Duel Personality

Jerry is fed up with being chased around by Tom and challenges the cat to a duel. The pair square off with pistols at dawn, but with neither a clear winner, they turn to a variety of other weapons: sabres, bow and arrows, cannons, and catapults.

The plot for Duel Personality is little more than an excuse for director Chuck Jones to rattle off a series of Roadrunner/Wile.E.Coyote sight gags, with both characters receiving their fair share of pain as each attempt to best their opponent backfires. The humour is very hit and miss, but at least the frenetic pace ensures that the cartoon is never boring, which at this point in the series is something to be grateful for.

It is hard to dislike Tom and Jerry in general, but many people have found fault with individual periods of the duo's existence. The best shorts come from the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, although there are a lot of theirs that I am not fond of at all. Then came the nightmare named Gene Deitch, who made the most abysmal of Tom and Jerry cartoons, with ugly animation, sounds, plots, and characters. He thankfully didn't make too many shorts. Next came an improvement with Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow, and Ben Washam. To be honest, I don't care much for Jones's Tom and Jerry cartoons. They aren't bad, but they are often not good. Many times Jones tried to apply his Roadrunner formula to Tom and Jerry, and it just doesn't work. Jones did some off the greatest Warner Brothers cartoons ever, but he never seemed to grasp Hanna-Barbera's magic. I think what I like least about Jones's shorts is that they are mostly indistinguishable. There normally isn't any one thing that can be used to describe a central plot in each one, and Jones would title the shorts with something that is a parody of some other title or phrase (e.g. `I'm Just Wild About Jerry,' `Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary,' `The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse,' `Ah Sweet Mouse-Story of Life'). I can hear a title of a Hannah-Barbera short and immediately know what the short is, but not with most of Jones's shorts. The titles contribute greatly to problem of being indistinguishable. They also tend to be one-sided, making us unsympathetic to Tom every time a la Roadrunner cartoons. I always get a kick out of shorts where something happens to Jerry, too. The one-sidedness makes them a little less funny. The later shorts by Levitow and Washam are better than a lot of Jones's, I think, in that they have a central plot and are funnier.

However, `Duel Personality' is probably the funniest of Jones's Tom and Jerry shorts, and this is why I am commenting on it. Like the plot description says, the two are fed up with the usual chasing escapades and are having a series of duels to settle the matter once and for all. Of course, every single thing they do backfires on the both of them. Jones spares no expense at laughs. Each situation is very funny, and for once no side is taken. They try pistols, swords, cannons, and, easily the funniest bit, slingshots. And it all ends in a very funny scene that really surprised me the first time I saw it. Now, there are other good Tom and Jerry cartoons by Jones, but they don't get much better than this, which is funnier than a lot of shorts from the other directors. If you see this one on, be sure to watch it. While Jones won't be remembered for his work on Tom and Jerry shorts, at least he made some gems like `Duel Personality.' Zantara's score: 8 out of 10.

The Chuck Jones Era of Tom and Jerry is great in several aspects, the Character Designs are Too Beautiful in addition to having Fluid and great Movements, the Music in this Era is not as Perfect as that of Scott Bradley but this Era has Music more Suitable for the 60s and quite Good in general, the humor of this era it is similar to the Looney Tunes and makes the Comic Scenes be different from the usual and at the same time funny!.

This Short has several Great and Original Ideas at the same time, and in addition to that they were implemented quite well!, It is that Tom and Jerry after so many Fights agree to meet in a Place to both Challenge each other to a Duel and the one who Survives is the Winner!.

And in the end, as no one wins, the same scene from the beginning is repeated, but with Tom declining the Agreed day and hitting Jerry, concluding without a Winner.

This idea for a short is good, I liked the Iconic scene with Tom and Jerry with their backs to each other with some Guns, it's too funny to see how Jerry can't load a gun and ends up shooting Tom breaking the rule of shooting after taking 5 steps!, There are also other memorable scenes like where they use slingshots and everything goes out of control or the scene with the cannon.

The Animation is still Pretty Good, the Movements are Fluid as Always and the Backgrounds look Luxury, The Mansion where Tom and Jerry Fight is also very well drawn and looks pretty Good.

The Short Marks Dean Elliot's Debut as a composer for this Era after Eugene Podanny left the Series, Elliot's Music is not as Cartoony and Cute as Podanny's but Elliot's Music fits better in the short as Elliot Provided Quality music which adapts to the Atmosphere of the Short and is Much More Memorable than Podanny's Music.

The voice acting is quite simple, it is only Vocal Effects provided by Mel Blanc (which are pretty funny in my opinion).

I love the idea of a duel, that Tom and Jerry agree to put an end to their differences makes the short unique in the entire franchise, the iconic scene of the duo with their backs turned and each one with a gun in hand is quite good and funny the time.

In itself, Duel Personality is not the Best of Chuck Jones and Much less of Tom and Jerry, but it is a short film with an Original idea quite well done that fulfills its Initial Purpose, To Entertain, and is on a Par with other great shorts of It was like O Solar Meow and Pent-House Mouse, but I feel that the Short had a too Short Duration since it only lasts 6 Minutes and 1 Second but the duration is acceptable because the Short does not have a clear purpose, it is just a Duel between the Cat and the Favorite Mouse of the whole World!.

For everything I said before, Duel Personality gets a 9!.

I am a huge fan of Tom and Jerry, and while this is not the best, it is an improvement over weaker Chuck Jones-produced Tom and Jerry cartoons such as Matinée Mouse and Shutter Bugged Cat. Jones's work with Tom and Jerry is uneven that I do agree with, but they sure are better than the awful Gene Dietch cartoons.

Duel Personality is a little too short and perhaps a tad too quick, but a lot of it does actually work. The animation is surprisingly not too bad, it is for me one of the better-looking Chuck Jones-produced Tom and Jerry cartoons, while the music is jazzy and upbeat. The story is interesting, while the sight gags are very funny and delivered at a good enough speed.

In conclusion, not bad at all, as a matter of fact it is surprisingly good. It isn't outstanding, but I can think of a lot worse to spend my time. 8/10 Bethany Cox