Amigos Ocupados

For some reason, my 6 DVDs of Tom and Jerry cartoons neglected to include Busy Buddies, but thanks to the marvels of the internet, it was easy to catch up with. This episode introduces us to Jeannie the babysitter, who was so irresponsible in Hanna-Barbera/MGM's final effort Tot Watchers. While Jeannie is on the telephone gassing to her friend, the baby is out of its cot and it is up to Tom and Jerry to ensure that he comes to no harm.

A fun cartoon that sees cat and mouse working together for a change, Busy Buddies is full of silly escapades for the tiny tot, whose crawling is accompanied by a delightfully whimsical score. The animation might not be the best from Hanna-Barbera, with the simpler backgrounds that typified their later T&J 'toons, but it's a darn sight better than what was to come a little down the line with the Gene Deitch era. As I mentioned in my review for Tot Watchers, the baby seems to have been the influence for Baby Herman's character in the Roger Rabbit shorts.

This was the first of two Tom & Jerry cartoons to feature Jeannie, the baby-sitter who is left to look after Tom's owners' baby but really couldn't care less (the other was 'Tot Watchers' (1958)). Once the couple have gone out for the evening, Jeannie darts onto the telephone and starts a massive conversation, completely oblivious to the baby boy's needs. Tom & Jerry take advantage of the couple's absence, they raid the kitchen, but are soon halted by the baby, who has escaped... I'm hoping that the above hasn't spoiled the enjoyment too much, and firmly believe it is still the mere backbone of the story and I've not given away any clever gags or slapstick. It's not brilliant, but it's still clever and amusing fare from William Hanna & Joseph Barbera.

'Busy Buddies' is a nice animated short where Tom and Jerry have to work together. The babysitter does nothing but talking on the phone to one of her friends while the baby keeps crawling away. Tom and Jerry have to make sure nothing happens to the baby. It's a nice and pretty funny short. It is fun to see the cat and the mouse work together for a change.

Boy, you know you are in the mid 1950s just watching the first 20 seconds of this cartoon. First, you see the artwork, then the Cinemascope widescreen, then the clothes on the parents and teenage baby-sitter and then - wham - the baby-sitter rushes to the phone and lies upside with her feet propped up on a chair yakking away.

While the teen girl does what she does best - talk on the telephone (has anything changed, except it's now a cellphone?), Tom and Jerry use the opportunity to raid the kitchen and gulp down all the food they can. Some of those scenes are good, such as Jerry's method of eating two cookies at once, and Tom's watermelon-eating typewriter-like system.

Meanwhile, who's watching the constantly crawling baby? Well.....mostly Tom and Jerry.

This cartoon reminded me of the John Hughes 1994 film "Baby's Day Out" in which a baby crawls all over New York City, pursued by a couple of inept crooks. In this cartoon, it's the same except it's all inside a house. The baby even crawls through stove pipes. At least Tom and Jerry were on the same page in this one, which was unusual.

In my review of Tot Watchers I said that it was a Terrible Ending for the Series, besides that the Plot was recycled from this short and you would think that I hate this short, but no!, it is Many Times better than Tot Watchers!.

The Plot wherever you look at it is Simple, but it is well managed! In this Short both Tom and Jerry get along very well and show no signs of Fighting, which makes this short unique!, and I know they have been friends in other shorts such as Buddies Thicker Than Water and Blue Cat Blues but the friendship of this duo Intensifies in this short!.

Jeannie is a Disaster, Hateful Character who does everything except Take care of the baby and Tom and Jerry have to come to the rescue of the Baby every time he escapes, also because of how Negligent Jeannie is, she could go to Prison! Tom and Jerry are Fantastic Characters, very funny as always and more with his Cinemascope Style Design makes them look very Beautiful, the Baby is just a Generic character that makes Tom and Jerry suffer too much unnecessarily.

The Animation Unlike Other Cinesmacope Shorts of that Moment is Great, the Colors and especially that it takes place at Night makes the Sceneries look beautiful (one of my pleasures in animation are the night scenes which are always precious), The basement, the Street and the House in General are very well drawn and have nice colors that make them look pleasing to the eye, the movements are great and very Fluid despite the fact that it was made with a Lower Budget than the Previous ones !, the Character Designs as I said are Beautiful (Except for Jeannie and the Baby), Tom especially looks cute with that Cinemascope aspect.

The Music is Great, Scott Bradley was and is one of the Best Cartoon Music Composers of All Time!.

Sound Effects are Normal as Always.

Voice Acting is Top Notch, Both Jeannie and Tom's Owners have good Actors doing their Voice.

This Short Has Great Scenes Like When They Are In The Basement Or They Open A Box Full Of Mail To Then Run Away After The Police Shoot Them! This Short Is Really Great And Exciting Unlike Tot Watchers.

In itself, Bussy Buddies is one of the Best of the Cinemascope Era and despite its Errors it is a Great Cartoon that I remember seeing it with Down Beat Bear (that will have its separate review so don't worry) and these Cinemascope shorts were Part of my childhood as well as that of many people!, For all that has been said before, I rate this short film an 8.