Jerry's Cousin

'Jerry's Cousin (1951)' is among the best 'Tom & Jerry' shorts. It's highly entertaining and often very funny. The concept, as you'd imagine, revolves around Jerry's cousin, Muscles, coming over to make sure Tom stays in his place. This relationship is similar, in some regards, to the dynamic that Spike brings into play. Indeed, Muscles is perhaps the series' most iconic side-character aside from the aforementioned bull dog. The short is, essentially, a series of gags about how tough Muscles is. This isn't an issue, though, as each of them are well-animated and inventive. The piece provides chuckles throughout and is very entertaining. It's great. 8/10

This short, nominated for an Oscar, features Tom almost at his worst. In an act of self-preservation, Jerry cals upon his cousin (the very well-named Muscles) for his help. At times, I almost feel sorry for Tom (almost). Tom more or less gets what he deserves here and, were he not a cartoon, would very likely not survive his encounter here with "Jerry's Cousin". Cartoon Network shows this one fairly frequently. Highly recommended.

Tom the cat is giving Jerry the mouse more trouble then usual, so he sends a telegram to his cousin Muscles to come help him as soon as possible. What a great violent (even for a Tom and Jerry cartoon) short. Definitely one of the classics in my mind. It was nominated for an Oscar as best animated short in 1951, but just like "Sunset Blvd." (the best picture nominee of the year), it was cheated out of winning by a less superior product. Stupid Academy Awards. This hilarious classic cartoon can be found on disc two of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: A+

Apparently, Jerry the mouse has a tough cousin named Muscles who is so strong that he can take on several alley-cats in a fight without breaking a sweat. Quite why Jerry has never called on his cousin's services in the past I don't really know, but in this cartoon he finally writes to the hard-nut rodent for help.

Jerry's Cousin is the antithesis of T&J cartoons like The Milky Waif or Little Quacker, in which Jerry protected cute little sidekicks Nibbles the mouse and Quacker the duck: here it is Jerry who is in need of a bodyguard, but this little twist on a familiar formula doesn't prevent this from being yet another rather mediocre offering from the popular cat and mouse duo.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Jerry's Cousin is not my favourite Tom and Jerry cartoon, but it is really entertaining and I definitely recommend it. Tom and Jerry are both great, but the real star of the show is Muscles, Jerry's cousin. He is quite small in stature but he is so strong, and it isn't long before Tom himself gets on the wrong side of him with hilarious consequences. While the story is a little predictable, the colourful animation, fun music and wonderful visual gags more than compensate as do Muscles's threats to Tom. Overall, this is not my absolute favourite or what I consider the best, but I had a wonderful time watching this cartoon. If you love a cartoon with great visual gags especially, you have a winner with Jerry's Cousin. 9/10 Bethany Cox