Wissenswertes

This short is a virtual remake of an earlier cartoon Chuck Jones directed for Warner Bros. Cartoon Studios in 1948 called Der preisgekrönte Mäusefänger (1948) (except in this version the cat wins in the end). As a subtle homage, when Jerry and his mouse companion are shown back lighted in the chimney at the beginning of the cartoon, the silhouettes resemble Hubie and Bertie the mouse stars of the earlier short.

The title refers to the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. One animal is the mouse or the rat that has occurred in 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, and 2021.

Jerry's friend is a little more scrawny and rat-like, as befits a rodent living in the city streets.

The Rube Goldberg-like machine shown at the end is likely a nod to the hugely popular game by Ideal Toys "Mouse Trap."

As cartoons moved from cinematic programs to television Entergy (increasingly for a more juvenile audience), more slapstick appeared in the plot.