Tom als Millionär

The Million Dollar Cat is an all time classic Tom and Jerry. This cartoon manages to be incredibly funny, creative, and entertaining. Every time I watch this cartoon, I have so much fun seeing this. The whole part after the newspaper montage is an example of peak Tom and Jerry. The scene when Tom gets out of the car and blows a raspberry at Jerry, then hits a pole, makes me laugh out loud every time. Tom's scene at breakfast, the whole sequence where he finally snaps, is so funny. His line, said in the most exasperated way ever, and him screaming in joy going after Jerry is great. Not to mention all the other touches in the cartoon I haven't mention, such as the beautiful morning shots of Tom's apartment, the music in the car scene, as well as animation, and the running gag of Jerry showing off the telegram is great. This cartoon is great. I can't even describe how entertaining this can be. You have to go watch it. This earns a recommendation for sure.

'The Million Dollar Cat (1944)' is a 'Tom & Jerry' short in which the former is granted a million dollars by his owner's eccentric aunt, on the condition that the cat harms no living creature - not even a mouse. Of course, this tantalises Jerry as much as the cash does Tom. Once the feline has moved into his new lifestyle, the tenacious little guy leeches off him. How much of this humiliation can Tom take? Well, that's where the fun of the film comes in. By restraining the cat's ability to clobber the mouse, the piece gives itself a unique challenge which it meets tenfold. It's entertaining throughout, with some great set-pieces and a streak of subversion. The beautiful animation leads to some terrific sight gags and the ultimate punchline is as satisfying as you'd expect it to be. In the end, this is probably one of the duo's best outings. 8/10

Tom gets interrupted from playing William Tell with darts (with Jerry being the poor victim with the apple on his head) when he gets a telegram stating his "eccentric Aunt Harriet" died and has left him a million dollars!

Jerry is all excited, too, as happy as Tom. How could that be? Well, points to the bottom of the telegram, which Tom didn't see. It said "all benefits will cease should the cat bring harm to any living thing EVEN A MOUSE."

Tom makes all the headlines in the New York City papers as he marches his way to a penthouse on Park Avenue. (Jerry has a mouse hole with a veranda on top that says, 1/2 Park Ave. He wears a top hat, tails, gloves, etc., too!)

However, as the story unfolds we get the message that "money doesn't buy happiness." Jerry hogs most of Tom's luxury items and food and each time the cat is ready to kill the mouse, Jerry pulls out the telegram reminding him he can't. It's driving Tom nuts. In the end, well, he'd rather be poor and happy by beating the crap out of Jerry.

In all, I would label it slightly below-par, laugh-wise. It looks like one of the earliest Tom and Jerry animated shorts. The artwork is not up to par and it just has a primitive feel to it.

The Million Dollar Cat (1944)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

One of the classics in the series, Tom receives a telegram telling him that he's inherited a million dollars but he can only keep it as long as he doesn't hurt anything. Including a mouse. Tom heads to New York City where he's living it up but it doesn't take long for Jerry to show up and begin tormenting him. THE MILLION DOLLAR CAT is the one episode where I can say I really, really hated Jerry. I mean, he's just so vicious and cruel to Tom here that you can't help but hope something happens to him so that Tom can enjoy his life and money. This film features a lot of very funny moments but of course it's all building up to whether or not Tom flips out and gives up on the money. Very fast, very fun and certainly one of the best.

Yet another delightful Tom and Jerry cartoon. The best? Probably not. The funniest? Same answer really. Entertaining? Very! In short I thoroughly enjoyed this cartoon. It did have a nice story, probably not the most original but is still effective, and the sight gags are very funny and inventive. What I loved most about The Million Dollar Cat though was the animation, the backgrounds were lovely, the colouring audacious, the characters well drawn and the skyscrapers wonderful and majestic to look at. True, there are better looking Tom and Jerry cartoons, but for its time it is perfectly reasonable. The music as always is energetic, while Tom and Jerry are both great as Jerry constantly reminds Tom "not even a mouse". Overall, very entertaining and well animated. 10/10 Bethany Cox