Jerry and the Goldfish

This Tom & Jerry cartoon from MGM was included as a special feature on the disc for the original (and best) "Angels in the Outfield". Like so many MGM and Warner classic films, several shorts are included on the disc--making them excellent values. The short is most likely also included in various Tom & Jerry collections.

Like the Tom & Jerry cartoons of the 1950s, this one is directed by the Hannah-Barbera team. Now back then, they made some wonderful quality films--with quality animation. While this might offend you for saying it, by the 1960s, they'd given up on quality and began churning out cartoons where the animation quality was often horrible. It's sad, as "Jerry and the Goldfish" shows what they could do when they cared and put all their energy into it.

Like the title suggests, this film is about Jerry and a goldfish. Naturally, the two are friends and Tom wants to eat them both. Throughout the film, Jerry works to save the poor little fish and thwart dumb old Tom. And, not surprisingly, things go as usual--which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The film features lots of good old fashioned cartoon violence--which might explain why I enjoyed it immensely.

They don't make 'em like they used to--funny, well animated and with rich and attractive backgrounds.

Listening to a cooking show on the radio, Tom hears a delicious recipe, the most important ingredient of which is one small fish. The naughty cat immediately sets his sights on the family goldfish, but Jerry isn't about to let his scaly friend become Tom's next meal without a fight.

I'm not a great fan of Tom and Jerry cartoons in which the mouse is given a little sidekick to protect from Tom. Earlier cartoons featuring Quacker the duck and Nibbles the mouse were just too cutesy and predictable for my liking, and this one is not all that different, with Tom spending all his time trying to cook the fish, and Jerry rescuing him just in the nick of time.

Eventually, the over familiar antics come to an end through the use of that tired T&J prop, the handy stick of dynamite.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Many times I question who the real good guy is in these Tom and Jerry cartoons because sometimes Jerry is violent to the point of being sadistic....but there's no doubt that he's the "good guy" in this story. Jerry is trying to save a little goldfish from being part of a meal for Tom.

Tom had been listening to the radio (remember, this was pre-television days when everyone sat by their big radios) and hearing a French chef describe a fantastic fish dinner. It had Tom salivating. The chef says, "and finally the most important ingredient: one small, fresh fish." In seconds Tom realizes there is a goldfish in the house.

His demeanor turns from sweet, lovable pussycat to Jeffrey Dahmer. The rest of the story has Jerry trying the rescue the little fish from being boiled, filleted, barbecued and toasted.

There are some excellent sight gags in here, like Jerry walking through Tom's head to get to his mouse hole, using Tom's teeth like a pair of window shades and other far-out scenes.

Tom gets literally "bent out of shape" a number of times, but he deserved each one of them in this episode.

Overall, a lot of laughs and one of the better Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Tom the cat wants the house's pet goldfish for a new recipe that he's just heard about on the radio. But Jerry the mouse doesn't want to have his beloved goldfish being eaten by Tom, so he goes about saving it from Tom's many schemes to fry it. This isn't one of my preferred Tom & Jery shorts, as I didn't really care for the fish. But a lot of the gags do work well. That said, even not so great Tom and Jerry shorts are a million times better then the sugar coated homogenized crap that passes for kid's cartoons now a days This cartoon can be found on disc two of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: B-

I have loved Tom and Jerry since forever, and I have a lot of affection for Jerry and the Goldfish. Without being my absolute favourite of their cartoons, it is still really entertaining and I think cute as well.

The story is very entertaining, though anyone who has seen the Little Quacker cartoons will see more of the same here except it is a goldfish Tom wants to cook instead of a duck. Still, despite this familiarity, it has an interesting structure, and there are so many entertaining moments you forget that the plot line is a little on the unoriginal side.

The animation is beautiful here too, very crisp, clean and smooth with lovely colours, and the music is a lot of fun with rousing themes. The sight gags here are plentiful and all work, thanks to the cracking pace especially. Jerry is a real hero, Tom is dastardly and the goldfish is a real cutie. So overall, truly delightful, despite not being an immediate favourite. 10/10 Bethany Cox