Jerry's Diary

Tom, who has just set up a heap of traps outside Jerry's mousehole, learns from Uncle Dudley's radio slot that it is 'Be Kind To Animals Week', so he replaces the traps with gifts, only Jerry is not in. Tom spots Jerry's diary on the desk and sneaks a peek at some of the entries (cue excerpts from previous cartoon in the Tom & Jerry series). Unfortunately each entry Tom reads reminds him of an occasion where he is on the receiving end of punishment, which gradually increases his anger. Will he be able to stay kind to Jerry or will his declining patience get the better of him?

Very enjoyable, if 'economic', entry to the series.

Tom's got all his traps lined up outside Jerry's hole in the wall and just waits for the "kill." The radio is playing and the announcer is asking, "Do you know that it's 'Be Kind To Animals Week?' Are you being kind to animals? Why, of course you are, especially this week...." Before long, he gets to Tom's conscience and the cat exchanges the traps for flowers, candy and pie!

However, there is no sign of Jerry. Tom investigates, looking inside the mouse's hole but Jerry's lair is empty. The cat spots the mouse's dairy, begins reading and it's entertaining stuff which has Tom in stitches....until he reads a few things that bring back bad memories.

This is another solid T&J cartoon, filled with a lot of funny moments and a few nostalgic ones from past episodes.

Overhearing the radio, Tom discovers that it is 'Be Kind To Animals Week' and bakes Jerry a pie. While searching for the mouse, Tom discovers Jerry's diary and reads some of his entries. Cue numerous flashbacks to earlier cartoons in which the rodent repeatedly humiliates the poor cat. When Tom finally finds Jerry, he splatters the surprised mouse with the pie.

In order to keep production costs down, many series resort to the 'compilation' episode, wherein characters recall moments from their previous adventures, thus allowing for the recycling of old footage; this is the first of several T&J cartoons to exploit this economic but rather lazy format, and as such it holds very few surprises for fans of the animated duo.

Okay, the story is quite light and perhaps not all that original, there were a few other Tom and Jerry cartoons than this that had this particular formula as well. But Jerry's Diary is still a very nice cartoon in many ways. It has many funny moments, and with the use of Solid Serenade, Tee for Two, Mouse Trouble and The Yankee Doodle Mouse(serving as part of the diary excerpts) it is somewhat of a nostalgic throwback which will delight anybody I think. The animation is wonderful, with luscious backgrounds and colours, as well as well-drawn characters, the pacing is crisp and the music once again does a great job with enhancing the visual gags complete with upbeat orchestration. Tom and Jerry are still as likable as ever with the writing and gags playing to their character strengths rather than going against them.

All in all, very nice if not one of my favourite Tom and Jerrys. 8/10 Bethany Cox