DVD Review

Mania Grade: B-

0 Comments | Add

Rate & Share:

Info:

DVD: Tom & Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection
Rating: Unrated
Directors: Hanna-Barbera, Chuck Jones
Distributor: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2010
Extras: A Tom & Jerry Retrospective Featurette
Series:

Tom & Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection

Celebrating Seventy Years of Hi-Jinks!

By Tim Janson July 10, 2010

Tom & Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection
© Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Tom & Jerry is one of the longest-running animation franchises in history and in celebration of the duo’s 70^th anniversary, Warner Bros. has released this deluxe, two DVD edition featuring 30 of their animated shorts. Tom & Jerry got their start way back in 1940 at MGM studios when they were created by the legendary animation team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Hanna-Barbera produced 114 Tom & Jerry cartoons from 1940 – 1958 which was the golden age of animation before it got too expensive to produce, which led to many animation studios, including MGM’s, to shut down. 20 of the shorts on this set are from the MGM era. Two other sequences are taken from the pair’s appearances in live action films, 1945’s “Anchors Aweigh” in which, Jerry, through the use of special effects, performs a dance routine with Gene Kelly. In 1953’s “Dangerous When Wet” Tom and Jerry perform a synchronized swim routine with film star Esther Williams.

When Warner Bros. Animation Director Chuck Jones was fired from the studio (In one of the dumber moves in history) he formed his own studio and produced 34 more Tom & Jerry Cartoons. Three of Jones’ shorts are included in the set as well. The last five shorts are all from the more recent shows of the 1980s through the 2000’s including the 2005 theatrical short, “Karate Guard”. This was the last short produced by Joseph Barbara who passed away in 2006.

Obviously the backbone of the set is the original MGM shorts from the Golden Age. This is Tom & Jerry and Hanna-Barbera at their best, when the animation was at its most fluid and its colors the most vivid. Beginning in 1954, the cartoons were produced in widescreen Cinemascope, further elevating the quality. Underscoring how popular the cartoons were, the original shorts won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film seven times, tying it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the theatrical animated series with the most Oscars. All seven of the Oscar-winning shorts are included in the set, these include: Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943), Mouse Trouble (1944), Quiet Please! (1945), The Cat Concerto (1947), The Little Orphan (1949), The Two Mouseketeers (1952), Johann Mouse (1953).

The set gets started with Puss Gets the Boot (1940). This was the first collaboration between Hanna-Barbera. In this first short Tom is called “Jasper” and Jerry is “Jinx”. Their depictions are a bit on the crude side but you can see the slapstick style developing. The characters would get their official names in their second short, also included in the set, Midnight Snack (1941).

Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943) was the first Oscar-winning short, coming at the height of World War II. The short parodies war-era action and violence as Jerry lobs eggs like hand grenades, and rides a makeshift jeep made out of a cheese grater and a roller skate. It is wild, slapstick action at its best.

Quiet Please! (1945) features a frequent co-star, Spike the bulldog. Spike is trying to take a nap as Tom is after Jerry as usual. Jerry continually makes noise waking Spike up, leaving Tom to take the blame…and a beating each time.

The Two Mousketeers (1952) is one of the greatest animated shorts in history, ranking right up there with the best Looney Tunes and Disney shorts. A parody of the Three Musketeers, Jerry and Nibbles play the two Mousketeers who decide to help themselves to the King’s huge banquet table as Tom desperately tries to protect it. Incredibly funny over fifty years later, its highlighted by a rousing musical score.

It’s tough to say whether to recommend you buy the set as the Tom and Jerry toons have had multiple releases over the years. This serves as a good sampling from the different eras although its weighted very heavily towards the Hanna-Barbera classics. I would have loved to have seen The Night Before Christmas (1941) included as it was their only Christmas-themed short. It’s a solid set but if you have the earlier Spotlight Collections, this one’s not worth the money for the few lukewarm modern shorts.

Submit Your Own Review