Designs on Jerry

I've been bemoaning how the last few Tom and Jerry cartoons have been rather lacking in imagination, but I can't throw the same accusation at this one, which borders on the surreal.

Tom is up late putting the finishing touches to his design for a better mousetrap (which is super complicated, much like the one in the popular board game). Taking a well earned nap, Tom is oblivious to the fact that his plans have come to life, with the ink drawing of a mouse leaving the blueprint paper to wake up Jerry and show him Tom's design; meanwhile, the ink drawing of a cat tries to catch the two mice, but to no avail. Eventually, the ink cat is dissolved, sucked up into a pen and squirted back into an ink pot.

I said it was different!!! When Tom wakes up, he builds his mousetrap, unaware that one vital measurement has been altered, which leads to the cat being 'trapped' by his own invention...

I may sound like a broken record, but I just love Tom and Jerry. They were part of my childhood, and I still adore them. Designs on Jerry is so clever in visuals and constructions it ranks among my favourite of their cartoons. I also love it for its originality and fun. The animation is excellent, the backgrounds are colourful and the characters well drawn but the real delight comes from anything to do with the drawings on the black board. The music has a lot of energy and the gags and chases are clever and fresh. The pacing is fast, the story is original, the ending is hilarious and both Tom and Jerry are their usual likable selves. Overall, just delightful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This cartoon appears to have been the pioneer of future cartoons (and then some!) to come!

1. PEANUTS TEACHER SOUNDBITE: Snoopy's master Charlie Brown's teachers' soundwave can be distinctly heard here at the end. When the cat (Tom?) comes out of the safe and moves his mouth. His voice is replaced by the same exact "MWAK-MWAK" sound that will later be reused for the unseen Peanuts' teachers. (All the Snoopy copyrights bear "1958", and this was 1955, so this came first! Did they credit this??)

2. Very reminiscent of the excellent Italian cartoon La Linea: the adventures of the outline of a guy doing stuff on a blackboard, while he asks for stuff to be drawn for him (like waves to swim etc.) This T&J also came first!

3. BACK TO THE FUTURE (1980s) movie! Remember the very first scene, 1st film? The bunch of contraptions to wake Marty McFly up is taken smack from a scene! And again: this cartoon came first.

Lifting other people's original and creative work has always been prevalent in Hollywood. Next time, don't go: "Oh that reminds me of..." NO! Look up the dates and realize this: if it came later, it's no coincidence, it's thievery! Plain & simple.

Fun cartoon, enjoyed the white lines on electric blue color and why I watched it. That said, I never could stand the very repetitive and very violent Tom & Jerry (T&J) cartoons: as a kid, I remember them as super-boring (beat on each other, add dogs, rinse, repeat) and thus, very disturbing! They still are. You've seen 1, you've pretty much seen them all!

7/10 for enjoyable and recognizing all the above patterns. And for being The First! Minus 3 stars for inane cartoon violence. (And where are the million moms when you need them?? Anybody know? Are they still protesting or dey too old???) Rhetorical! I'll look it up myself! 😉

Tom the cat takes great pride in the new mouse trap he deigned and dreams of how he will get rich by patenting it. But while he's sleeping the drawling of the mouse comes off the piece of paper and wakes Jerry the Mouse up to sabotage Tom's plans. They must first contend with a dawning of a cat who has also come to life first. This short was rather amusing but it was a tad experimental (not nearly as much as the later "Blue Cat Blues) I just like it more when Tom and Jerry can actually be Tom and Jerry. This animated short can be found on disc 2 of Warner Brother's 2-DVD Spotlight Collection set.

My Grade: B-

Tom is busy planning a complicated trap to ensnare Jerry with, and falls asleep after drawing his plans up before he starts work on the trap itself. Unknown to him, though, the drawn mouse had come to life and alerted Jerry, who does a little something to the plans that is not only virtually unnoticeable, but was enough to change its operation somewhat... The trap itself -- and the whole cartoon -- are very clever and funny. Even though it is one of the later entries in the Hanna-Barbera period of Tom & Jerry cartoons, it's still worth a look!