Trap Happy
Encyclopedia
Trap Happy is a 1946 American one-reel animated cartoon
and is the 25th Tom and Jerry
short
directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
and produced by Fred Quimby
. It was animated by Ed Barge
, Kenneth Muse
, Michael Lah
, Ray Patterson
and Pete Burness
. The music was composed by Scott Bradley
. It was released to theaters on June 29, 1946 and is one of Tom and Jerry's more violent cartoons. The name of this cartoon is a pun on the term Slap happy.
is being chased down the steps by Tom
. Jerry hides under a chair and Tom runs under it, but gets smacked on the bottom with a board from Jerry. Jerry's mousehole is then mined with dynamite, but unknowingly for Tom, Jerry has lit another firework under him, and both explode. Tom angrily continues the pursuit until Jerry offers him a fireplace shovel to hit him with. Tom misses several times and Jerry holds the tool down until Tom pulls on it so hard he hits himself when Jerry flees. Tom jumps into Jerry's hole, but his lips are ruffled and Tom has to pull himself out. Tom is tired of the chase and searches in the Yellow Pages
for an exterminator
. He finds one: Ajax Mouse Exterminators. One Call - That's All. Tom calls the company up impersonating as Mammy Two Shoes to come over.
Butch arrives within seconds, washes his hands and goes to work. He paints a steel nut two shades of yellow so it looks like cheese, and tops it off with a blast of "Essence of Cheese". Satisfied, Butch rolls it into Jerry's hole. Jerry, suspicious, smells the nut. Since it smells like cheese, Jerry gobbles it. Butch then attracts Jerry with a magnet, trapping the mouse. Butch pulls out an axe and then holds Jerry down while he attempts to cleave the mouse in two, but Tom, scared of seeing the deed, turns away, allowing Jerry to substitute Tom's tail. Tom screams in pain and the 2 vs. 1 chase begins.
Jerry runs into his hole and Butch pins him to a wall inside the hole with a corkscrew. With nowhere to go, Jerry touches two electric wires to the corkscrew, causing it to backfire onto Butch.
The next scene shows the two cats attempt to kill the mouse with poison gas. Jerry walks out with a gas mask on; the two cats are puzzled, but don't figure out his identity. Jerry salutes and the cats salute as if to say "Good day!" Tom returns to pumping gas, but Butch has deduced the little creature must be Jerry. He slaps Tom and points to Jerry removing his mask, taunting the cats and running off. Both cats chase him one behind the other, but fall victim to Jerry placing an iron in their path such that Tom falls into Butch's mouth.
Jerry hides in another mousehole and the two cats resort to prying up the entire wall. Jerry has a hammer and slams Tom's foot, causing him to lose grip (and howling in pain) and Butch's fingers to be crushed (also screaming in pain). Jerry plays "Yankee Doodle" on the eight digits and Butch releases them. All six of the main fingers are red, and his fingernails pop out, letting out steam. Butch instructs Tom to keep quiet and hands him a sledgehammer while he sneaks in through a grate and chases Jerry through the walls of the house, doing significant damage. Jerry pops out of the hole and Tom swings as instructed, only to find Butch's head replaced it soon after. Butch pops out of the hole in the floor and a bump rises on his head such that his hat hangs on it.
Butch lights a bomb and the cats hide. Jerry sees it and throws it back. The cats and the mouse play Hot Potato with the bomb until Butch's hat falls off his head and it is mixed up. Jerry, instead of getting the bomb as intended, gets the hat, and Butch has the bomb on top of his head. Puzzled as to why Jerry isn't planting the bomb on Butch again, the cats look up, and then the bomb explodes.
Jerry runs into one hole and comes out the other to find Butch on that side, then comes back out the other and finds Tom on that side. The two cats both grope and feel Jerry at the same time and grab for him just as the mouse jumps, leaving the two cats with hands held (though they don't know it). Both cats think they have Jerry and yank the other cat into the wall several times. Butch then pokes at Tom with a broom and Tom proceeds to pull Butch through the entire wall, demolishing it, all with the false impression that their hands are latched on to Jerry.
Tom slaps the pile of brick and rock with a board until he sees an opening. He digs through the pile and finds.....Butch's hat, with a corner missing. As Tom tries to find Jerry in the hat, Butch revives and replaces the hat as he draws himself up, incensed. Tom makes an "oops!" face, but Butch marks out the "MOUSE" in "MOUSE EXTERMINATOR" on his bag and replaces it with "CAT". Tom says "C,A,T. Cat." Then he points to himself and gulps. Butch gets a shotgun and threatens Tom who runs away to the window as Butch runs after him and shoots him.
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 25th 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...
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...
. 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:...
, Michael Lah
Michael Lah
Michael Richard Lah was an American animator. He is best known for his work at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, primarily as a member of Tex Avery's animation unit....
, 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:...
and Pete Burness
Pete Burness
Wilson D. "Pete" Burness was an American animator and animation director. He won two Academy Awards during his career and was perhaps best known for his work on the Mr. Magoo series. He also contributed to the Tom and Jerry series, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, and Rocky and His Friends.Burness...
. The music was composed 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...
. It was released to theaters on June 29, 1946 and is one of Tom and Jerry's more violent cartoons. The name of this cartoon is a pun on the term Slap happy.
Plot
JerryJerry Mouse
Jerry Mouse is a fictional animated character, one of the main characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon short films. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Jerry is a brown anthropomorphic mouse, who first appeared in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss...
is being chased down the steps by Tom
Tom Cat
Thomas "Tom" Cat is a fictional character and half of the academy-award winning Tom and Jerry cartoon cat-and-mouse duo. He is a blue/grey anthropomorphic cat who first appeared in the 1940 animated short Puss Gets the Boot...
. Jerry hides under a chair and Tom runs under it, but gets smacked on the bottom with a board from Jerry. Jerry's mousehole is then mined with dynamite, but unknowingly for Tom, Jerry has lit another firework under him, and both explode. Tom angrily continues the pursuit until Jerry offers him a fireplace shovel to hit him with. Tom misses several times and Jerry holds the tool down until Tom pulls on it so hard he hits himself when Jerry flees. Tom jumps into Jerry's hole, but his lips are ruffled and Tom has to pull himself out. Tom is tired of the chase and searches in the Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
for an exterminator
Exterminator
Exterminator may refer to:*A practitioner in pest control-Competition:*Exterminator , racehorse, the winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby*X-Terminator, a competitor in Robot Wars-Fiction:...
. He finds one: Ajax Mouse Exterminators. One Call - That's All. Tom calls the company up impersonating as Mammy Two Shoes to come over.
Butch arrives within seconds, washes his hands and goes to work. He paints a steel nut two shades of yellow so it looks like cheese, and tops it off with a blast of "Essence of Cheese". Satisfied, Butch rolls it into Jerry's hole. Jerry, suspicious, smells the nut. Since it smells like cheese, Jerry gobbles it. Butch then attracts Jerry with a magnet, trapping the mouse. Butch pulls out an axe and then holds Jerry down while he attempts to cleave the mouse in two, but Tom, scared of seeing the deed, turns away, allowing Jerry to substitute Tom's tail. Tom screams in pain and the 2 vs. 1 chase begins.
Jerry runs into his hole and Butch pins him to a wall inside the hole with a corkscrew. With nowhere to go, Jerry touches two electric wires to the corkscrew, causing it to backfire onto Butch.
The next scene shows the two cats attempt to kill the mouse with poison gas. Jerry walks out with a gas mask on; the two cats are puzzled, but don't figure out his identity. Jerry salutes and the cats salute as if to say "Good day!" Tom returns to pumping gas, but Butch has deduced the little creature must be Jerry. He slaps Tom and points to Jerry removing his mask, taunting the cats and running off. Both cats chase him one behind the other, but fall victim to Jerry placing an iron in their path such that Tom falls into Butch's mouth.
Jerry hides in another mousehole and the two cats resort to prying up the entire wall. Jerry has a hammer and slams Tom's foot, causing him to lose grip (and howling in pain) and Butch's fingers to be crushed (also screaming in pain). Jerry plays "Yankee Doodle" on the eight digits and Butch releases them. All six of the main fingers are red, and his fingernails pop out, letting out steam. Butch instructs Tom to keep quiet and hands him a sledgehammer while he sneaks in through a grate and chases Jerry through the walls of the house, doing significant damage. Jerry pops out of the hole and Tom swings as instructed, only to find Butch's head replaced it soon after. Butch pops out of the hole in the floor and a bump rises on his head such that his hat hangs on it.
Butch lights a bomb and the cats hide. Jerry sees it and throws it back. The cats and the mouse play Hot Potato with the bomb until Butch's hat falls off his head and it is mixed up. Jerry, instead of getting the bomb as intended, gets the hat, and Butch has the bomb on top of his head. Puzzled as to why Jerry isn't planting the bomb on Butch again, the cats look up, and then the bomb explodes.
Jerry runs into one hole and comes out the other to find Butch on that side, then comes back out the other and finds Tom on that side. The two cats both grope and feel Jerry at the same time and grab for him just as the mouse jumps, leaving the two cats with hands held (though they don't know it). Both cats think they have Jerry and yank the other cat into the wall several times. Butch then pokes at Tom with a broom and Tom proceeds to pull Butch through the entire wall, demolishing it, all with the false impression that their hands are latched on to Jerry.
Tom slaps the pile of brick and rock with a board until he sees an opening. He digs through the pile and finds.....Butch's hat, with a corner missing. As Tom tries to find Jerry in the hat, Butch revives and replaces the hat as he draws himself up, incensed. Tom makes an "oops!" face, but Butch marks out the "MOUSE" in "MOUSE EXTERMINATOR" on his bag and replaces it with "CAT". Tom says "C,A,T. Cat." Then he points to himself and gulps. Butch gets a shotgun and threatens Tom who runs away to the window as Butch runs after him and shoots him.