The Cat and the Mermouse

Tom is having a relaxing day at the beach until Jerry appears on the scene to cause trouble for the poor puss. While trying to catch the cheeky mouse, Tom falls off a jetty and sinks to the bottom of the sea. Amazingly, he doesn't drown, and has fun mingling with the sea life, at least until pesky Jerry shows up again…as a mermouse!

The first part of this T&J caper is pretty routine cat and mouse antics, but once the action takes to the seabed, things get a lot more entertaining, with loads of crazy shenanigans involving a variety of aquatic creatures, including a swordfish whose nose gets bent out of shape and an ornery octopus. Best visual gag of the whole cartoon involves Tom being hit on the head by an anchor with a massive rusty chain—the result is hilarious.

Quite obviously, the underwater action turns out to be a dream for Tom, but the predictability of the ending doesn't spoil what is a very entertaining adventure for the troublesome cat and mouse.

The cartoon begins with Tom preparing himself with loads of ointments and lotions for a day of sunbathing at the beach. It's immediately ruined by Jerry coming along and bothering him. For a minute they do their usual chasing before Tom runs of the end of a pier and 'drowns'.

But at the bottom of the ocean (all three feet of it beneath the pier) he comes across a mermouse who also annoys him. Cue more chases, only with an underwater twist this time involving sunken ships (three feet under a pier, a swordfish and an octopus. It's a welcome break from the generic house T&J shorts are usually set in. Some nice underwater animation earns this one a 7/10.

Tom is at the beach, oiling himself up (why?) with all kinds of oil and then taking a nap under a big beach umbrella. Jerry comes by on his way fishing and wakes up Tom. The cat, not happy with that, chases after him and the two go at it at the dock. Tom gets whacked hard and slowly plummets to the bottom of the ocean. Has he drowned?

He "wakes up" and is delighted seeing all the colorful fish swim by him. He even gets in on the act, imitating some of them, like the sea turtles. Jerry, meanwhile, is leaning on a big rock nearby taking all of this in. It turns out he's a mermaid, er, mermouse. In no time, the two adversaries are chasing each other - some things never change.

There are all kinds of outrageous scenes in here, with seahorses, a giant swordfish, an octopus, a sunken ship, on and on. Sometimes I am amazed how many things you can see in a seven-minute cartoon.

I kept waiting for Tom to wake up, that this HAD to be all a dream, and......

It's very appropriate that this short was included on the disc for the Esther Williams film "Dangerous When Wet". This is because in this full-length film, Tom & Jerry appear in a fantasy sequence--swimming with Ms. Williams. So, seeing the pair frolicking about at the beach in "The Cat and the Mermouse" seems like a perfect extra for the disc.

As I mentioned above, Tom & Jerry are at the beach. Not surprisingly, they begin beating the crap out of each other. Soon, Tom falls into the sea and sees Jerry...or what he thinks is Jerry. Instead, it's a 'mermouse'--a mermaid version of a mouse. For much of the rest of the film, it's like a standard Tom & Jerry cartoon but underwater. And, like in their appearance in "Dangerous When Wet", Tom doesn't seem to have any trouble breathing under water!

Like any Tom & Jerry cartoon before they were ruined in the late 1950s (it's a long story but these later films were dreadful), the animation is top-notch--better than the Disney or Warner Brothers shorts. With wonderful backgrounds, great animations and lovely colors, it certainly looks great. As for the story, it's the usual but set in a very unusual locale--making it more enjoyable than an average film in the series. Not among their best, but quite good.

While not a direct favourite of the Tom and Jerry canon, it is definitely worthwhile with some of the more funnier gags in the cartoons combined. The animation is really beautiful and creative and the music is as pretty much always a delight. The pacing is just right, and the story is original and works brilliantly. The sight gags are a great many but all of them work, the one with the swordfish was rather cruel for my liking but the ones with the octopus, the seahorses and any with the mer mouse worked superbly. I was surprised at how much was fitted in such a short running time, but overall, I just have to say bravissimo, for such an enjoyable and worthwhile Tom and Jerry cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox