Puss Gets the Boot

On the 20th of February in the year 1940 William Hanna and Joseph Barbera along side Rudolph Ising did a little short about a cat chasing a mouse who gets the tables turned around. The premise seemed simple enough considering the fact that most Warner Bros. Cartoons were like that. But with the talent of Hanna-Barbera simple premise was turned into gold and they soon had a successful short and an Oscar Nomination. Since at the time MGM cartoons were either stupid musicals or Barney Bear shorts. The short "Puss Gets the Boot" seemed like good competition for the Warner shorts. So soon after Hanna-Barbera found themselves working on the wonderful Tom and Jerry shorts which they would continue to make for the next 15 years!

This cartoon itself is not the best but it's still funny and contains a lot of great gags.

4(****)out of 4(****)stars

A Great Start for the Tom and Jerry shorts!

I do think Tom and Jerry have done better before, the story is rather routine and there are one or two sound effects that sounded a little strange, but this is a very interesting start for the dynamic duo. Here they are called Jasper and Jinx, but they are as likable as ever, Jerry/Jinx especially is very cute when he squeaks.

The animation is quite good. Both Tom and Jerry look different but are well animated, while the backgrounds are very nice. The music is beautiful with a lot of energy, the sight gags and chases are funny and the pace is on the money.

Overall, Puss Gets the Boot is not Tom and Jerry's best, but for a debuting cartoon it is a fun and interesting one. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Jasper the cat breaks a vase when chasing the brown mouse (who would later be called Jerry -- according to Patrick Brion's 'Tom & Jerry: The Definitive Guide To Their Animated Adventures' he had no name at this time -- Tom and Jerry were apparently the results of an inter-company competition). The noise attracts the black maid of the house, who tells Jasper that if anything else got broken he would be out of the house ('O-U-W-T! Out!'). Guess what the mouse subsequently tries to do? This was the first of the Tom & Jerry cartoons, despite the difference in names. Although it seems a little slow-paced and long now, it did set the standard, and got further recognition of its brilliance when it was nominated for an Academy Award. It still has its charm, and is worth seeing if only to see the cartoon that started it all. Didn't Jasper/Tom look different back in 1940, eh?

This is a historic cartoon in that it's the first ever Tom and Jerry. Actually, it's not even called that because Tom is "Jasper" in this one, and he looks different. His face is bigger and fuzzier. Actually, his whole body is furrier.

When you are used to seeing these Looney Tunes cartoons from mostly the late '40s through the 1950s and then you see the beginning years, like in Bugs Bunny's case, it's strange to see how they look. We get comfortable and used to seeing our "friends" a certain way, so I always prefer that over these early renditions of a character. I've said the same about Bugs and Daffy Duck.

Audio-wise, too, this is different in that Tom, when injured, makes screeching noises like an actual cat, which is not the norm for him.

However, the joke in this cartoon is one that they would use over and over, no matter who was doing the writing or animating: the cat being told "if this happens one more time, you're outta here..." and Jerry hearing that and planning to make sure that happens. In this debut cartoon the threat by the maid and the threat is that if "Jasper" breaks one more object in the house, he's toast.

For audiences in 1940, I'm sure this was very entertaining but for those of us who have seen at least 40-50 Tom and Jerry episodes, this is nothing we haven't seen done before and done much better. Overall: not bad but nothing special except for historical value.

This was Tom & Jerry's first ever televised outing, but here in the early days they were unofficially known as Jasper & Jinx.

Here we see Tom/Jasper threatened with being put out if he breaks one more thing so Jerry/Jinx see's this as a chance to put the cat threat away for good!

It's quaint, it looks great, the soundtrack is fitting and it already has that infamous Tom & Jerry charm.

Jerry looks the same as he does decades later whereas Tom looks quite a bit different, arguably a more realistic feline.

The trouble with Tom & Jerry has always been that I tend to find myself cheering Tom on. With so much at stake I was doing the same here, but you know the drill in these kinds of things the outcome was never in doubt.

Cute early Tom & Jerry action and essential viewing for fans.

The Good:

Charming

Very well made

The Bad:

I've never felt more sorry for Tom!