Hatch Up Your Troubles

'Hatch Up Your Troubles (1949)' is a 'Tom and Jerry' short in which the latter becomes acquainted with a newly born woodpecker. The first half of the piece is totally cat-free, focusing on the chaos caused by the wood-pecking toddler as he obliterates almost everything in Jerry's humble little mouse-hole. Once Tom comes into the fray, the short becomes a more classic cat-and-mouse caper; the bird and mouse duo must now outwit the ferocious feline that chases them. It's all good fun, with inventive sight gags throughout. It isn't massively funny but it has its moments and is generally rather charming. Of course, it's predictable. Yet, it's an enjoyable experience nevertheless. 7/10

I'm not too keen on this one, I'm afraid. Jerry becomes an unexpected 'mama' to a baby woodpecker after an egg falls out of a nest and rolls into his quarters beneath the house. The baby bird hatches and mistakes Jerry for it's mother. Hardly an original concept for a cartoon, even back in 1949.

As expected, the Woodpecker goes crazy, pecking stuff to into dust. When out in the open, Tom (who appears just two minutes before it's finished) takes an instant dislike when his afternoon sitting in a deckchair is interrupted and tries to kill the annoying little chick.

I'm with Tom on this one.

Not the most inspired of set-ups—a newly hatched woodpecker mistakes Jerry for his mum and inevitably gets into trouble with Tom—but despite the lack of fresh ideas, there's just about enough fun to be had with the little feathered fellow to make this one worth watching. The little bird's beak goes ten to the dozen, not just making short work of anything made of wood, but also causing Tom considerable pain, rapping repeatedly on his skull, chipping a hole in his teeth, and filling him full of holes when he unwisely swallows the woodpecker whole.

The final gag—which sees the bird taking time to carefully calculate which way a telegraph pole will fall when he pecks its base, as Tom repeatedly tries to end Jerry's life with an axe—is still pretty funny despite its predictability.

This is a very entertaining Tom and Jerry cartoon, thanks in part to a cute little woodpecker who is funny and a bit a change. Instead the whole cartoon being a chase scene, as so many T&J cartoons tend to be, it's only the last two minutes. For most of it, we see Jerry trying to deal with this little just-hatched woodpecker, who buzzes through furniture faster than a chain saw.

It all started when the bird's mother put a "Gone to lunch - back in 10 minutes" sign draped over his nest where a pink egg remains. That eggs falls out of the nest and miraculous lands on the ground safely after several soft items broke its fall. Then it rolls right into Jerry's bed! Of course, it hatches and the little guy thinks Jerry is "mama." Craziness really abounds after that incredulous premise.

Overall - very, very entertaining and highly recommended!

This is not my favourite of the Tom and Jerry cartoons, but I am still very fond of it. The animation is very fluid and colourful, with the colours especially lovely, and the music has just the right amount of energy and quirkiness to satisfy. Hatch Up Your Troubles also has a cute story, that while it starts off slowly has a lot of funny and sweet moments, and interesting sight gags.

Tom is great here, while dastardly he is also quite likable. The baby woodpecker is just adorable, same goes for Jerry's smile. Hatch Up Your Troubles also goes along at a brisk pace and it is rounded off nicely.

All in all, if you want a cute and funny cartoon, look no further than Hatch Up Your Troubles. 9/10 Bethany Cox