Barbecue Brawl

This "Tom and Jerry" short from 1956 "Barbecue Brawl" is one that's fun and interesting as it features the father and son dog characters of Spike and Tyke who decide to outdoor picnic only things on the grill cool when Tom and Jerry conduct one of their chases and spoil the food! Some scenes were clever like Jerry being tossed in the salad and the smoke burning Spike's eyes from the charcoal. However the food is packed off in the end by some unexpected uninvited marching pest critters! Overall well done tasty treat episode.

"Son, now you know why dogs hate cats!"

So says "Spike" to his little bulldog pup "Tyke" after Tom winds up in the salad bowl. All Spike is trying to do is have a barbecue with some steak and salad, but Tom keeps interrupting by chasing Jerry, who hides in the salad bowl, bag of charcoal, etc., and Tom blindly disrupts things always forgetting Spike is there.

This cartoon theme is similar - too similar - to another Tom and Jerry animated short in the '50s, called "Pup On A Picnic." In that one, Spike takes his pride-and-joy, baby bulldog "Tyke," on a picnic out in the woods. In this cartoon, he's preparing a barbecue out in the backyard. The material in both cartoons is basically the same. This is really noticeable when you're viewing these on the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume Three, which I was, because they come almost back-to-back.

Even the endings on both cartoons feature the same twist: a army of ants (complete with trumpeter), invading the premises and stealing the food.

So....overall, not bad but too much of a rip-off of the other cartoon. Were the writers running out of ideas?

Barbecue Brawl opens as Spike and Tyke prepare for a barbecue, but their al fresco dining is interrupted by Tom, who is busy chasing Jerry around the backyard with no regard for others. What follows is unremarkable stuff for the most part—mildly amusing but nothing more—but I'm willing to cut this one a little slack for two reasons. Firstly, the animation is a bit better than the last couple of episodes, with more appealing backgrounds; and secondly, Barbecue Brawl sees the return of the marching ants that first appeared in Pup On A Picnic—I love those guys!

So, no classic, but still worth watching, especially if you like the ants.