Cat and Dupli-cat

Just caught this the other day, and somehow, had not been aware that Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese and Mel Blanc had tried to revive the theatrical Tom and Jerry cartoons in the sixties. While not nearly as good as the cat and mouse's Hanna-Barbara heyday of the 40s and 50s, judging by this cartoon, they certainly put some of the life back in the franchise.

And how do they do it? By applying the Tweety and Sylvester formula that worked so well while they were at Warner Bros. (although, admittedly, I don't think Jones had much to do with those cartoons, leaving them mainly to Friz Freleng.)

Anyway, an amusing enough short, and a great improvement on the ones that were produced between Hanna-Barabara's departure for television, and Chuck Jones' arrival. I give it a 6.

I remember this cartoon 'Cat and Dupli-cat' when I was a child (with the only elements I could fully remember being Tom singing opera, the famous mirror-mimicking scene and Jerry drunk). This cartoon short had always held a place in my heart during my childhood but until most recently, I could never remember its name.

If I'm honest, I was never a fan of the Tom & Jerry shorts made by Chuck Jones; they were nowhere near as good as the old Hanna-Barbera classics but they were certainly very quirky and very well animated (well, we all know what Chuck Jones is capable of). However, I personally rank this cartoon as my personal favourite of that category (and definitely one of my all-time favourite Tom & Jerry shorts). In one sense, it really surprised me.

The introduction to the cartoon is especially beautifully executed with a fantastic vocal performance of 'Santa Lucia' (a rare yet pleasurable occurrence to what we saw as a clearly different image of Tom, yet his personality stays the same, more or less) which could arguably be viewed as irrelevant to the premise of the cartoon. I disagree: it does help set the scene to come (and the ending) and conveys a pleasant atmosphere. The opening credits are set out in a rather quirky way (on wooden signs with seagulls also seen around them, again could be viewed as irrelevant but helped consolidate the setting for the intro. The only thing to complain here now is Jerry's rendition/mimicking of Tom's singing; very whiny and painful to listen to (was at first but I got used to it).

The mirror-mimicking scene between Tom and Dupli-cat is also beautifully choreographed and animated although, at times, I felt that most of Tom's facial expressions seemed a bit out of place and unnecessary. This could've worked towards Chuck Jones' disadvantage of his critical impact of his cartoons. But I digress.

However, the green-light seemed to be more on Tom an much less on Jerry; on the other hand, as usual, Jerry does get his victory in the end.

The rest is self-explanatory really. May not be the best T&J short but a personal favourite of mine. 9 out of 10. :)

Guaranteed, Cat and Dupli-Cat isn't brilliant, but it is better than cartoons like Switchin' Kitten and pretty much any of the Gene Dietch cartoons, a lot of them are disgraces really. I agree the pacing and animation quality is uneven, the storyline isn't there and the cartoon has its uninteresting and predictable moments. But there is some nice music, Tom singing an Italian opera song at the beginning in a gondola was a nice touch, there are some good, well timed gags and Tom and Jerry are fun to watch, same with the orange(?) cat who almost steals their thunder.

Overall, not brilliant, but an improvement on the Dietch cartoons or so in my opinion. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Chuck Jones always had a place in my heart, Jones's style suited Tom and Jerry very well and the Character Designs were Cute and completely different from the Previous ones, there was good animation and quite a lot of content for fun.

In this Strange adventure of the duo of cat and mouse, we see Tom arrive at a port while in the process he sings in a wonderful way "Santa Lucia" by Enrico Caruso, after indirectly kidnapping Jerry he fills him with sugar to drink it in a sweet and delicious tea!, but a mysterious feline deceives him in the most stupid way possible and Tom is not going to let himself win because of that Cat!.

The Plot is quite Absurd but there are certainly funny scenes and with a pretty good rhythm, the Gags come Quickly and we are quickly introduced to an Orange Cat that has all the Characteristics of a Chuck Jones Character.

The Animation is Very Good by Late 60s Standards, it even still looks pretty good, the Color Blending works and the Backgrounds look Beautiful, the Movements are fluid and the Chases are nicely animated as usual.

The Music is Glorious, the Brilliant adaptation of Santa Lucia is arguably one of Eugene Poddany's greatest efforts in the series, the Music that follows, although a bit inferior, is Fun, Cute and holds its own in the mood.

The Cartoon manages to stand out for its Unpredictable plot and having a couple of musical scenes, it also stands out in its Gags, although not the best, they are Decent and there is something to laugh with, the Animation balances well with the Music and creates an environment fun and frenetic that is benefited by several scenes of persecution and fight by the Felines.

In itself, it is not the Best of Jones and much less of Tom and Jerry, but it is Fun and cheerful, it has several memorable scenes as well as good gags and excellent music and animation, totally recommended if you are looking for an original plot, fun and a excellent caricature.

For everything I said above, this cartoon gets an 8.

Tom is punting his way past the jetties and pilings at the local dock, when he sees Jerry doing the same and decides to have the mouse for tea. Another cat also wants Jerry for a snack, and so begins another bout of predictable knockabout nonsense as the two moggies fight for the rodent.

A feline version of the classic mirror sketch that served the Marx Brothers so well in Duck Soup illustrates the lack of innovation in director Chuck Jones' Cat and Dupli-cat: when you have to pilfer ideas from a thirty-four year old movie in order to get laughs, it's never a good sign.

A generous 4/10: the mirror scene is still amusing, despite being wholly unoriginal.