The Bodyguard

Have always loved Tom and Jerry. Have vivid and fond memories of seeing all of their cartoons, with the classic ones (the Hanna Barbera years, the best of which among the best cartoons ever made, Chuck Jones' output was a mixed bag and most of Gene Deitch's were abominations and disgraces to cartoondom) being watched over and over, at my sister's late godfather's house at the age of six and have been a huge fan since.

'The Bodyguard' is up there as one my favourites, along with 'The Cat Concerto', 'The Little Orphan', 'Johann Mouse', 'The Two Mouseketeers', 'Tom and Jerry at the Hollywood Bowl', 'Down Beat Bear', 'Heavenly Puss', 'Solid Serenade', 'Mice Follies', 'The Invisible Mouse' and 'Quiet Please'. The premise may sound very familiar and formulaic but it has incredibly clever and imaginative execution and actually does do things differently, with less focus on the chases, Tom's plan for once not backfiring and a very atypical ending for a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

As ever with classic Tom and Jerry, the animation is beautiful to watch. Love the colours which are all smooth and vibrant, the gorgeously detailed backgrounds and all the characters are very well drawn (even early-design Tom). The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms, not only fitting perfectly but enhancing the action.

When it comes to the writing, 'The Bodyguard' may be one of the more violent classic Hanna/Barbera-era cartoons but it is also one of the funniest. The gags are never distastefully sadistic like the ones in the Gene Deitch cartoons and they are not only imaginatively timed they are never less than very funny. The story is set up beautifully and never loses the entertainment and intrigue value.

Spike steals the show of the three characters. Brilliantly voiced by Billy Bletcher, he has great comic timing, is very clever and it is hard not to like him. Jerry amuses too and is suitably anarchic, proving to be more than just a cute-looking mouse. The funnier and more interesting of the duo has always been Tom, he not only takes the butt of the laughs wonderfully to great comic effect one also feels sorry for him, the cartoon does a great job with his expressions as is often the case with Tom and Jerry.

Overall, up there with the Hanna/Barbera Tom and Jerry classics. 10/10 Bethany Cox

After Jerry the mouse rescues Spike the dog from being caught by the dog pound, he offers to be a bodyguard for the mouse. All he has to do is whistle whenever he's getting attacked by Tom the cat, and spike will be right their to pummel Tom. At first it works superbly but after Tom gives Jerry a jawbreaker covered in glue Jerry finds that he can no longer whistle. This short has some great sight gags. And while Spike might seem a bit thick-headed and dense I enjoyed it immensely.This cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: A

'The Bodyguard (1944)' keenly disrupts the classic cat-and-mouse formula by introducing a bulldog into the fray. This gives the short a sharp focus: Tom has to stop Jerry from calling his newfound friend, lest he incur a clobbering. This welcome change in pace is one of the earlier attempts at 'spicing things up' and it's highly successful, giving the picture a clear identity and, even, plot in the process. Of course, the narrative isn't exactly 'deep', per se; it just plays around with its core concept in some pleasing, and funny, ways. Obviously, a lot of the entertainment factor comes from the visuals. The animation is on-point for the era, with Tom's scraggly fur and (the then unnamed) Spike's crinkly skin being rendered incredibly pleasingly. Plus, the splendid sight-gags inventively play to the premise wherever possible. Overall, this is a very enjoyable experience. 8/10

Tom and Jerry are involved in a chase, as per damn usual. Jerry, when hiding, springs Spike loose from the Pound Van. As a reward, Spike says he will help-out Jerry whenever he is in trouble. All he has to do is whistle and Spike will be there to save him.

So the chase continues and just when Tom has him in his clutches, Jerry whistles for Spike and Tom gets a clobbering. Not so imaginative and the chase is kinda generic. There are a couple of sneaky tricks when Tom tries to stop Jerry from whistling but it's nothing special at all and the final gag isn't that great.

A thoroughly generic cartoon.

"Thanks, chum. I'm your pal for life!"

So says big Spike, the bulldog, after Jerry unhitches the rear of the Dog Catcher truck and lets him out. Jerry had been in the area when he heard Spike's plea for help. Now he has a handy friend "Anytime you ever needs me," says the tough and grammatically-incorrect dog, "just whistle."

Well, it doesn't long for Jerry take the dog up on the offer. Later, while he's in the middle of two slices of bread and a couple of olives, Jerry gives his first whistle!

This is a very funny cartoon. Yes, Jerry blows the whistle a few times, but in each case what happens to Tom is different with the sight gags and they're good. In this case, Tom deserves his punishment. He just doesn't seem to learn. Spike, with a bit of an Irish brogue, is hilarious.

The jokes were so good they didn't need the usual long chase scenes. What's also different in this one is that Tom actually comes up with a plan that works! The artwork was good, too, with some great expressions and reactions on Tom's face. Finally, this animated short also has an unusual, and very good, finish.

Overall, one of the top-echelon Tom and Jerry cartoons.