Mouse Trouble

Despite the rather generic title (there had already been a T&J short called Dog Trouble) this Oscar-winning cartoon proves that it's worth the Academy Award by being very funny and inventive.

Mouse Trouble has Tom order a book on how to catch mice (from Random Mouse Publishing nonetheless) and follow the foolproof instructions exactly as printed no matter how many times they prove to be completely ineffectual. Naturally they all come back to bite him in the ass. Poor Tom, he gets so beaten up in this one but never lets the pain lessen his enthusiasm.

Plenty of visual jokes and laughs in this one.

T&J were always my favourite cartoon characters growing up, and this is one of their better outings. "Tom" decides to get all scientific in his quest to eat "Jerry" so he buys a book. The definitive guide to how to catch your lunch and eat it. Of course, the more cunning the trap the more "Jerry" makes mincemeat of it, indeed after a few failed attempts it seems the tables have been well and truly turned on the hapless cat! Poor old "Tom" just never seems to learn and the writer of this new manual has clearly never met a mouse as inventive and tenacious as "Jerry". There's a scene with a stethoscope that is genuinely laugh-out-loud and though much of the rest is fairly standard, explosive, fayre, this is still a fun opportunity for the never changing dynamic between the pair to, well, what do you think?

I am a fan of Tom and Jerry, and have been for as long as I can remember. Mouse Trouble is not the best of their cartoons, but I like it. Where Mouse Trouble is not so impressive is in its predictable story and its somewhat obvious and generic title. However, the animation is very good for its time, with lovely backgrounds and the characters are drawn well. The music is wonderful too, as it nearly always it, while the sight gags are clever if quite violent too, particularly the one with the robotic female mouse and "Mice are suckers for dames". The pacing is good as well, while both Tom and Jerry are very entertaining. And I do agree, it does have a Roadrunner vs. Wile E.Coyote feel to it. Overall, I liked it, but I don't consider it a favourite like I do with The Cat Concerto, Mice Follies or The Two Mouseketeers. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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.

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.