Tom and Jerry (Part 1)

On the 10th of February 1940, cinemas welcome the first ever cat and mouse movie “Puss Gets the Boot”. At the time, they weren’t Tom and Jerry, they were Jasper and Jinx.

Jasper the cat is picking on Jinx the mouse, and Jinx the mouse uses his intelligence to get back at the cat. The movie ends with a strange unexpected victory for the rodent kingdom

where the mouse beats the cat. Here, the movie wasn’t just successful, and threatened the popularity of other cartoons at the time like “Alice in Wonderland”, “Betty Boop”, “Gertie the Dinosaur” and “Zaza and Gargir”

The Cat and the Mouse will sit on the throne of the most popular cartoons in the world. Despite the simple story and comedy it has, where the context allows for fights between the cat and the mouse, producers found that the cartoon’s popularity is growing. So, they thought: “We need a name to appeal to people better. Jasper and Jinx? I can’t pronounce it. Sounds like an expensive shoe store.” So they put up a 50-dollar reward among artists for those with the best name. This was given to the artist John Carr when he suggested two names from an English play called “Life in London” It talks about two carriers called…? No way! Romeo and Juliet? No :D Tom and Jerry, my friend! And even though they both don’t talk, they have unique personalities. Jerry is the smart brown mouse who just wants to have fun, eat bread, and pose on stickers. And Tom is stubborn and angry. Tom is the villain in the story. But not the point of hating him. He’s still funny and loved by us. Personally, my friend, I used to root for him. I felt bad. He gets these long things in his head and tries to hammer them back down. He’s seen a lot. Tom is still funny. Of course, there’s a need to say that the cartoon was loved by adults before kids. And everything went that way until its popularity on TV started to grow and threatened the film industry. And film production companies go through tough times. They have to sacrifice something to keep going, what should they sacrifice? Of course, trivial, senseless, ridiculous things like cartoons. Specifically, because the production company MGM spends 50.000 dollars on a single Tom and Jerry movie. Notice, my friend, that it’s a lot now. Imagine how it was then. That’s when the company completely closed the animation division. They’ve no time. No one bought films from them, and they Gave up the original artists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1957. Then they both made cartoons called “The Smurfs”, “Scooby-Doo”, and “The Flinstones”. They were blessed!

A few years later, the company realized that there was nothing more ridiculous than what they have done. And that cartoons could have saved them during this tough time. That’s why it decided to resume its production in 1961, four years after the closing of the animation division! And they produce “Tom and Jerry” again without the original artists. They assigned directly to a guy named Gene Deitch. You might ask why this Gene Deitch. Before that, this guy owned an animation studio in New York. He met the love of his life in 1959 and traveled with her to a country called the Czech Republic, and they settled down there. When the company contacted him to direct “Tom and Jerry”, they told him “While you’re there, you should hire Czech artists, we want to save more money, wages here in America, since we pay in dollars, are more expensive. So find us some affordable people around you to work with.” Of course my friend, no need to say that there was a global event happening at the time called the called war. And who was it between? It was between the US and the Soviet Union and its allies. And who was close to the Soviet Union? The Czech Republic? Great, You’re correct! So, the company had to secretly produce “Tom and Jerry” movies in Prague, the Czech Republic. The problem was due to the censorship in the Soviet Union. You’ll say it’s good, that means that despite this war, art was able to overcome borders, and make two countries that are against each other work together! Not just any work, but work on cartoons that go to kids. The problem occurs because of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had very strict censorship and restrictions that separated the Soviet Union and Northern Europe from the rest of the world. Therefore, the Czech artists have never seen a Tom and Jerry movie before Imagine bringing people from North Korea, and telling them “Please do Courage the Cowardly Dog”!

Therefore, that led to the production of a very separate version from the rest of Tom and Jerry movies. If you’re a fan of “Tom and Jerry”, firstly, good job, me too! Secondly, you’ll find a clear difference in the movies that were released then. Bad animation and weak characters. Anyway, when these episodes aired the company didn’t write the names of the Czech artists in the credits. Why? To not connect Tom and Jerry with communism. So They wrote the names of fake American artists. Then the Czech artists said: “We were already underpaid, just to get our names known in America and get jobs. We wanted you to fetch us from communism, and give us a taste of capitalism! Is that what capitalism is? Is it?” (Honestly, yes). The Czech artists said they wouldn’t work again. Don’t really know how they knew about their names, but just play along. Anyway, my friend, the funny part is that luckily for the Czexh artists, when the audience saw the movie, said: “What is this trash?”

The director Gene Deitch in an interview in 2019, said that he received death threats because the audience didn’t like his version. The company then let him go and brought in Chuck Jones who was working for their opponent. He was working at the time for the Warner brothers who made Looney Tunes. So Mr. Chuck drew Tom with thick eyebrows, and a slightly crooked head similar to the Grinch which he designed.

And he made 34 successful Tom and Jerry movies from 1963 to 1967. And it begins to air on TV when CBS obtained the copyright. If there’s a description that fits Tom and Jerry, it would be the ultimate trend. A cartoon that went through time and space, and is successful anywhere, anytime for all ages and both sexes. But what is the reason for this crushing success? And it’s not just socially successful. “Tom and Jerry”, my friend was nominated 13 Times for Oscars, and won 7 best animated short film, with films like “The Cat Concerto”, “The Two Mouseketeers”, and “Johann Mouse”. However, despite this crushing success, in the ’70s, it was getting accusations of violence. Which is by the way still happening today. In 1991, the cold war peacefully ends, and the world finally is safe and peaceful. That’s when the production company releases the movie “Tom and Jerry” in 1992 and in its description: “To save the life of a young girl, this cat and mouse will have to do the impossible, they’ll have to get along.” Welcome, my friend, to the 90’s where the cold war is over and the world is a nicer place. “You beautiful audience, didn’t you enjoy those little moments when Tom got along with Jerry? Well, here’s a 90-minute movie, and a truce for a noble reason as well; to save a little girl”.

Of course, my friend, you’re expecting people to weep when they saw the movie of how important the message is, how beautiful it is, and how amazing it is. How two enemies the cat and the mouse can get along for a little girl? How humane! Wow! My friend the audience left the theaters saying: “How disgusting! Is that a joke? What do you mean little girl? How is she saved by a cat and a mouse? THEY need to be saved. Where are the fights, punches, squeezes, and stuff that comes out of heads? The ones they just hammered back down like alternative medicine. Where is the quarreling, electrocuting, birds above the heads, and dogs biting tails? We want fun.”

If you thought about it, you’ll find a good reason for that. Because other than the perfect timing, great music, and smart writing as well, if you look at it, you’ll find that Tom and Jerry’s comedy depends on pain. Fights, pains, burns, and explosions. Falling, swelling, and disfigurements. Pains and screams that make us laugh from our hearts. Your Grandpa loved it you love it, and your kids will love it. All generations and cultures love it. Then the important question is: What makes pain something laughable? What’s wrong with us? Do people love Tom and Jerry because of an inner passion for violence? Do we wish to be them whether hitting or getting hit? Or are we psychos or something?