The Invisible Mouse

This is a somewhat self-referentially clever Tom and Jerry cartoon short in that the mouse becomes transparent via invisible ink. Apt for a drawn film. That the mouse has a shadow, however, doesn't make sense in respect to his impenetrability to light, I would think, although I guess it does follow the logic of how one would see invisible ink. And I'll just accept that he returns to visibility by drinking chocolate milk. Otherwise, this brief animated knockabout features the usual cartoon violence and cat-and-mouse chase. The cat employs flour to track the invisible mouse's footsteps at one point, too, which is reminiscent of the tricks the police used in Universal's prior "Invisible Man" series and in the book by H.G. Wells.

The usual cat and mouse antics abound until Jerry jumps into a bottle of invisible ink. He gets the bright idea of torturing Tom without him knowing. The cat gets wise and tries to do stuff to make him 'see' jerry even if it's not fool-proof. Of course Jerry gets Butch aka Killer aka Spike the dog into the act (even if it's late in the short, and his contribution is minimal indeed) Brilliant animated short which kind of reminded me of the one with the white mouse who scares Tom so badly. Most of the gags work and all violent as any good tom and jerry short should truly be. This hilarious cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: B+

The basic joke here is simple. These characters -- all cartoon characters of the era -- are drawn on paper with ink. So using "invisible ink" will make a character invisible.

I'm sure this isn't the first cartoon that implicitly plays with the notion that the characters are drawings on a page. (I'd like to know which was the first.) And this is a pretty subtle reference. But we get it without even thinking about it.

Other than that, the chases and such are ordinary, most involving techniques Tom uses to make Jerry visible.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This episode can be described in one word: HORRIBLE!!! This episode is just boring, unfunny and nauseating! The music is annoying and boring, the animation is lame. Come on! Even Gene Deitch episodes and The Tom and Jerry Show from 2014 did a better work than this. The only good things about this episode is the Tom screams, but in overall, this is just another weak and horrible Tom and Jerry episode from 1947.

In conclusion, the worst 1947 episode and one of the worst Tom and Jerry episodes. Never waste your time in this garbage episode! 2/10

This particular T & J caper requires its audience to accept the ridiculous conceit that invisible ink can actually turn you invisible. And if you swallow that idea, then you should have no problem with the rest of this so-so cartoon that also features bannisters that split into two, an unoccupied fish bowl conveniently located for dousing flaming feet, and a transparent rodent who can somehow cast a shadow against a wall.

Personally, I believe that the makers of this adventure came up with the invisibility idea in order to save them from the trouble of animating one of the main characters, but whatever the reason behind the concept, The Invisible Mouse never manages to be anything other than average.