{"id":34565,"date":"2021-02-22T01:15:30","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T06:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=34565"},"modified":"2021-02-22T01:15:30","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T06:15:30","slug":"my-top-five-tom-and-jerry-shorts-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/22\/my-top-five-tom-and-jerry-shorts-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"My Top Five “Tom and Jerry” Shorts Of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I grew up watching Tom and Jerry and have remained a fan well in to my thirties, despite their troubled history. Despite the great Hanna Barbera MGM shorts that made me laugh, there\u2019s also the god awful Chuck Jones\u2019 shorts, the watered down remakes, and reboots, and of course the endless string of cheaply made straight to DVD animated sequels where the pair duke it out.<\/p>\n

With the upcoming big budget movie<\/a> hitting limited theaters and VOD this week, I thought I\u2019d list my top five all time favorite Tom and Jerry shorts. While I\u2019m skeptical that \u201cTom and Jerry\u201d will be anything but mediocre, I still hold a place in my heart for the Tom Cat and Rascally Brown Mouse.<\/p>\n

What are Some of Your Favorite \u201cTom and Jerry\u201d shorts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jerry And Jumbo (1953)
\n<\/strong>Directors: Joseph Barbera<\/strong>, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>Writers: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>Tom and Jerry have garnered a slew of allies and friends that have come and gone, and appeared in either a few shorts or just one. Jumbo is a one off friend who helps Jerry battle Tom. Convincing him that Jerry is inexplicably becoming huge, Tom battles the pair with their shifting sizes and it amounts to hilarity. The gags here are hysterical and the Hanna-Barbera team has a great time with the size shifts and sheer amount of carnage that Tom endures. This is just laugh out loud funny from beginning to end that closes on a brilliant one two punch gag.<\/p>\n

The Mouse Comes To Dinner (1945)
\n<\/strong>Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>Writers: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>The amount of gags that the animators and writers pull off with a large dinner table is just marvelous and filled with hysterics. This is kind of a sequel now with Tom romancing a female cat, without much success. Tom, of course, forces Jerry to wait on them hand and foot, but when Jerry revolts, anarchy ensues. Some of the better more risqu\u00e9 physical jokes are included, such a stabbing with a broken bottle, an impaling fake out, and Tom burning his bottom. It\u2019s a great follow up punctuated by the voice acting.<\/p>\n

Pecos Pest (1950)
\n<\/strong>Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>Writers: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>Jerry\u2019s uncle Pecos Pete is one of the most underrated allies that\u2019s crossed the duos\u2019 paths. Jerry\u2019s uncle, Pecos Pete is a stuttering country singer who has a bad habit for breaking his guitar string. Sadly, Tom becomes the victim of his habit when he comes looking for a new string by plucking the cat\u2019s whiskers. Sadly, nothing can stop him when he wants a guitar string and Tom inadvertently gets a new nemesis in Pete who cant play without his \u201cGu-Guitar String!\u201d Thus he makes Tom\u2019s life a living hell. I love this short and I\u2019ve always had a great time imitating Pecos Pete.<\/p>\n

Quiet Please! (1945)
\n<\/strong>Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>Writers: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>One of the earliest shorts I\u2019ve ever seen from this series, the premise for (the Oscar Winning) \u201cQuiet Please!\u201d is as simple as the aforementioned on the list, but still packs in some great comedy. After chasing Jerry around, Tom is confronted by Spike who demands quiet or else. Taking advantage, Jerry decides to try to cause as much noise as possible while Tom chases him. \u201cQuiet Please!\u201d has some fun physical comedy, including a window shade gag with Tom\u2019s tongue, Tom singing Spike to sleep.<\/p>\n

Solid Serenade (1946)
\n<\/strong>Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>Writers: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
\n<\/strong>The premise is simple: Tom is serenading female cat Toodles at her window. He wakes Jerry up, who is only trying to sleep, with his incessant musical serenades. Jerry gets his revenge. As does Spike, who is anxious to stop Tom in his tracks. This short is brilliant for making most out of its simplicity and including an epic music number from Ira \u201cBuck\u201d Woods with \u201cIs You Is or Is You Aint My Baby,\u201d as well as the iconic romantic monologue where Tom voice actor Frank Graham does a bang up Charles Boyer. Solid Serenade has it all. I mean it has it all. It has Spike. It has Tom chasing a woman. It has Jerry being tortured by Tom. It has Jerry using Spike to hurt Tom. It has such an impact on the rest of the series that clips of \u201cSolid Serenade\u201d even appear in three other latter day shorts.<\/p>\n