As a kid, I never used to enjoy the Chuck Jones T&J cartoons all that much, despite being a big fan of Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang; however, having just sat through all thirteen of director Gene Deitch's contributions to the long running cat and mouse series, I have a new-found admiration for Jones' work.
Tom and Jerry are inescapably Jones in style, reminding me at times of Sylvester and Speedy Gonzales, and they definitely take a bit of getting used to, but the gags are on point and the animation is slick, with the action accompanied by perfectly acceptable music and suitable sound effects (none of the reverberating electronic bleepy nonsense that helped to make Deitch's cartoons such a challenge).
As far as the story goes, Jones plays it safe for Pent-House Mouse, with a simple set-up that allows for plenty of gags: Tom is lounging in a swanky high-rise apartment while Jerry is on the street starving. When Jerry sneaks into a builder's lunchbox, he is hoisted up into the air by a crane, falls from a great height, and is caught by Tom, who turns the mouse into a sandwich. Cue lots of cat and mouse action, most of which is pretty funny (the 'flag pole unscrewing' gag is priceless!).
6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.
