The Yankee Doodle Mouse

This is a Tom & Jerry "war" cartoon with Jerry in the war mode pulverizing hapless Tom. Right from the beginning when he's tossing "hen-grenades" (eggs) to the end, he's using all kinds of objects as warfare. There are bunch of clever references to war slogans but modified, such as "That Friendly Rat May Tell The Cat" as one of the old warnings to use to give folks about being careful who you talk to, etc.

Jerry, complete a bottle-cap for a helmet, also dive-bombs the poor cat, riding paper airplanes with firecrackers, until he's finally shot down but he parachutes with a bra and lands safely. He even uses smoke screens by dragging a bag of flour along the ground. - whatever he can think up to win the "war." It's all clever and very funny.

This is non-stop action with a patriotic ending. I have no argument about this winning an Academy Award for best animated short.

In this Oscar-winning cartoon (a fact that they're modest enough to mention in the opening credits) Tom and Jerry wage war on each other in the basement of a house. Using household objects as weapons in a variety of imaginative ways, they advance and retreat on each other, desperate to win their mini-conflict.

I suppose this was one of MGMs entries into the pro-WWII cartoon efforts that Disney and Warner seemed to be having a blast with. It's got a very patriotic feel to it and makes war out to be fun. I have no problem with this kind of propaganda at all, but I am surprised that PC-thug groups haven't forced outrage over this, since their lot have ruined many other Tom and Jerry cartoons. Maybe their so blinkered that they cannot really see the subtext.

Anyway, it's a surprisingly good cartoon and really did earn the Academy Award it was honored with.

The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Award-winning short has Tom and Jerry paying respect to America who was deep into WWII. This short has the two in the basement doing a rather violent battle involving eggs, bombs and various other objects. THE YANKEE DOODLE MOUSE isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but there are some very good moments scattered throughout the film and there's no question that it's certainly the most violent film in the series up to this point. Tom certainly takes a beating in various ways including several bombs meant for Jerry not working out correctly. The film has a very good and quick pacing to it, which certainly helps and there are some good laughs along the way as well.

This cartoon is perfect excellent slapstick violence. Love that they used house filled objects to kill each other in a war.

There is no doubt in my mind this was one of the better early Tom and Jerry cartoons. Even with its decidedly curious and somewhat ironic title. The Yankee Doodle Mouse is extremely good all the same, with a great story and a very patriotic ending. The animation is fantastic, the visual effects are dazzling especially with the US flag and the music score here is one of my favourite soundtracks on a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Even more impressive were the sound effects, they were really authentic, and the sight gags are brilliantly timed and all of them work superbly. Overall, even with the curious title, but it is for me one of the better early Tom and Jerry cartoons. 9/10 Bethany Cox