Written by Musgo Del Jefe
Tom and Jerry - Chuck Jones Collection is another case of pop culture perfect timing. Tom and Jerry, created in 1940, already had 114 shorts (and seven Oscars for Best Short Subject) under their belt from creators Hanna-Barbera when MGM closed their animation studios in 1957. From 1960 - 1962, a Czech-based company picked up the series for only 13 shorts. The director, Gene Deitch hadn't seen many of the previous cartoons and didn't have an understanding of the series. After the bizarre episodes from Eastern Europe, MGM was looking for another studio to take over their beloved franchise.
Chuck Jones started with Warner Bros. Animation in the mid-1930s working with Tex Avery (who would do some of his own best work at MGM from 1942 to 1952). His first stint as a director was "The Night Watchman" featuring a cat that would later become Sniffles the Mouse. Chuck and his team would work on some of the best known cartoons for characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and his own characters - realizing his best work from the late '40s through the early '50s. He's best regarded for his work on the Coyote and Road Runner cartoons in this period. But much like MGM, Warner Bros. was forced to cut their Animation Department in 1962.
MGM wanted someone to take over the Tom and Jerry cartoons, and Chuck Jones had just started his Sib Tower 12 Productions. He brought with him most of the key members of his team from Warner Bros. including brilliant writer and director Michael Maltese and genius set designer Maurice Noble among others. The 34 shorts they would produce between 1963 and 1967 are included on this newly remastered two-disc set.
In many ways, the Tom and Jerry cartoons on this set represent a continuation of the creative work that was going on at the end of the Warner-era. But they also show the transformation that would lead to The Phantom Tollbooth, How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), and Horton Hears A Who! (1970). Tom and Jerry have survived the decades because of their adaptability. There are many types of stories that can come out of the cat-and-mouse dynamic. Chuck Jones keeps the stories fresh by continually changing the settings and plots. With no set rules, Tom can be the aggressor or the victim in the chase. Jerry can be the one being chased or he can just get in the way of Tom trying to chase another animal. Chuck's experiences from Warner Bros. color the characterizations and stories here - many feel like extensions of the Road Runner and Coyote shorts he did earlier. But there are also traces of Bugs Bunny ("The Cat Above, The Mouse Below" is essentially a retelling of the Bugs Bunny short with the opera singer, "Long-Haired Hare"), Sylvester and Tweety, the Tasmanian Devil, and even the Speedy Gonzales shorts.
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