Sufferin' Cats!

Sufferin' Cats! (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Jerry is once again running away from Tom who wants to eat him but he makes the mistake of running into another cat. Af first Jerry thinks he's safe but it turns out this cat wants to eat him too so now the mouse finds himself running away from two cats. SUFFERIN' CATS! is another winner for the series and once again we're taken away from the house setting, which allows for some new and creative action. One of the highlights happen when the cats agree to cut Jerry in half and share him but of course something else happens. This short is fast, fun and contains enough action to keep it entertaining throughout.

MGM animation of the thirties and forties could often seriously rival the Disney studio for sheer lushness and elegance, and generaly had them beat for comedy. "Sufferin' Cats" is a charming and funny early Tom and Jerry romp in which Tom is allowed to display a resoucefulness almost on a par with his rodent rival.

As Tom and Jerry's creators get fully into their stride, so the duo become more and more like the cat and mouse we all know and love. Sufferin' Cats sees the cartoon's style developed even further, with the content becoming more 'violent' and the characters more defined—unfortunately, the story is the one weak element to this episode, with the whole thing being nothing more than a huge frantic chase scene (which is fun, for a while at least).

There are some quite funny visual gags, and a fine example of the old 'devil on the shoulder' routine, as Tom deliberates whether he should cut Jerry in two—in order to share the mouse with an alley cat with whom he has been competing—or plant the axe's blade in his rival's head (my 4 year old son actually found this bit disturbing). But on the whole, this short is a distinctly average offering.

Tom the cat has got Jerry the mouse on a fishing line and is toying with him much to Jerry's chagrin. So after he gets away he runs into a cat that scares Tom. Jerry think he's saved onto to realize that the second cat just wants to eat him himself. What follows is classic slapstick as the two cats fight over who gets the meal. But they both get their just desserts in the end. Tom and Jerry are in their top form here and are a delight to watch as they ALMOST are (the feature film where they're best pals is horrid, but I digress).This hilarious cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: A-

Nothing of any particular interest or originality happens in this short. Tom is having his usual fun tormenting Jerry but the mouse runs into a stray cat and pretends to be best friends with him (by kissing him-gay lovers?) to upset Tom. Soon both cats are feuding over Jerry whilst being set-up by him. Oh, do watch my sides as they just might split!

I wasn't really impressed and there's not a lot to laugh at in the 8-minute running time. The short actually has some dialogue in it but there's no credited voices for some reason on this page. There's nothing I can recommend about this cartoon as it is Tom and Jerry at their most basic. The title is rather generic too.