When I was a kid, if you had given me the choice of watching an episode of Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry I wouldn’t have hesitated for a second. Looney Tunes would have won hands down. Not because the animation was better, as both cartoons had clear animation gradations depending on when they were drawn. Instead it was about content (I was a really picky little kid), every single Tom & Jerry episode was the same. If any variation existed it was whether or not the dog Spike made an appearance, in which case Tom was abused even further. With the Deluxe Anniversary collection, you see this unwavering formula play out about 25-some times until you reach the most modern episodes when Tom & Jerry are reverted to children and then start including dialogue for the two leads. Repetitive? You bet. Worth watching? Possibly.
At its core, the concept driving Tom & Jerry is very logical, you could really say it’s the most fundamental version of storytelling. It’s the cat and mouse archetypes re-enacting the same story over and over: cat hates mouse, and vice versa. And, just like Itchy and Scratchy which takes its cues from this duo, the mouse always wins. Always.
In the last few decades Tom & Jerry has become a case-study for violent tendencies. It’s more than warranted, the rivalry of Tom and Jerry has offered an interesting look at perceptions of the human condition, albeit a decidedly pessimistic one. Back and forth the duo wails upon one another with seemingly no remorse or mercy. Then, just as one of them seems ready to deal a hideously nasty blow, the tide turns. Jerry hits a latch and an assortment of rakes falls onto the lawns prompting Tom to blindly stumble about, stepping on rakes only to have the handles smack him in the face. This might be the greatest source of variety in the Tom & Jerry canon: the methods used to beat the other characters silly. What’s more, the cartoon seems to be a devout believer in that old theatre idea of Chekhov’s gun, in that every item in a scene is significant.
"If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there."
Well, Tom & Jerry has what could be considered the opposite issue. It’s not that they don’t use the items drawn into the background; it’s that they use them all and at that point the episode ends. Tom & Jerry isn’t about telling a story, it’s about fulfilling the Chekhov’s gun principle to the nth degree. If Tom and Jerry are skirmishing in a house, by the time it ends, every item of food in the refrigerator will be thrown, every dish smashed, every door unhinged, every oven burner lit, every body part smashed, and so forth. Chekhov’s gun never knew such release.
The included episodes include (those with * are Oscar winners):
“Puss Gets the Boot”, “The Midnight Snack”, “Dog Trouble”, “Fraidy Cat”, “Puss ‘N Toots”, “The Lonesome Mouse”, “Yankee Doodle Mouse”*, “Mouse Trouble”*, “Mouse in Manhattan”, “Quiet Please!”*, “The Milky Waif”, “The Cat Concerto”*, “The Little Orphan”*, “Saturday Evening Puss”, “The Two Mouseketeers”*, “Johann Mouse”*, “Touche, Pussy Cat!”, “That’s My Mommy”, “The Egg and Jerry”, “Tops with Pops”, “Jerry Dances with Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh”, “Tom and Jerry Swim with Esther Williams in Dangerous When Wet”, “Pent-House Mouse”, “The Cat Above and the Mouse Below”, “The Cat’s Me-Ouch”, “Cosmic Cat & Meteor Mouse”, “Jerry’s Country Cousin”, “Flippin’ Fido”, “The KarateGuard”, “A Game of Mouse and Cat”.
The episodes go in chronological order and you can watch as Tom starts as a very authentic looking cat and gradually gains the characteristic features that define him today. Jerry on the other hand pretty much looks the same from start to finish.
DVD Bonus Features
There’s one sizable 19-minute featurette about the evolution of Tom & Jerry both visually and its place within popular culture through the years. It’s remarkably interesting considering the perceived simplicity of the show’s legacy. The rest of the extras include trailers for upcoming animated DVD releases.
"Tom & Jerry: Deluxe Anniversary Collection" is on sale June 22, 2010 and is not rated. Animation, Children & Family, Comedy. Directed by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna, Tex Avery, Michael Lah. Written by Heck Allen, Tex Avery, Joseph Barbera, William Hanna. Starring Daws Butler, Don Messick, Frank Welker, Nancy Cartwright, Stan Freberg.
