Ratinho em Plena Broadway

Jerry, bored with life in the country house where he and Tom are staying, leaves a note under Tom's paw while he is sleeping, saying that he is leaving to check out the city life... This cartoon is more charming than funny, although there's enough of the latter to please loyal fans. Scott Bradley's music is among the best he has done in the series, and some bits are quite sweet. Check it out!

This is a beautiful cartoon. Instead of following the usual chases of Tom and Jerry, "Mouse in Manhattan" follows Jerry Mouse as he gets tired of the country and opts for big city life. The animation and music recalls the Fantasia 2000 feature of "Rhapsody in Blue" (especially when Jerry is dancing with the dolls). Both are absolutely stunning. I was smiling throughout the whole cartoon; my favorite "Tom and Jerry," just above "Heavenly Puss." A triumph.

This cartoon has T&J living a quiet life out in a cosy country cottage. Tom is bored with country life and decides to leave for the Big Apple one night. Writing a goodbye note to Tom, he catches the next train to his new, exciting life.

When he gets there he discovers that Manhattan is not so inviting to small rodents. Everywhere he goes, from Grand Central to posh dinner parties, he is tormented with the rude idiosyncrasies of big city life. Eventually landing in a dirty alley, he is run out of town by an army of hungry stray cats.

Back the cottage, the still sleeping Tom (who does nothing else in this cartoon) has not yet read the note, which Jerry promptly tears up before going back into his mouse-hole. Better the Devil you know huh?

Mouse in Manhattan (1945)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This is one of the lesser Tom and Jerry shorts as it pretty much has the mouse going solo. The short starts off with Jerry leaving a note saying that the country life has him bored so he's off to the big city. Once in the big city he enjoys what he sees but soon realizes that it can be scary. As I said, this short pretty much has a brief appearance by Tom at the start and end so it's basically a showcase for a solo Jerry. The end results aren't bad but there's no question that there aren't too many laughs and at times you can't help but wish the cat was around to jack up the action. I will say that the animation is extremely good and I really liked all the details during certain scenes including the skyline when Jerry is dancing on the table.

Those who choose to write off the Tom and Jerry series as a violence orgy should be directed toward any television playing this little jewel, which is practically a solo endeavour for the rodent half of the duo, and which suggests that Jerry's finest moments of dancing may not have been with Gene Kelly. See this one. Own it if you can.