Cruise Cat

About to sail his brand new liner from San Francisco to Hawaii, the captain makes it clear to mascot "Thomas" that he's for the yardarm if so much as one mouse makes it aboard. Now of course this isn't going to deter the guitar-playing "Jerry" and soon the usual living room slapstick antics between the pair take on a distinctly nautical air. As ever, it's the mouse who keeps the upper hand - until they visit the ship's cinema where their "Texas Tom" cartoon is playing. Truce? Of course not - well not for long, anyway! Featuring a lively score and a rather shocked seagull, this is quite good fun for seven whole minutes!

"Mascot Tom" has been hired aboard a cruise ship. He has the assignment to make sure there are no mice on board. "If I find one, you'll be fired," says the ship's captain. Minutes later, here comes Jerry on his way on-board, complete with straw hair and playing his banjo. He's going to Hawaii aboard the U.S.S. Aloha. As he gets to the top, however, Tom is there to greet him and boot him back onto the dock.

Now Jerry has to find a way to get on the ship, past Tom. He tries several clever ways, climbing a rope, pole vaulting, etc., and finally succeeds when he hitches a ride on the anchor, which is being hoisted out of the water.

The rest of the cartoon is Tom discovering Jerry and trying to get rid of him before the captain spots the mouse. En route, there are lots of good sight gags making this an entertaining short. A clever scene had the two cats winding up in a room where they were showing a Tom and Jerry cartoon!

Tom is ship's mascot aboard the S.S. Aloha, his duty to keep the vessel free of mice. Jerry ensures that the cat has his work cut out for him, sneaking onto the ship for a free trip to a tropical paradise.

If you've read my previous reviews of the earlier Tom and Jerry shorts, you'll know that I hate it when the cartoon's creators resort to recycling footage from older episodes to make their lives easier. Cruise Cat starts off in fine form, with Tom's attempts at getting rid of Jerry thwarted at every turn, but it eventually devolves into a lazy clip show when Tom and Jerry see one of their earlier animated shorts being screened in the ship's cinema.

Cue pointless scenes from 1950's Texas Tom that only serve to irritate those already familiar with this particular cartoon.

'Cruise Cat (1952)' is another somewhat high-concept 'Tom and Jerry' toon, one that casts the cat as a sailor tasked with keeping a cruise ship mouse-free. The short is stuffed with fun sight-gags and amusing set-pieces, all of which are incredibly visually appealing for a 1950s effort. The story is well-structured and well-paced, effortlessly escalating until it reaches a more-than-satisfying final beat. The only odd moment comes when the piece takes a turn for the meta and our two stars stop their squabble to revel in one of their previous outings, 'Texas Tom (1950)', that's being projected in an on-ship cinema. The clip shown is charming enough but you get the sense that it was only included to save the animators some time. Plus, it creates this weird scenario in which Tom and Jerry are - or at least were - actually actors. Still, even this moment is relatively amusing and it doesn't dampen the affair's overall effect. It's an entertaining experience throughout. 7/10

While not the fastest-paced of all the Tom and Jerry cartoons, Cruise Cat is still hugely enjoyable. And why do I say that? Well the locations are positively exotic, and the animation is colourful and vibrant. I loved the music too, really beautiful, soothing and authentic. The sight gags come by thick and fast and there are a lot of them. Despite being a little slow at the beginning, which isn't a big criticism really come to think of it, the cartoon moves briskly. Tom and Jerry are both very entertaining here, Tom devious yet the butt of the joke and Jerry for being sweet yet cunning. Plus we are treated to some very nice voice work from veteran Paul Frees.

So overall, yet another strong Tom and Jerry cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox