Slicked-up Pup

Is there anything more pleasing for Jerry to hear than Spike threatening Tom with sentences that start, "If you do this (or that) I will tear you limb from limb!?" At that point, Jerry knows he will see his nemesis get torn to shreds by the big bulldog. He'll make sure whatever "that" is, will happen. I always said Jerry had a sadistic streak in him.

In this story, the threat is not to keep Spike's little boy "Chip" clean. Spike had already given his beloved little dog a bath and Tom inadvertently had gotten him dirty again. If it happens again Spike promises to pulverize the cat. Jerry, of course, overhears this and gets to work. He gets help from lady luck and some dumb moves by Tom.

Tom's ventriloquist act was the highlight the cartoon: absolutely fabulous comedy bit, one of the best I've seen in this famous series.

I am a huge fan of Tom and Jerry, and Slicked-Up Pup was a sheer delight from start to finish. It starts off peacefully, but once Jerry arrives on the scene trying to get Tom into trouble by getting Spike's pup dirty it is fast-paced fun. The animation is wonderful, the backgrounds and colours especially look amazing and the music is great. I loved the visual gags too, Tom pretending Spike's pup is a chicken and the ending with Tom being thrown into the washing machine by Spike are just two of my favourite parts. Tom is cunning, Jerry is even more so, Spike's pup is very cute and Spike is the same Spike we know and love. Overall, excellent and a must-watch for any Tom and Jerry fan. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Spike the dog is giving his new son, Chip a bath. He leaves him alone to wash himself but Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse dirty him up while chasing each other. Spike gives Tom an ultimatum. His pup stays clean or else Tom will be killed by him. Of course Jerry sees this as a weakness on Tom's part and he exploits it to the fullest extent that his little mouse brain can conceive of, leading to a great many wild and memorable scenarios. No point in over-analyzing the short it's just great fun. This hilarious classic cartoon can be found on disc two of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: A

this marvellous short is another Tom and Jerry exercise in hierarchies of repression and power, with our heroes doubled by Spike and his pup. Tom and Jerry have always been imps subverting the harmony of 40s and 50s conformist suburbia - here, suburbia is still their battleground, but their mischief now affects the animal world.

Appropriately, the apparent shift is figured in the same terms, with Spike and Pup exemplars of the domestic harmony Tom and Jerry will destroy. Spike is a new man, a loving dad turned violent madman whenever his son is in danger, a far cry from the gutless executives that comprised American masculinity of the period (if we believe films and sitcoms). This insight into the violence necessary to sustain family stability is telling, especially in an Eisenhower-era, post-war context.

Tom and Jerry attack this family by introducing notions of difference - Pup must remain clean, his identity as DOG intact; the son must eventually follow in the footsteps of the father. Tom and Jerry, however, repeatedly dissolve this identity to the point where Pup changes species, and Spike can't recognise his own son. Ironically, this altered personality allows Pup emerge from meek obedience to his father; he learns to impersonate, to act, to lie, to accept other possibilities, while at the same time, hitting back at repressive, more senior sources. While tom, through fear (like all conservatives), tries to desperately uphold the status quo, it is Jerry, the most vulnerable in this chain, who controls through revolt.

Of course, we don't watch Tom and Jerry for social critique - though we should - we watch them for exquisitely choreographed rondelays of violent action, an expressive use of primary colours, and richly inventive soundtracks that both give texture to and ironise the narrative. All of which 'Slicked-up pup' provides, and more.

Spike gives his precious son Tyke a bath, but it's not long before Tom accidentally gets the little pup all dirty again. After forcing Tom to clean up the mucky pup, Spike announces that he has business elsewhere, and threatens to tear Tom limb from limb if his son isn't spotless when he returns. Naturally, Jerry does his best to ensure that Tyke doesn't stay clean.

Slicked-up Pup is another one-note T&J cartoon that unfolds in a predictable manner but which still succeeds thanks to excellent storytelling, superb animation, brilliant timing and lots of charm. The funniest moment is saved till last, with a mucky Spike getting coated in tar and feathers, which results in a desperate Tom trying to pretend that the little dog is actually a chicken with the help of a rubber glove.

6.5/10 rounded up to 7 for IMDb.