The Midnight Snack

Jerry is trying to steal cheese from a very well stocked pantry – all at once or bit-by-bit he intends to have it. Tom spots him doing it and toys with him before stopping him getting any more cheese. Tom sets himself up in the fridge and starts eating food; when his owner comes down to investigate a noise, Tom frames Jerry for the crime – starting a chase and prompting Jerry to even things up.

I'm not a massive fan of Tom & Jerry, I much prefer the more cynical and sharp edge that the Looney Toons had in their best moments. T&J often feels rather simple by comparison to Daffy in crazy mode and essentially they are.

The same routines, twisted slightly each time in order to make it different and, for that reason I suppose they deserve credit for keeping it going as long as they did. This short film is a good example of them at their best as it features good, colourful animation and plenty of lively action. It has no edge to appeal to adults but it was still lively enough to stop me getting board while the kids were laughing out loud along to it.

Overall I enjoyed this film and I'm not a fan of their cartoons. The routines are good and the animation is really bright and colourful, with both Tom and Jerry looking wide-eyed and well rounded (not the sharp edged, skinny Tom of later years). A good example of the best of Tom and Jerry.

The Midnight Snack is definitely an improvement over Puss Gets the Boot. The character designs have improved over Puss Gets the Boot, with Tom being bluer, and a bit softer, while Jerry looks a little less ratty. The episode is also funnier, with some moments including Tom getting hit by the trash can and Jerry getting objects stacked on top of his cheese. This episode is unfortunately one of the longer ones, and for a minute, it really drags along slowly. The downside to this cartoon is definitely it's runtime. It could be shortened to 7-8 minutes long. Otherwise, this cartoon is pretty fun, but the length definitely ruins some of it.

After the previous years success with Jasper & Jinx it was inevitable that more shorts would follow, here however they've had a name change to the more familiar Tom & Jerry.

Here we see Tom stopping Jerry from taking the cheese from the fridge during the middle of the night. But you know how this plays out, the calamitous cat isn't going to find the deed easy.

Once again the animation is fantastic for its time and both characters (Especially Tom) look a little bit different. Regardless it's familiar charming stuff, even if it is entirely predictable.

Charming stuff, but I always feel bad for Tom.

The Good:

Looks great

Charming

The Bad:

More of the same

The characters went through several different design changes from the early 1940s through to the 1960s, most often as a result of different directors. The most dramatic changes were made between the original design in the first cartoons and the characters' form that most would instantly think of as Tom and Jerry. This short is one of the earliest ones and things were still in flux.

This also has an appearance by Mammy Two Shoes and has Tom and Jerry going at it furiously, each trying to come out ahead, though Jerry is probably also trying to get some peace and some breathing room as well. Good fun and amusement all around. Well worth looking for. Recommended.

Not only the best Tom and Jerry film, but the best animated short I've ever seen. The timing, the animation, the character expressions, the sound effects... Not one false note. This one leaves me in stitches every time.