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Description
Take one of the oldest, most basic idea in the world: A cat chasing a mouse, then take to its finest fruition. This series of cartoon can be often imitated BUT NEVER surpassed . The reason ? Tom & Jerry were made for a film audience , not kids ! Plus to revive it , you have to have Scott Bradley's musical talents and an impeccable timing . Without music , it can't be alive (That goes for the Disneys , the Lantzs , The Looney TUNES and Merrie MELODIES too ! It is crucial to have it!).

The Tom-and-Jerry shorts were unquestionably, Irrevocably , the most violent cartoons of the golden age. From the days Tex Avery came to MGM, Hanna, Barbera and their animators did get a lot of influence from him (Tex never worked directly on Tom & Jerry , but his MGM work did clearly influence them ),thus Refining their cartoons !
Tom and Jerry has often been criticized as excessively violent... but than again, I would reply to that "Oh, grow a pair !". Comedy has to have that ! It uses a lot conflicts or negative stuff to make us laugh ! I need to remind you that as a tunisian, I spit on the whole PC stuff .... These cartoons were never meant for kids and are part of the animation art's history !(which is why whitewashing Mammy Two-shoes comes off as disgusting to me... I grew up with that old lady as Tom's owner so you keep your "offensive stereotype" to yourself. Hell if I started listing the TRULY offensive stuff of NOWADAYS , they'd shut up !)
Of course before celebrating the wanton destruction, seldom catchphrases, murderous schemes, comedic timing and hilarious sounds, we have to talk about the creators !

JOSEPH BARBERA

(March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006)

Barbera displayed a talent for drawing as early as the first grade.He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn in 1928. While in high school, Barbera won several boxing titles. He was briefly managed by World Lightweight Boxing Champion Al Singer's manager but soon lost interest in boxing. After working odd jobs and as a banker, Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1932 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1936. In 1937, he moved to California and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Barbera met William Hanna. The studio was basically in trouble Kentzajammer kids (though the comics was great) was sinking the studio., Joe told him about a cat and a mouse ...

(His drawings were the actual script ... there was no written script For a Tom and Jerry cartoon ! They were actually a comics of sort before the in-between drawings.)

WILLIAM HANNA

(July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001)

When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by 1919. There, Hanna became an Eagle Scout.
His sister's boyfriend encouraged him to apply for a job at Pacific Title and Art, which produced title cards for motion pictures.[ While working there, Hanna's talent for drawing became evident, and in 1930 he joined the Harman and Ising animation studio, which had created the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. Despite a lack of formal training, Hanna soon became head of their ink and paint department. Besides inking and painting, Hanna also wrote songs and lyrics. For the first several years of Hanna's employment, the studio partnered with Pacific Title and Art's Leon Schlesinger, who released the Harman-Ising output through Warner Bros. When Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising chose to break with Schlesinger and begin producing cartoons independently for MGM in 1933, Hanna was one of the employees who followed them.
During 1938–39, he served as a senior director on MGM's Captain and the Kids series, based upon the comic strip of the same name (an alternate version of the Katzenjammer Kids that had resulted from a 1914 lawsuit). The series did not do well; consequently, Hanna was demoted to a story man and the series was canceled. Hanna's desk at MGM was opposite that of Joseph Barbera, who had previously worked at Terrytoons.
( Hanna called himself the world's "lousiest artist" since he did not have Joe's drawing abilities, but his sense of timing and direction was pitch perfect for animation ! He also made most voice effects !)

So Hanna and Barbera jointly directed "Puss Gets the Boot", which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject.
How exactly it is that a cat and mouse who hate each other, and spend most of their lives trying to kill each other, stayed so successful is a testament to their genius and the outstanding work of their crew of skilled animators.

Let us start the countdown and long live Thomas Jasper Cat and Jerry Jinx Mouse ! Music Maestro [link]

20 JOHANN MOUSE (1952)

This cartoon rightly won an Oscar and is probably one of the best to explain what the whole franchise was about. With narration by Hans Conreid, it also features Strauss's music to its advantage. It started with the basics of Tom wanting to get Jerry , no more no less. But Tom decides to go to ridiculous lengths to get the mouse , knowing that Jerry was fond of Strauss's music... and he ended up as a piano player and Jerry as a dancer ! What are the odds ?!

19 THE MISSING MOUSE (1951)

A can of white paint falls on Jerry and wakes him up. He's all white now. At the same time, Tom is listening to the radio when the program is interrupted with a bulletin: a white mouse filled with a powerful explosive has escaped a lab . OF COURSE Jerry is gonna use and abuse that opportunity !

18 BLUE CAT BLUES (1956)

The sad tale of how Tom ruined himself over this woman (well female cat...) . It's told through Jerry's Keifer Sutherland voice with overmelodramatic lines. This short of soapy story is one of the best parodies they made ,as well as the darkest Tom & Jerry short ever made.So it definitely deserves its spot as a unique experience (who said they were one-dimensional , huh ?)

17 DESIGNS ON JERRY (1953)

The most orginal animation of all Tom & Jerry's filmography .
Tom is busy planning a complicated trap to ensnare Jerry with, and falls asleep after drawing his plans. Unknown to him, though, the drawn mouse had come to life (YES... the drawings do scheme against you ! Be very afraid!) and alerted Jerry, who does a little something to the plans that is not only virtually unnoticeable,but screws it up entirely... while fighting the drawn cat.

16 LITTLE SCHOOL MOUSE (1952)

Jerry is teaching Nibbles about mouse tricks and how to perform them whilst avoiding trouble with cats, and demonstrates with Tom. Nibbles, on the other hand, seems to have better ideas on how to achieve this goal... Sort of the opposite Number of the Professor Tom (1948), this one inverts the formula and has far more violent gags and a much more satisfying ending.

15 THE TWO MOUSEKETEERS (1952)

Of the Mousketeer Tom and Jerry cartoons, this could very well be the best of all.The story is a nice one, with Tom as a guard guarding the food as his life depends on it (literally) and Jerry and Nibbles try to thwart him. The rest, well you have to see it for yourself.

14 DOWNHEARTED DUCKLING (1952)

This story centers around Jerry trying to help a little yellow duckling without self-esteem. The duck thinks he's ugly and that nobody loves him... Okay , yes, Jerry is trying to save emo duckling here !
The best part is of course when the bird comes up to Tom, raps him on the head and asks, "Will you eat me, Mr. Pussycat?" Tom is taken aback by this so the bird says, "I'm serious."And of course Jerry is here to stop Tom from enjoying some tender meat! Oh Come on ! The Goddamn emo duckling wanted to die !

13 TEXAS TOM (1950)

Tom gets bored of this when an attractive female cat turns up and starts wooing her; first demonstrating his cigarette rolling skills then miming along to a record. This goes well until Jerry starts changing the speed causing Tom to mime very quickly then very slowly. The two of them soon end up fighting again but Tom comes off worse as Jerry enlists the help of the bull! Well , this is easily the fastest when it comes to gags , a great succession of one after another...

12 THE TRUCE HURTS (1947)

"Cats can get along with dogs, can't they? Mice can get along with cats, right?"
Yes they CAN ! As long as there is no steak involved ...

11 SATURDAY EVENING PUSS (1950)

This one is where we see more of Mammy Two-Shoes than ever, not just her face (well glasses ,,,) but also a bit of her social life.
And while Mammy ain't home, Tom has a whole gang of friends making some great music ! Which is nice and dandy until they piss off Jerry ...You all saw this one coming

10 THE CAT CONCERTO (1946)

You all saw this one coming right ? How could this NOT be in the top 10 ?
Ignore the problems that this short had with Rhapsody Rabbit (which we will talk about in my Friz Freleng compilation. Yes the Termite Terrace directors will get their top 20! Each one of them !), as nobody stole any idea from anybody, it was all just happenstance, they just happened to come out around the same time.
Anyhow the laughs are big, the enjoyment is huge, and in short, it totally and completely deserved the Oscar that it won.

9 THE MIDNIGHT SNACK (1941)

This is a childhood favorite. What did I like about The Midnight Snack? A lot actually. As I've said, things are not quite settled as it is one of the earliest shorts but this where the sadism and violence is appearing here ... Tom's design would get better later and more anthropomorphic, but he still looks sweet.

8 MOUSE IN MANHATTAN (1945)

Now this is not their funniest or zaniest, but visually and musically it is still somptuous.This is mainly Jerry's story and he carries it wonderfully ! True most of what happens is clearly there for the animators to show off their skills; and I must say it looks very good. And the ending was heart-warming ...

7 THE BODYGUARD (1944)

This starts when Spike, with a bit of an Irish brogue, defends Jerry from Tom whenever the mouse whistles ... And you don't need more for comedy gold...simple as that. Also "IN ME POWER ! WAHAHAHAHAHAHA !"
The jokes were so good they didn't need the usual long chase scenes. What's also different in this one is that Tom actually comes up with a plan that works!
Finally, this animated short also has an unusual, and very good, finish.

6 THE LITTLE ORPHAN (1948)

Poor Tom: as if one mouse giving him hassle wasn't enough, he now has to deal with Jerry's ward, little orphan Nibbles, whose insatiable hunger leads into the house where a Thanksgiving dinner awaits.
If at first Nibbles seems too cutesy , his huge apetite hungry does lead to some satisfyingly sadistic violence with the dinner table as battleground ! That is the awesomeness of Tom & Jerry right here people : Turning a dinner into a WAR !

5 SOLID SERENADE (1946)

Tom attempts to woo a tasty white female cat by performing the best rendition of "Is You Is, or Is You Ain't, My Baby?".
Unfortunately, the cat's romantic musical gesture isn't appreciated by Jerry, who is desperately struggling to catch some z's. In order to get some peace (and a little revenge, of course), the mouse sets about trying to ruin Tom's chances with the sexy feline.

4 THE MILLION $ CAT (1944)

I largely prefer Tom over Jerry... You knew this one HAD to be at least in the top 5 !

3 A MOUSE IN THE HOUSE (1947)

Mammy-Two-Shoes is devastated to learn that there is a mouse in the house and he's eating all the food and making a mess. So far, so typical. She gives the two lazy cats (Tom and Butch ) an ultimatum-the one that catches Jerry will not be thrown out. And it will be a duel of epic proportion between our 2 cats for who's gonna keep his cozzy place ! Best cartoon with Butch and Tom fighting each other (especially the boxing !)

2 MOUSE TROUBLE (1944)

Tom getting a book on how to catch mice in the post. He sets about trying each of the ideas proposed in the book. Of course none work (DO BELIIIEEEVE IIT !)'... and so it goes on with each successive idea leading to Tom getting more and more damaged until he is ultimately blown to kingdom come.
This may be the most sadistic and violent of the bunch , thus it definitely deserves its position !

Now to the honorable mentions :
Push Button Kitty (1952), The Milky Waif (1946), The Duck Doctor (1952),Saftey Second (1950), The Flying Sorceress (1955), Downhearted Duckling (1952), Pet Peeve (1954), Hiccup Pup (1952) , Little Runaway (1952), Triplet Trouble (1952), Salt Water Tabby (1947), Puss Gets The Boot (1941), Old Rocking chair Tom (1948) ...etc...
AND WHAT I SEE AS HIS ABSOLUTE BEST IS ...

1 TOM & JERRY AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL (1950)

Timeless and classic.There are NO faults on this because it really is "THE" Tom & Jerry classic for excellency and the only one which is as close to perfection as a Tom & Jerry cartoon can be.Even people who dislike this duo will shut their trap in front of this animated master-piece !

This concludes the first but not the last of my top 20s... I hope you guys and girls will stay tuned for more, because we have a fuckload of stuff to talk or REtalk about ! Now , bring on the feedbacks !

Description
Take one of the oldest, most basic idea in the world: A cat chasing a mouse, then take to its finest fruition. This series of cartoon can be often imitated BUT NEVER surpassed . The reason ? Tom & Jerry were made for a film audience , not kids ! Plus to revive it , you have to have Scott Bradley's musical talents and an impeccable timing . Without music , it can't be alive (That goes for the Disneys , the Lantzs , The Looney TUNES and Merrie MELODIES too ! It is crucial to have it!).

The Tom-and-Jerry shorts were unquestionably, Irrevocably , the most violent cartoons of the golden age. From the days Tex Avery came to MGM, Hanna, Barbera and their animators did get a lot of influence from him (Tex never worked directly on Tom & Jerry , but his MGM work did clearly influence them ),thus Refining their cartoons !
Tom and Jerry has often been criticized as excessively violent... but than again, I would reply to that "Oh, grow a pair !". Comedy has to have that ! It uses a lot conflicts or negative stuff to make us laugh ! I need to remind you that as a tunisian, I spit on the whole PC stuff .... These cartoons were never meant for kids and are part of the animation art's history !(which is why whitewashing Mammy Two-shoes comes off as disgusting to me... I grew up with that old lady as Tom's owner so you keep your "offensive stereotype" to yourself. Hell if I started listing the TRULY offensive stuff of NOWADAYS , they'd shut up !)
Of course before celebrating the wanton destruction, seldom catchphrases, murderous schemes, comedic timing and hilarious sounds, we have to talk about the creators !

JOSEPH BARBERA

(March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006)

Barbera displayed a talent for drawing as early as the first grade.He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn in 1928. While in high school, Barbera won several boxing titles. He was briefly managed by World Lightweight Boxing Champion Al Singer's manager but soon lost interest in boxing. After working odd jobs and as a banker, Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1932 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1936. In 1937, he moved to California and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Barbera met William Hanna. The studio was basically in trouble Kentzajammer kids (though the comics was great) was sinking the studio., Joe told him about a cat and a mouse ...

(His drawings were the actual script ... there was no written script For a Tom and Jerry cartoon ! They were actually a comics of sort before the in-between drawings.)

WILLIAM HANNA

(July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001)

When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by 1919. There, Hanna became an Eagle Scout.
His sister's boyfriend encouraged him to apply for a job at Pacific Title and Art, which produced title cards for motion pictures.[ While working there, Hanna's talent for drawing became evident, and in 1930 he joined the Harman and Ising animation studio, which had created the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. Despite a lack of formal training, Hanna soon became head of their ink and paint department. Besides inking and painting, Hanna also wrote songs and lyrics. For the first several years of Hanna's employment, the studio partnered with Pacific Title and Art's Leon Schlesinger, who released the Harman-Ising output through Warner Bros. When Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising chose to break with Schlesinger and begin producing cartoons independently for MGM in 1933, Hanna was one of the employees who followed them.
During 1938–39, he served as a senior director on MGM's Captain and the Kids series, based upon the comic strip of the same name (an alternate version of the Katzenjammer Kids that had resulted from a 1914 lawsuit). The series did not do well; consequently, Hanna was demoted to a story man and the series was canceled. Hanna's desk at MGM was opposite that of Joseph Barbera, who had previously worked at Terrytoons.
( Hanna called himself the world's "lousiest artist" since he did not have Joe's drawing abilities, but his sense of timing and direction was pitch perfect for animation ! He also made most voice effects !)

So Hanna and Barbera jointly directed "Puss Gets the Boot", which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject.
How exactly it is that a cat and mouse who hate each other, and spend most of their lives trying to kill each other, stayed so successful is a testament to their genius and the outstanding work of their crew of skilled animators.

Let us start the countdown and long live Thomas Jasper Cat and Jerry Jinx Mouse ! Music Maestro [link]

20 JOHANN MOUSE (1952)

This cartoon rightly won an Oscar and is probably one of the best to explain what the whole franchise was about. With narration by Hans Conreid, it also features Strauss's music to its advantage. It started with the basics of Tom wanting to get Jerry , no more no less. But Tom decides to go to ridiculous lengths to get the mouse , knowing that Jerry was fond of Strauss's music... and he ended up as a piano player and Jerry as a dancer ! What are the odds ?!

19 THE MISSING MOUSE (1951)

A can of white paint falls on Jerry and wakes him up. He's all white now. At the same time, Tom is listening to the radio when the program is interrupted with a bulletin: a white mouse filled with a powerful explosive has escaped a lab . OF COURSE Jerry is gonna use and abuse that opportunity !

18 BLUE CAT BLUES (1956)

The sad tale of how Tom ruined himself over this woman (well female cat...) . It's told through Jerry's Keifer Sutherland voice with overmelodramatic lines. This short of soapy story is one of the best parodies they made ,as well as the darkest Tom & Jerry short ever made.So it definitely deserves its spot as a unique experience (who said they were one-dimensional , huh ?)

17 DESIGNS ON JERRY (1953)

The most orginal animation of all Tom & Jerry's filmography .
Tom is busy planning a complicated trap to ensnare Jerry with, and falls asleep after drawing his plans. Unknown to him, though, the drawn mouse had come to life (YES... the drawings do scheme against you ! Be very afraid!) and alerted Jerry, who does a little something to the plans that is not only virtually unnoticeable,but screws it up entirely... while fighting the drawn cat.

16 LITTLE SCHOOL MOUSE (1952)

Jerry is teaching Nibbles about mouse tricks and how to perform them whilst avoiding trouble with cats, and demonstrates with Tom. Nibbles, on the other hand, seems to have better ideas on how to achieve this goal... Sort of the opposite Number of the Professor Tom (1948), this one inverts the formula and has far more violent gags and a much more satisfying ending.

15 THE TWO MOUSEKETEERS (1952)

Of the Mousketeer Tom and Jerry cartoons, this could very well be the best of all.The story is a nice one, with Tom as a guard guarding the food as his life depends on it (literally) and Jerry and Nibbles try to thwart him. The rest, well you have to see it for yourself.

14 DOWNHEARTED DUCKLING (1952)

This story centers around Jerry trying to help a little yellow duckling without self-esteem. The duck thinks he's ugly and that nobody loves him... Okay , yes, Jerry is trying to save emo duckling here !
The best part is of course when the bird comes up to Tom, raps him on the head and asks, "Will you eat me, Mr. Pussycat?" Tom is taken aback by this so the bird says, "I'm serious."And of course Jerry is here to stop Tom from enjoying some tender meat! Oh Come on ! The Goddamn emo duckling wanted to die !

13 TEXAS TOM (1950)

Tom gets bored of this when an attractive female cat turns up and starts wooing her; first demonstrating his cigarette rolling skills then miming along to a record. This goes well until Jerry starts changing the speed causing Tom to mime very quickly then very slowly. The two of them soon end up fighting again but Tom comes off worse as Jerry enlists the help of the bull! Well , this is easily the fastest when it comes to gags , a great succession of one after another...

12 THE TRUCE HURTS (1947)

"Cats can get along with dogs, can't they? Mice can get along with cats, right?"
Yes they CAN ! As long as there is no steak involved ...

11 SATURDAY EVENING PUSS (1950)

This one is where we see more of Mammy Two-Shoes than ever, not just her face (well glasses ,,,) but also a bit of her social life.
And while Mammy ain't home, Tom has a whole gang of friends making some great music ! Which is nice and dandy until they piss off Jerry ...You all saw this one coming

10 THE CAT CONCERTO (1946)

You all saw this one coming right ? How could this NOT be in the top 10 ?
Ignore the problems that this short had with Rhapsody Rabbit (which we will talk about in my Friz Freleng compilation. Yes the Termite Terrace directors will get their top 20! Each one of them !), as nobody stole any idea from anybody, it was all just happenstance, they just happened to come out around the same time.
Anyhow the laughs are big, the enjoyment is huge, and in short, it totally and completely deserved the Oscar that it won.

9 THE MIDNIGHT SNACK (1941)

This is a childhood favorite. What did I like about The Midnight Snack? A lot actually. As I've said, things are not quite settled as it is one of the earliest shorts but this where the sadism and violence is appearing here ... Tom's design would get better later and more anthropomorphic, but he still looks sweet.

8 MOUSE IN MANHATTAN (1945)

Now this is not their funniest or zaniest, but visually and musically it is still somptuous.This is mainly Jerry's story and he carries it wonderfully ! True most of what happens is clearly there for the animators to show off their skills; and I must say it looks very good. And the ending was heart-warming ...

7 THE BODYGUARD (1944)

This starts when Spike, with a bit of an Irish brogue, defends Jerry from Tom whenever the mouse whistles ... And you don't need more for comedy gold...simple as that. Also "IN ME POWER ! WAHAHAHAHAHAHA !"
The jokes were so good they didn't need the usual long chase scenes. What's also different in this one is that Tom actually comes up with a plan that works!
Finally, this animated short also has an unusual, and very good, finish.

6 THE LITTLE ORPHAN (1948)

Poor Tom: as if one mouse giving him hassle wasn't enough, he now has to deal with Jerry's ward, little orphan Nibbles, whose insatiable hunger leads into the house where a Thanksgiving dinner awaits.
If at first Nibbles seems too cutesy , his huge apetite hungry does lead to some satisfyingly sadistic violence with the dinner table as battleground ! That is the awesomeness of Tom & Jerry right here people : Turning a dinner into a WAR !

5 SOLID SERENADE (1946)

Tom attempts to woo a tasty white female cat by performing the best rendition of "Is You Is, or Is You Ain't, My Baby?".
Unfortunately, the cat's romantic musical gesture isn't appreciated by Jerry, who is desperately struggling to catch some z's. In order to get some peace (and a little revenge, of course), the mouse sets about trying to ruin Tom's chances with the sexy feline.

4 THE MILLION $ CAT (1944)

I largely prefer Tom over Jerry... You knew this one HAD to be at least in the top 5 !

3 A MOUSE IN THE HOUSE (1947)

Mammy-Two-Shoes is devastated to learn that there is a mouse in the house and he's eating all the food and making a mess. So far, so typical. She gives the two lazy cats (Tom and Butch ) an ultimatum-the one that catches Jerry will not be thrown out. And it will be a duel of epic proportion between our 2 cats for who's gonna keep his cozzy place ! Best cartoon with Butch and Tom fighting each other (especially the boxing !)

2 MOUSE TROUBLE (1944)

Tom getting a book on how to catch mice in the post. He sets about trying each of the ideas proposed in the book. Of course none work (DO BELIIIEEEVE IIT !)'... and so it goes on with each successive idea leading to Tom getting more and more damaged until he is ultimately blown to kingdom come.
This may be the most sadistic and violent of the bunch , thus it definitely deserves its position !

Now to the honorable mentions :
Push Button Kitty (1952), The Milky Waif (1946), The Duck Doctor (1952),Saftey Second (1950), The Flying Sorceress (1955), Downhearted Duckling (1952), Pet Peeve (1954), Hiccup Pup (1952) , Little Runaway (1952), Triplet Trouble (1952), Salt Water Tabby (1947), Puss Gets The Boot (1941), Old Rocking chair Tom (1948) ...etc...
AND WHAT I SEE AS HIS ABSOLUTE BEST IS ...

1 TOM & JERRY AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL (1950)

Timeless and classic.There are NO faults on this because it really is "THE" Tom & Jerry classic for excellency and the only one which is as close to perfection as a Tom & Jerry cartoon can be.Even people who dislike this duo will shut their trap in front of this animated master-piece !

This concludes the first but not the last of my top 20s... I hope you guys and girls will stay tuned for more, because we have a fuckload of stuff to talk or REtalk about ! Now , bring on the feedbacks !