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The Dog House (1952 film)
Encyclopedia
The Dog House is the 72nd one reel
animated
Tom and Jerry
short
, created in 1952
directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
and produced by Fred Quimby
with music by Scott Bradley. It was animated by Ed Barge
, Kenneth Muse
, Ray Patterson
, Irven Spence
, with backgrounds by John Didrik Johnsen. The cartoon's plot was inspired by, and is very loosely based on the 1948 Cary Grant/Myrna Loy film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
. It was released on November 29, 1952 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Spike is building the doghouse of his dreams. However, Tom chases Jerry through the chassis of the house and also pulls a board off it to attack the mouse with. When Jerry perches on Spike's head, even lying on top of his dream house does not stop it from being smashed. Tom bolts, but Spike stomps on his tail, then dusts himself off and wrenches the cat facing in his direction. He issues Tom an ultimatum: leave his dream house alone or suffer the consequences ("Quiet pussycat! Ever since I was a pup I've wanted a place of my own and I still want it! But if one thing happens to my dreamhouse...there's goin' to be moider!").
Tom is thrown into a power pole, shaking a mailbox onto his head. Tom goes behind a wall and frees himself, then peeks his head around the corner to spot Jerry jogging. Both cat and mouse dig under the dream house during the chase, and Tom drags Spike with him until he is bopped on the head with the dog's hammer. Tom falls backwards out of control and dumps Spike on top of the dream house before the dog can avoid the collision; Spike drums his fingers as Tom escapes.
Spike is ever more vigilant as he paints the next iteration red; meanwhile, Tom is still giving chase through the garden. When Tom is tripped up by a rollerskate from Jerry and knocks the dream house out of position, Spike doesn't notice and continues painting. When he opens his eyes, Tom's tail is painted red. Tom proceeds to threaten the dream house with destruction by ax, and mocks the dog by using Spike's nose as a noisemaker. Spike attempts to attack Tom again, and is delayed until the blade falls off the ax handle. Before he gets beat up by the angry dog, Tom slams Spike on the head with the handle and steals away as Spike falls on his own dream house.
Tom hides, but comes across Jerry in no time. He spots a roller and attempts to mow Jerry down with it; Spike, sleeping in his completed house, spots the chase aimed right at him. He holds out his hand, ordering the cat to stop, but Tom mows right over him, making an arrow shape. Tom chases Jerry into his mousehole and lights a firework, which Jerry promptly throws into Spike's dog house. Tom tries to remove the firework, but is caught by Spike. Tom retreats innocently while Spike starts to look inside; Tom discourages the dog from doing so, but Spike pushes him away and looks inside anyway. The firework explodes, leaving Spike in a sunflower appearance.
Tom chases Jerry up the power pole seen earlier and chops it down. Spike is repairing his house when he spots the falling behemoth. He frantically moves to the front yard, where the very end of the pole falls and smashes his home. Spike, annoyed, builds his next home in a tree. Quite unfortunately for him, Tom has followed Jerry to this tree and chops it down as Jerry climbs to the top of it; Spike mutters "Timber" in frustration.
Spike has finally achieved peace and quiet in his house, and Jerry is sleeping on top of it. Tom spots the mouse from through a hole in the fence and lassoes him. Jerry wakes up as he's being pulled off the house and pulls the rope back, launching Tom into the fence. Extremely miffed, Tom pulls back, but Jerry has hooked the rope to Spike's house and the dog is pulled all the way into the fence, destroying his house again. Tom tries five more times to get Spike through the fence, jolting the dog each time, and then uses the nearby fire hydrant as a pulley to squeeze Spike through the hole in the fence. The weight of Spike flattens Tom into the fence, which causes the cat to realize who he is holding. Tom tosses Spike over the fence and runs away, but Spike grabs Tom's tail through the hole and pulls him back repeatedly just as Tom had done to him.
The final scene shows Spike and Jerry working as partners to finish Spike's house for good, with Tom as his slave, ready to receive whippings from the dog. Tom is forced to do every single task at once.
Reel
A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...
animated
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...
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...
, created in 1952
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
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....
and 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...
with music by Scott Bradley. It was animated by Ed Barge
Ed Barge
Edward John "Ed" Barge was an American animator.Barge was born to Alfred Edward and Margaret G. Barge in San Jose, California. In 1916, the family moved to Bakersfield, where his father was employed by the Santa Fe Railroad and Pacific Western Oil Co. before retiring in 1954...
, Kenneth Muse
Kenneth Muse
Kenneth Lee Muse was an American animator. He is best known for his work on the Tom and Jerry series at MGM.-Biography:...
, Ray Patterson
Ray Patterson (animator)
Raymond "Ray" Patterson was an American animator, producer, and director. Patterson was born in Hollywood, California, and was the brother of animator Don Patterson.-Early career:...
, Irven Spence
Irven Spence
Irven Spence was an American animator. He is best known for his work on MGM's Tom and Jerry animated shorts. Spence has been credited variously as Irven Spence, Irvin Spence, and Irv Spence....
, with backgrounds by John Didrik Johnsen. The cartoon's plot was inspired by, and is very loosely based on the 1948 Cary Grant/Myrna Loy film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is a 1948 American comedy film directed by H.C. Potter and starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. The film was written and produced by the team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama...
. It was released on November 29, 1952 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
Plot
Tom is thrown into a power pole, shaking a mailbox onto his head. Tom goes behind a wall and frees himself, then peeks his head around the corner to spot Jerry jogging. Both cat and mouse dig under the dream house during the chase, and Tom drags Spike with him until he is bopped on the head with the dog's hammer. Tom falls backwards out of control and dumps Spike on top of the dream house before the dog can avoid the collision; Spike drums his fingers as Tom escapes.
Spike is ever more vigilant as he paints the next iteration red; meanwhile, Tom is still giving chase through the garden. When Tom is tripped up by a rollerskate from Jerry and knocks the dream house out of position, Spike doesn't notice and continues painting. When he opens his eyes, Tom's tail is painted red. Tom proceeds to threaten the dream house with destruction by ax, and mocks the dog by using Spike's nose as a noisemaker. Spike attempts to attack Tom again, and is delayed until the blade falls off the ax handle. Before he gets beat up by the angry dog, Tom slams Spike on the head with the handle and steals away as Spike falls on his own dream house.
Tom hides, but comes across Jerry in no time. He spots a roller and attempts to mow Jerry down with it; Spike, sleeping in his completed house, spots the chase aimed right at him. He holds out his hand, ordering the cat to stop, but Tom mows right over him, making an arrow shape. Tom chases Jerry into his mousehole and lights a firework, which Jerry promptly throws into Spike's dog house. Tom tries to remove the firework, but is caught by Spike. Tom retreats innocently while Spike starts to look inside; Tom discourages the dog from doing so, but Spike pushes him away and looks inside anyway. The firework explodes, leaving Spike in a sunflower appearance.
Tom chases Jerry up the power pole seen earlier and chops it down. Spike is repairing his house when he spots the falling behemoth. He frantically moves to the front yard, where the very end of the pole falls and smashes his home. Spike, annoyed, builds his next home in a tree. Quite unfortunately for him, Tom has followed Jerry to this tree and chops it down as Jerry climbs to the top of it; Spike mutters "Timber" in frustration.
Spike has finally achieved peace and quiet in his house, and Jerry is sleeping on top of it. Tom spots the mouse from through a hole in the fence and lassoes him. Jerry wakes up as he's being pulled off the house and pulls the rope back, launching Tom into the fence. Extremely miffed, Tom pulls back, but Jerry has hooked the rope to Spike's house and the dog is pulled all the way into the fence, destroying his house again. Tom tries five more times to get Spike through the fence, jolting the dog each time, and then uses the nearby fire hydrant as a pulley to squeeze Spike through the hole in the fence. The weight of Spike flattens Tom into the fence, which causes the cat to realize who he is holding. Tom tosses Spike over the fence and runs away, but Spike grabs Tom's tail through the hole and pulls him back repeatedly just as Tom had done to him.
The final scene shows Spike and Jerry working as partners to finish Spike's house for good, with Tom as his slave, ready to receive whippings from the dog. Tom is forced to do every single task at once.
Voice cast
- Daws ButlerDaws ButlerCharles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
as Spike