"Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl" is my favorite Tom & Jerry cartoon. This is a very good one. Definitely Oscar material. How it didn't win any Oscars is beyond me. If 'The Cat Concerto' won, how come this one didn't? This one was actually more deserving of that honor.
I believe this cartoon was inspired by 'The Cat Concerto'. After all, in both of them Tom plays classical music, Jerry is excited to participate but Tom doesn't let him and, of course, both have the traditional fights between them and Tom at the end trying desperately to compete with Jerry. This one, however, is more restrained on the infamous violent gags which Tom & Jerry's cartoons are known for. While this one still has some sadistic stuff, it doesn't overdo it, being very far from being one of the worst of Tom & Jerry on this aspect.
This time Tom conducts an orchestra (the Hollywood Bowl, famous amphitheatre in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California) of cats at the sound of the beautiful music "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Strauss II. That is a very soft and relaxing music to hear.
It's a quite clever cartoon. There are lots of intelligent gags, such as when Jerry pleads and begs Tom to let him conduct the orchestra but Tom uses Jerry's baton as a toothpick and throws it away and then an angry Jerry snaps Tom's baton in half and throws it away, only for Tom to take off a spare baton from his pocket and stick his tongue out at him. Other funny gags include with Tom using his baton as a snooker cue to throw Jerry off the podium, among other schemes of one against the other one.
Conclusion: Definitely Tom & Jerry's finest. Timeless and classic. I almost can't find any faults on this because it really is "THE" Tom & Jerry classic for excellency and the only one which is as close to perfection as a Tom & Jerry cartoon can be. The artwork is also very nice. The use of classical music, as well as the classical music itself, for some reason makes me think of '2001: A Space Odyssey'. Perhaps some of its "film-making" also does, even though '2001' was yet far from existing at the time this was made and the music is not the same as in '2001'.
