Fraidy Cat

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the Tom & Jerry episodes I specifically talk about in this review aren't listed under one single title here, so the best I can do is just leave it under one of my favorite episodes of the era I had in mind typing out this rambling.

I will always have a soft spot for the Tom & Jerry circa 1967. I know that technically it includes three different eras: 1) The Classic MGM Theatrical Era (also known as The Golden Era) (1940-1958) created by the legendary William Hanna & Joseph Barbera. These two names will forever be imprinted in my brain. If I could, I would personally thank them for enriching my childhood with the most genuine laugh I've ever had. Every time I saw their names in the opening titles I knew the next 10 minutes will be GOLDEN.

2) The experimental period of the Gene Deitch Era (1961-1962). Thankfully, it only lasted for 13 episodes, but it wasn't as bad as some might percieve it to be. That being said, even as a kid I could see that something was off about these episodes and I wasn't a big fan of them - the animation was too jarring and dark for my taste, but I never skipped them on my bootleg DVD either - I was patiently watching them in eager anticipation of what I knew was coming next on this Tom & Jerry anthology disc of mine. No hard feelings towards Gene Deitch, though. This man had to produce all these episodes on his own from his little studio in Czechoslovakia.

3) And what was coming next was the Chuck Jones "Bronze" Era. It was almost as good as the episodes produced by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera.

Only when I revisited some of the episodes in my adulthood I realized what made Tom & Jerry so captivating - the music and sound effects. I can't think of any other piece of visual media that so heavily relied on the auditory aspect in its creation process - every frame is accompanied by the perfect selection of notes and sounds. I could argue that Tom & Jerry is actually more about what you hear than what you see, which is a crazy thing to say about a cartoon with barely any lines in it.

P. S. The reason I picked this episode is because out of over one hundred episodes of Tom & Jerry I've seen, this one stuck in my memory the most, especially the gag where a vacuum cleaner sucks all nine lives in the form of souls out of Tom. For some reason, this moment engraved in my memory like no other in the franchise - probably it's just that it perfectly encapsulates the very essence and absurdity of Tom & Jerry's humor.

P. P. S. Of course it's a shame what the franchise has turned into over the years, but that's beyond the scope of this little review and isn't reflected in the rating.

This "Tom and Jerry" short from 1942 "Fraidy Cat" is one that builds up to some suspense chase and cat and mouse drama slowly! Tom is listening to a radio broadcast of the "Witching Hour" and the story has scared him, never fear his little mouse rival Jerry takes advantage of this and start to play ghost and phantom thru out the house! As the curtains blowing put fear in Tom it's like he feels chills and thrills all thru the night air! This episode is different and a little slower and may not be one of the best still it's memorable for it's ghost like and scary theme.

Sure, this short has its moments and the animation is OK. The score is also fine with music arranged on what happens on the screen. It's not the worst Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Because Tom and Jerry don't speak these cartoons have to rely on visual gags and there's the problem with this cartoon - the writing. The gags are mostly not very funny and they're stretched too long. For example the first two minutes are spent showing Tom listening to a ghost story and being spooked by it - sounds boring and that's what it is.

About the previous reviewers... What were they on - and where can I get it? The plot outline in the main page is correct. There's a short gag about Tom's nine lives being 'sucked out' of him; there's also a short chase after Tom has figured out that Jerry is just trying to scare him. The only thing I agree with them is that the cartoon is "good and fun for the kids"! :)

After a more pleasant last outing, 'Fraidy Cat (1942)' reestablishes the iconic duo's entirely antagonistic relationship by having Jerry fall directly into his role as initial aggressor (as he would so often be in later films). Here, he decides to terrify Tom when he sees the cat shaking in his fur while listening to a spooky radio broadcast. Using an old nightgown and a vacuum cleaner, the mischievous mouse sets about pranking his unsuspecting prey. Of course, Tom eventually gets wind of the wind-up and fixes to do more than just scare his opponent to death. The flick has some funny sight gags and its animation is as scrumptious as you'd hope from these earlier shorts in which Tom is more cat-like and raggedy. It's a well-animated outing that's lively and has a lot of spirit to it. However, it just feels fairly standard overall. The premise isn't particularly clever and the piece lacks a satisfying ending to tie things together. It also features some off-screen animal abuse (which sounds to be more than the typical feline-on-rodent slapstick we all know and love) which leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Having said all that, it's still an entertaining effort overall. It isn't one of the pair's best outings, but it's definitely not one of their worst.

Fraidy Cat is definitely different compared to most other Tom and Jerry shorts. Being a little more spooky and horror oriented compared to other shorts. But that makes this one unique, a curiosity, and fun. This short is great. The spookier nature makes it very enjoyable, with the radio show and Tom's constant reactions being a highlight for me. The voice acting for the radio show was great, and it was an entertaining start. The rest of the short is great. Jerry's attempts to scare Tom with the vacuum ghost were great, and the scene of all of Tom's lives coming out and biting him was hilarious. Even the end, with Jerry losing along with Tom, was entertaining and different from other shorts. The only downside is how slow some of it can be, but the spooks and differences compared to most shorts make it an entertaining watch.