s “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” in the 1946 short Solid Serenade. In that short and Zoot Cat, Tom woos female cats using a deep, heavily French-accented voice in imitation of then-popular leading man, actor Charles Boyer.

At the end of The Million Dollar Cat, after beginning to antagonize Jerry he says, “Gee, I’m throw in’ away a million dollars… BUT I’M HAPPY!”. In Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring, Jerry says, “No, no, no, no, no.” when choosing the shop to remove his ring. In The Mouse Comes to Dinner, Tom speaks to his girlfriend Toots while inadvertently sitting on a stove: “Say, what’s cooking’?”, to which Toots replies “You are, stupid.”

Another instance of speech comes in Solid Serenade and The Framed Cat, where Tom directs Spike through a few dog tricks in a dog-trainer manner. In Puss Gets the Boot, Jerry prays for his life when Tom catches him by the tail. Jerry has whispered in Tom’s ear on several occasions. In Love Me, Love My Mouse, Jerry calls Toots “Mama”.

Television shows

Packaged shows and programming blocks

Television specials

Throughout the years, the term and title Tom and Jerry became practically synonymous with never-ending rivalry, as much as the related “cat and mouse fight” metaphor has. Yet in Tom and Jerry it was not the more powerful Tom who usually came out on top. In 2005, TV Asahi ranked Tom and Jerry as 58th of the Top 100 Animated TV Series in Japan overall, outranking titles like Rurouni Kenshin, Initial D, and even Macross. In January 2009, IGN named Tom and Jerry as the 66th best in the Top 100 Animated TV Shows.

In popular culture

In 1973, the magazine National Lampoon referenced Tom and Jerry in a violence-filled comic book parody, Kit ‘n’ Kaboodle. In The SimTOM AND JERRY 011 ENERGETICpsons, The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a spoof of Tom and Jerry—a “cartoon within a cartoon”. In an episode of the series titled “Krusty Gets Kancelled”, Worker and Parasite, a replacement cartoon for Itchy & Scratchy, is a reference to Soviet-era animation.

In an interview found on the DVD releases, several Mad TV cast members stated that Tom and Jerry is one of their biggest influences for slapstick comedy. Also in the Cartoon Network show MAD, Tom and Jerry appear in three segments: “Celebrity Birthdays”, “Mickey Mouse Exterminator Service”, and “Tom and Jury”. Johnny Knoxville from Jackass has stated that watching Tom and Jerry inspired many of the stunts in the films.