Ratón Problema

It's pretty sad when a cat has to send away for a book entitled, "How To Catch A Mouse," but that's what poor Tom did. By the way, the publisher of the book is "Random Mouse."

This cartoon reminded me early on of a Road Runner episode. The difference is that Tom plays Wile E. Coyote and Jerry is the elusive Road Runner. No matter what trap Tom sets, Jerry figures a way to beat it....or the trap backfires in predictable manner.

Yes, half the gags were too predictable but it was still entertaining and it did offer a few new wrinkles....like a windup Mae West doll which provides all the laughs in the final minute and is very original material.

This cartoon won an Oscar in 1944 and it's easy to see why. Tom tries to use a book's advice on how to catch a mouse. Which works out very well for Jerry, but not for Tom! I suspect that the book was written by a mouse-maybe even Jerry himself. Tom certainly comes out the worse for wear here. I almost feel sorry for Tom. Almost. A very funny (and violent, even for a Tom and Jerry!) cartoon that runs frequently on the Cartoon Network. Recommended.

This "Tom and Jerry" short called "Mouse Trouble" from 1944 is one that's fun and entertaining with action and chases and pain for Tom! As Jerry once again is more clever and wins the cat and mouse games. More tough for Tom to take is that his new master book called how to catch and trap a mouse clearly does not work! As bear traps, mallets, and a tree swing all backfires on Tom! Plus the final insult is even an electronic female mouse wind up does not even lure Jerry for Tom's lunch! Overall super great episode of the series!

Mouse Trouble (1944)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

If you go through the Tom and Jerry shorts in the order that they were released you'll notice that 1944 had some of the greatest films. That trend continues here as Tom orders a book on how to catch a mouse, which he reads and tries to do but Jerry isn't going to go without a fight. This short is basically broken up into several chapters as Tom reads from the book, tries what it says and then moves onto the next chapter. For the most part this is just one violent attack on the poor cat after another and of course it's fast and funny. The highlight is certainly the sequence where Tom tries to use curiosity to catch the mouse. There's no doubt that the funniest thing is just that high-pitched scream from Tom.

Tom once again attempts to trap Jerry, this time using a variety of ingenious methods which are described in his recent book purchase, entitled 'How To Catch A Mouse'.

An episodic T&J caper (as opposed to the usual, single, prolonged chase scene), Mouse Trouble is basically a series of quick fire gags, which sees Tom's different traps backfiring in amusing ways. I use the word amusing, because, unfortunately, they are very rarely hilarious, being way too predictable in their outcome.

This style of cartoon would be done much better (and again and again) years later by the brilliant Wile E.Coyote and Roadrunner.