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 said that this is a beautiful cartoon--and so are the Tom & Jerry cartoons of the 40s and well into the 50s. While this series lacked the originality and kookiness of some of its competitors, these shorts were the most beautifully animated shorts...period. Not surprisingly, it was also nominated for an Oscar--it was that pretty. Now it's not just the animation that is great, but the backgrounds...wow! They are just gorgeous.

"Hatch Up Your Troubles" begins with a woodpecker's egg falling out of the nest and rolling into Jerry's home. At first, Jerry hates to have the little hatchling about, as it begins destroying EVERYTHING. However, when Tom is up to no good, the little guy saves the day. Overall, a lovely cartoon that also is a lot of fun. While ALL Tom & Jerry cartoons are a bit repetitive, this one is a bit different and a joy to watch.

By the way, the Oscar winner that year was the Looney Tunes short "For Scent-imental Reasons"--starring Pepe Le Pew.

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 Tom and Jerry, nominated for an Oscar, concerns an egg, Jerry mouse and the joys and headaches of unexpected "motherhood" for a very surprised mouse when the egg hatches into a baby woodpecker. Tom gets involved and typical sight gags (most rather painful to Tom from the looks of things) abound with great rapidity, resulting in an enjoyable time for all, except for Tom, of course. 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