Carmen Get It!

This "Tom and Jerry" short from 1962 called "Carmen Get It!" is one where the duo are in the big city and their chases enters the big Broadway performance stage of opera! The gags and animation is okay however the genre display of music and the cat and mouse both showcasing talent make this short well worth a watch. As for 1962 it was one of the better cat and mouse shorts!

'Carmen Get It! (1962)' looks about right for a 'Deitch'-era 'Tom and Jerry' toon, with stiff animation and uninspired character designs. Even then, the animation seems especially lazy; one section literally sees Jerry animated at around two frames a second. On top of this, the sight-gags are just plain weird. There's an odd vibe to the whole thing, a lack of narrative urgency and, even, consistency. The plot just progresses with no real underlying logic; its culmination is a bizarre let-down. The short isn't fun, it's just strange. It's certainly not 'Tom and Jerry' - not my 'Tom and Jerry', at least. 4/10

Yes this was the last of the abysmal gene deitch era and it's not that bad. The gags are actually not that bad and are kind of funny. However the conductor is scary as hell.

Jerry is being chased through the city by Tom before escaping into The Metropolitan Opera which is putting on a production of Bizet's Carmen. Tom manages to sneak into the building disguised as a musician and joins the orchestra, but takes every available opportunity to try and catch the mouse.

I can only assume that Carmen Get It! was director Gene Deitch's attempt at replicating the success of The Cat Concerto, winner of the 1947 Academy Award for Best Short Subject. But while the two cartoons share a common musical theme, they couldn't be further apart in terms of quality, Deitch's effort being another scrappily animated effort with some really weird sound effects. Needless to say, a golden statuette failed to make its way into Deitch's hands.

2 out of 10, with a very generous bonus point for somehow shoehorning in the marching ants, particular favourites of mine (even if they are badly animated in this instance).

As mediocre, yet interesting, as the Deitch shorts were, I'd have to say that this is the best of them.

First of all, we have a great symphony orchestra playing music that's too good for "cheap" cartoons. Secondly, we have Tom and Jerry in character; Tom is a bit of a jerk while Jerry is trying to get out of a tight spot. We also have some clever and funny gags, as well as decent-looking human characters, and the violence is nowhere near as gruesome as those damn "fat man" shorts. Combine it with those weird sound effects and jerky movements, and we have a Deitch short that's actually worth watching.

I feel that Deitch and his team finally got it right on lucky thirteen.