Ratón Solitario

Jerry gets Tom thrown out of the house by the black maid. With the

cat now out of the picture, Jerry is initially overjoyed, but soon

realises that without him his life is no fun. He therefore calls a

truce with Tom to try and get him back in the house.

One of the first things you notice is that Jerry and Tom talk in this!

Not something that was used very often in the series, I know, but I

bet it shocked a few people who were not used to it (especially

those that had not seen that awful 1991 Tom & Jerry: The Movie).

This is also the landmark cartoon where Tom started to become

less hairy than in the previous cartoons of the series.

Not an enormously great cartoon to start with, but picks up a little

later on. Be warned that anyone that lived in the Second World

War may find a certain political allusion involving the picture of

Tom's face on his basket offensive.

This is not one of the better Tom and Jerry cartoons, but it is a reasonable one. The plot is very simple yet predictable, and there are times when the art work isn't as good as it could have been.

However, there are some really inspired visual gags, such as Tom and Jerry poking Mammy Two Shoes in the bottom with a knife and fork, the "Hitler" joke, Mammy Two Shoes dropping several items like false teeth in fear and the end when Tom "double-crosses" Jerry. I also liked Jerry singing "Happy Days are here again" and his really cute and funny facial expressions. And very briefly, Tom and Jerry speak, personally I didn't find that a problem as it was brief. Asides from the gags, another outstanding component was the music, it was a lot of fun and very playful.

Overall, not absolutely brilliant, but worth seeing. It's Tom and Jerry, what's not to like? 8/10 Bethany Cox

The Lonesome Mouse (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Jerry finally gets Tom kicked out of the house by the nasty maid and for a while the mouse is having some fun being able to do whatever he wants. However, after a while he grows tired of not having Tom around so the two plot how to get the cat back into the house. THE LONESOME MOUSE doesn't contain the strongest plot ever written but there are enough good moments to make it another winner for the series. As you'd expect, the animation at this point was extremely good and we were treated to some creative moments including one of the highlights where Tom and Jerry are supposed to be under the sink fighting but instead they're making some music. Again, there's nothing great about the plot but this is a fun short.

There was a lesson to this story, one of those "you don't miss what you have until you lose it" or "the grass is always greener on the other side," etc. However you phrase it, Jerry discovers he'd rather have Tom chasing him around the house than no Tom at all. He misses the excitement.

He doesn't think so in the beginning, "framing" our cat and having "Mammy Two Shoes" boot him out of the house for breaking a vase which Jerry broke. While the devilish mouse is singing "Happy Days Are Here Again," in a few days he winds up bored out of his mind and wishing Tom was back in the house.

Finally, he goes out to Tom across the street and they concoct a plan to get him back into the good graces of "Mammy," so he can get his warm home back.

This isn't hilarious but there are enough gags in here plus a rarity: hearing the two main characters speak English briefly - to definitely warrant watching this. Some of the facial expressions of Jerry made me really laugh. It was "cute" and funny at the same time.

This was part of the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume Two DVD.

This has a lot of noteworthy points. First, it's a cartoon featuring Mammy Two-Shoes. Second, as a short made during World War II, there is a visual political joke in the early going. Third, and most significantly, the two stars speak, something generally avoided, for good reason, the characters are funnier and less complicated silent. There is a nice touch of enlightened self-interest, when Jerry helps Tom get back inside, because he finds life less exciting without the mayhem. The temporary truce/partnership ends when gluttony rears its porcine head. But that's okay-there has to be a rivalry, doesn't there? That's the whole point to this one in the first place! Very good short and worth watching. Recommended.