Mouse Trouble
Encyclopedia
Mouse Trouble is a 1944
one-reel animated cartoon
and is the 17th Tom and Jerry
short
produced by Fred Quimby
and directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
, with music by Scott Bradley
(the music is actually based on the popular jazz
song "All God's Children Got Rhythm"). The cartoon was animated by Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Ken Muse and Pete Burness. The cartoon won the 1944 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the second consecutive award bestowed upon the series. It was released in theatres on November 23, 1944 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer and reissued in 1951 or 1952 for re-release.
Tom acquires a book on how to catch mice and for the rest of the cartoon, takes its advice to attempt to catch the mouse.
The first thing the book suggests is to locate the mouse. Tom "locates" the mouse, but when Tom tries to grab Jerry, the rodent steps off the book and slams Tom's nose in it.
Tom sets out the trap and tests it by snapping it by touching it with a feather. Jerry, however, succeeds in freeing the cheese from it. Shocked at the trap's failure, Tom tests it before the trap snaps as soon as he touches it, irritating him greatly.
Tom soon sets a snare trap around a piece of cheese, ready to pull the string but Jerry sneakily replaces the trap with a bowl of cream. When Tom peeks back at the trap, he sees the cream and drinks it while Jerry activates the trap, sending the cat out to the tree himself. Tom's next attempt at catching Jerry is to laugh noisily while reading the book. A curious Jerry ventures out of his hole and Tom captures Jerry by shutting him into the book. But when Tom grabs him, Jerry pulls the same trick on him with his fists. Tom inspects them only to get punched in the eye and leaving Jerry to escape. (This trick was pulled again in Safety Second
.) After reading in the book the fact that A Cornered Mouse NEVER FIGHTS, Tom pounces onto Jerry. But Jerry fights back and beats Tom offscreen, after this, Tom drones "Don't you believe it!".
At this point, Tom stops reading from chapter-to-chapter and skims the book, trying suggestions that he likes or thinks will work. Upon reading Chapter VII, Tom uses a stethoscope
to listen for Jerry within the walls of the house. Jerry screams into the microphone, which is almost deafening
Tom. Tom forces a shotgun into Jerry's mousehole. However, the barrel of the gun bends outwards, pointing straight at Tom's head as the cat fires and ends up shooting himself in the head, rendering himself bald. In the next scene (and every scene after that until the end), Tom wears a dodgy, orange toupée
.
Tom sets a bear trap and sticks it inside Jerry's hole. Just then, Jerry walks outside from another hole behind Tom and puts it behind him. Just as Tom sits down, the trap triggers, causing pain and sending him up into the roof. Tom then tries to use a mallet to flatten Jerry. Jerry then pops out of a hole behind a picture right above Tom, grabs the mallet, and hits him, knocking him unconscious.
Tom then attempts to hide inside a large gift box before knocking on Jerry's wall. Jerry, seeing the box, knocks on it. With no response, he returns with a bunch of pins before sawing the box in half. Hearing nothing inside, Jerry looks inside the box, and in horror, he gulps and displays a sign reading "IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?"
Tom, now covered in bandages (including one wrapped around his bisected torso), reads the twelfth chapter of the book, Mice are Suckers for Dames, which makes him wind up a toy mouse. Jerry, noticing the toy, walks with it. Tom attempts to lure Jerry into a mouse-sized "hotel," the door of which leads into Tom's open mouth, but to Tom's dismay, Jerry ushers the mechanical mouse into the hotel first, which Tom swallows. He repeatedly hiccups, an enraged Tom looks at his ruined teeth in a mirror, and then destroys both the mirror and the book before Tom goes insane and gets revenge and attempts to blow away Jerry with dozens of explosives. When Tom lights a piece of dynamite, he blows the fuse much too hard, resulting in all the explosives erupting and leaving Tom dead. Nothing at all remains of the house except Jerry, who is not blown in the explosion and still alive, and his door, while Tom's spirit is in heaven, with a harp and an arrow repeatedly hiccupping "come up and see me some time".
1944 in film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
one-reel animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
and is the 17th Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
produced by Fred Quimby
Fred Quimby
Frederick C. "Fred" Quimby was an American cartoon producer, best known as a producer of Tom and Jerry cartoons, for which he won seven Academy Awards...
and directed by William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
, with music by Scott Bradley
Scott Bradley
Scott Bradley was an American composer, pianist and conductor.Bradley is best remembered for scoring the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatrical cartoons, including those starring Tom and Jerry , Droopy , Barney Bear , and the many one-shot cartoons.Bradley was a...
(the music is actually based on the popular jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
song "All God's Children Got Rhythm"). The cartoon was animated by Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Ken Muse and Pete Burness. The cartoon won the 1944 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the second consecutive award bestowed upon the series. It was released in theatres on November 23, 1944 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer and reissued in 1951 or 1952 for re-release.
Plot
The first thing the book suggests is to locate the mouse. Tom "locates" the mouse, but when Tom tries to grab Jerry, the rodent steps off the book and slams Tom's nose in it.
Tom soon sets a snare trap around a piece of cheese, ready to pull the string but Jerry sneakily replaces the trap with a bowl of cream. When Tom peeks back at the trap, he sees the cream and drinks it while Jerry activates the trap, sending the cat out to the tree himself. Tom's next attempt at catching Jerry is to laugh noisily while reading the book. A curious Jerry ventures out of his hole and Tom captures Jerry by shutting him into the book. But when Tom grabs him, Jerry pulls the same trick on him with his fists. Tom inspects them only to get punched in the eye and leaving Jerry to escape. (This trick was pulled again in Safety Second
Safety Second
Safety Second is a 1950 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 51st Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. The working title for this cartoon was F'r Safety Sake before Hanna and Barbera finally settled for Safety Second...
.) After reading in the book the fact that A Cornered Mouse NEVER FIGHTS, Tom pounces onto Jerry. But Jerry fights back and beats Tom offscreen, after this, Tom drones "Don't you believe it!".
Stethoscope
The stethoscope is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of an animal body. It is often used to listen to lung and heart sounds. It is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins...
to listen for Jerry within the walls of the house. Jerry screams into the microphone, which is almost deafening
Deafening
Deafening is a 2003 novel written by Frances Itani.Author Frances Itani brings the reader to a small, pre-World War I Ontario town called Deseronto, where the O'Neil family owns a hotel. The book follows the story of Grania O'Neil, a girl who lost her hearing when she was five years old as a result...
Tom. Tom forces a shotgun into Jerry's mousehole. However, the barrel of the gun bends outwards, pointing straight at Tom's head as the cat fires and ends up shooting himself in the head, rendering himself bald. In the next scene (and every scene after that until the end), Tom wears a dodgy, orange toupée
Toupee
A toupée is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to lengthen existing hair, or cover partially exposed scalp...
.
Tom sets a bear trap and sticks it inside Jerry's hole. Just then, Jerry walks outside from another hole behind Tom and puts it behind him. Just as Tom sits down, the trap triggers, causing pain and sending him up into the roof. Tom then tries to use a mallet to flatten Jerry. Jerry then pops out of a hole behind a picture right above Tom, grabs the mallet, and hits him, knocking him unconscious.
Tom then attempts to hide inside a large gift box before knocking on Jerry's wall. Jerry, seeing the box, knocks on it. With no response, he returns with a bunch of pins before sawing the box in half. Hearing nothing inside, Jerry looks inside the box, and in horror, he gulps and displays a sign reading "IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?"
Tom, now covered in bandages (including one wrapped around his bisected torso), reads the twelfth chapter of the book, Mice are Suckers for Dames, which makes him wind up a toy mouse. Jerry, noticing the toy, walks with it. Tom attempts to lure Jerry into a mouse-sized "hotel," the door of which leads into Tom's open mouth, but to Tom's dismay, Jerry ushers the mechanical mouse into the hotel first, which Tom swallows. He repeatedly hiccups, an enraged Tom looks at his ruined teeth in a mirror, and then destroys both the mirror and the book before Tom goes insane and gets revenge and attempts to blow away Jerry with dozens of explosives. When Tom lights a piece of dynamite, he blows the fuse much too hard, resulting in all the explosives erupting and leaving Tom dead. Nothing at all remains of the house except Jerry, who is not blown in the explosion and still alive, and his door, while Tom's spirit is in heaven, with a harp and an arrow repeatedly hiccupping "come up and see me some time".