Lezione di cagneria

First things first, I don't consider That's My Pup my favourite Tom and Jerry cartoon or one of my favourites(or at least not quite). That said, it is for me one of the more funnier and more enjoyable Tom and Jerry cartoons. The story is simple, Spike teaches his little pup Tyke the facts of life(one of them is chasing cats by the way), and both Tom and Jerry manage to get on the act, Jerry imitating Tyke's bark and Tom the butt of the joke.

What I do love about That's My Pup is that although the story is simple, for the better I think, it is also an effective one, it is well constructed and doesn't meander. Even better was the animation, the animation here is lovely, crisp, colourful and smooth, the backgrounds especially are a wonder. The music is delightful too, full of quirky and jaunty motifs and energetic rhythm patterns. Also great were the sight gags, they aren't the funniest ever or the most unpredictable, but they are still hilarious, especially with Jerry imitating Tyke's bark every now and again causing Tom to climb anything from a tree to a pole. Overall, this Tom and Jerry cartoon is wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Spike is teaching his young son the finer art of being a dog. One of the must do, is to scare the cat out of his skin, which Spike does to Tom. Now, it's the boy's turn. Spike, sensing that Tom isn't going to be scared of the little fellow, takes Tom aside, and "convinces" him that he should be scared and run from his son. Tom, wanting to stay healthy, does just that. Jerry catches on to what's happening, and starts imitating the young dog's bark. This keeps Tom scampering up trees, poles, or whatever he can find to get away from the pooch, of course, causing himself much pain by running into anything in the way.

This is different in that Jerry is not inflicting pain or injury to Tom, but, the "violence" is self-inflicted by the cat. And it was nice to have Spike as a more Main Character, rather than the secondary role he usually handled.

I always enjoy the Tom and Jerry cartoons, even now as an adult, they're still fun. They have excellent artwork, and the Technicolor is so perfect. It's hard to say which is better, MGM or Warner Brothers. T & J or Bugs? Okay, maybe Bugs by a hair, but, you can get a good laugh and have some good fun with our friends Tom and Jerry.

After the wonderful double-whammy of Jerry and Jumbo and Johann Mouse (which deservedly won an Oscar), this short—which sees bulldog Spike teaching his son Tyke the facts of life (which includes chasing cats, of course)—proves a little disappointing, resorting to formulaic and repetitive gags.

Spike takes Tom aside, telling him that he better be scared whenever Tyke starts to yap, and Jerry unsurprisingly uses this fact to make a fool of out of the cat as often as possible. There's only so many times that Jerry pretending to be a dog and Tom scampering up trees is funny (not that it's that hilarious in the first place).

A dog's gotta learn how to be man's best friend; how to bury bones and how to chase a cat. Spike the bulldog explains each of these things with his son with some humorous anecdotes in this cartoon. He tells his kid that the third basic fact about dogs - the one dealing with chasing cats - is his specialty. Second later ("What a coincidence," says Spike, we see Tom race by, chasing Jerry) he gets a chance to show his kid his particular gift.

The rest of the cartoon is mainly barking as the little guy tries to imitate his Dad and poor Tom has to go through this humiliation or get pummeled by the big dog. The latter is doing all he can to prop up the self-esteem of his pup.

This cartoon didn't turn out as interesting as I had hoped because the sight gags were repeated too often. You either saw Tom fly out of his skin or try to climb a pole. Those bits were used three or four times each and got tiresome by the end.