Tom-ic Energy

Given the title, I expected Tom-ic Energy to have something to do with atomic energy (seems reasonable), with perhaps one of the characters becoming super-powered after exposure to radiation. What we actually get is just another routine chase cartoon that is executed with very little invention, the title seemingly irrelevant.

To describe the action is simple: Tom chases Jerry around a high-rise apartment and on the surrounding streets. And that's about it. The gags are mediocre and the animation perfunctory. While not as bad as the Gene Deitch era cartoons, this is a long way from the cat and mouse's glory days and is one of the weakest Chuck Jones efforts so far.

After the Era of Gene Deitch ended with a Decent and at the same time Memorable Short, Chuck Jones came to Humiliate all of Deitch's Works by creating enough Good Shorts with a lot of energy and gags and memorable and funny scenes but it seems that in this short they found themselves without a Specific Plot and only added the Scenes that they craved in an Unequal Short that is both entertaining to watch but not very funny.

In General the Short does not have a Plot, it is just a bag of jokes out of place and that come at inappropriate times, the energy that the Title presumes does not appear anywhere and the only thing I can thank it for was having entertained me and having taken me out some smiles.

The Animation is still Good, the Buildings, the Street and the City in general are well drawn and resemble the American Cities of the Mid 60s but the Animation does not look as Fluid as in other Shorts but it is still much superior to all the Gene Deitch era.

Eugene Podanny made Music that fits very well in the Atmosphere of the Short, in this case the Music if It Has Energy as opposed to the uneven and out of place gags, the Opening with Tom and Jerry running on the roof has a very Nice Initial Score and well composed.

As always Mel Blanc does a Good Voice Acting providing the Voice to the cat Frances and Jerry, Tom gives a Nasty Scream which concludes with Jerry mimicking the Scream in a Funny Way, the Sound Effects are Typical of Jones and fit well in the Short.

In itself, Tom-Ic Energy is one of the least funny of Chuck Jones and is quite Unequal in terms of Gags but it makes up for being Entertaining and having good Music, the rest would only be quite Normal like the scene with the French Cat which goes on too long leaving a meh gag.

For everything I said before, this short gets a 7.

As I have said many times before, I love Tom and Jerry. And I love Chuck Jones as well. Having the two together had potential to be a match made in heaven if done right. Jones' Tom and Jerry output has been rather hit-and-miss for me, at least it is far better than the Gene Deitch cartoons- easy feat really as anything's better than them- but the MGM/Hanna-Barbera cartoons are where you'll find the classics. Tom-ic Energy just didn't do it for me and I do have to agree that while not a disasterpiece like any of Deitch's output it is one of the weakest of Jones'. It's not all bad, the animation is good with some nice colours and fluidity- much easier on the eyes than the later entries-, the music does have memorable moments and is fitting with the atmosphere of the cartoon- essentially it is one of the more listenable scores of the Jones Tom and Jerry cartoons- and the lead characters are still likable. Unfortunately the story feels empty and virtually is plot-less. Worse is that there is very little energy to be seen so everything feels uninteresting, and it all feels like one big chase sequence that feels more like part-Roadrunner, part-Pepe LePew(as much as I do like those cartoons generally it just didn't feel like Tom and Jerry). Tom-ic Energy doesn't come across as very funny either, none of the gags are all that surprising and suffer from poor timing. While the titular characters are fine, the supporting characters are rather bland, and that is even with Mel Blanc's involvement. In conclusion, not terrible but disappointingly lacklustre. 4/10 Bethany Cox