Mouse Into Space

In the early 1960s, some evil trolls at MGM decided to revive the Tom and Jerry series but wanted it done with practically no budget at all. So, the cartoons were farmed out to be done in Czechoslovakia by people that had hardly any notion of who the characters were. As a result, they didn't look all that much like Tom and Jerry and they acted nothing like the originals. Apparently, the staff hadn't really seen the cartoons before but that didn't stop them! This is one of several super-crappy cartoons done by this unit. Jerry is an astronaut and Tom is a hobo--two roles you NEVER would have seen them in before. The animation quality is horrid, the sound effects VERY strange and the story itself is about as funny as cancer. The MGM clods should have been ashamed of themselves for ever releasing this bilge.

Mouse into Space is not the worst Tom and Jerry cartoon(a serious contender for that dishonour is Switchin' Kitten), however it is still a very poor cartoon that starts off badly and goes down rapidly downhill from there. In fact for me the only redeeming quality is that it is fairly short.

The animation is just horrible. If you want flat colours, badly drawn characters and static backgrounds look no further than Mouse into Space and any other Gene Dietch cartoon for that matter. The sight gags are poorly timed and unfunny, the pace is increasingly uneven and the story is not entertaining in the slightest.

I haven't even got to the worst of the problems yet. The violence is once again sickening and made me feel uncomfortable- only Switchin' Kitten, Sorry Safari and It's Greek to Meow! are more uncomfortable to watch- and the music is very forgettable and annoying. Worse is the stomach-churning sound effects and the gross distortion of the characters, neither Tom and Jerry are that likable here and their personalities are way off the radar.

All in all, poor. Not the worst, but best avoided. 2/10 Bethany Cox

...which doesn't say much! Two dimensional style and shallow pranks are Deitch's trademark. This Tom & Jerry cartoon is no exception.

On the (somewhat) bright side, the theme for this cartoon is somewhat original. Some new ideas are tried out. However, they are unable to pull in this second rate cartoon.

I love Tom & Jerry. I think, along with the work of Tex Avery, the Hanna-Barbera Tom & Jerry cartoons are some of the best theatrical short animation ever. When Hanna and Barbara struck out on their own, MGM felt the need to continue the series without them. They hired Gene Deitch to take over. This was a very poor choice as I see it. Deitch's style is very two-dimensional and not very suited to the action of a Tom & Jerry short. The plots tend to be thin as paper and occasionally disturbing. Plus, in the Deitch shorts, both Tom and Jerry seem to have developed a mean streak. They have never been nice to each other, but in these they seem to sometimes act downright evil when it comes to the other. One of the main complaints with the Deitch Tom & Jerry shorts is the music and sound effects. Both are rather obviously artificial sounding and downright creepy. Probably the worst thing was the way Deitch treated the characters. In this short, you have Tom turned into a drunk tramp. That's just plain wrong. That's in any cartoon, but especially a Tom & Jerry one. Overall, this is a very poor short from a very poor series.

Although the majority of Gene Deitch's Shorts are Complete Misery or Failing that they are Nauseating like High Steaks and Sorry Safari, Mouse Into Space falls into the category of Mediocre, but despite its mediocrity its Plot and Surreal Setting make it a Unique Short of This Era and Tom and Jerry in General.

The Formula of the Cat and the Mouse in Space was not Invented by Chuck Jones but he was the one who Perfected it (Only in O Solar Meow) But Gene Deitch receives the Merit of being the one who took our Favorite Duo to Outer Space!, although He hasn't done very well, let's say...

the short revolves around Jerry after being Hassled Countless Times decides to enlist in Space after Reading an "Astro-Mouse" Magazine and Tom is saddened by this so he gives Jerry the Chance to Smash him in the Head with a Sledgehammer, Shoot him with a Revolver and even see how a Bomb Explodes in his Mouth but Jerry Masterfully Ignores him making Tom Sad.

I would guess that after Jerry left home Tom was kicked out because he was of no use to them anymore but that's not the point.

The Characters are Bizarre in this Short, Jerry is a bit unpleasant since he made Tom fall into alcohol and have to Sleep in a Tube but despite that he is still a Decent character, Tom is the one you sympathize with the most, after leaving home he ends up falling into alcohol and sleeps in a supposed tube that turns out to be the Hose of a Space Rocket but what Matters is that a Man gets out of a Truck and does not even realize that Tom is in the Hose like that that without Caring moves a Crank to get the Gasoline out of the Truck, did he not see Tom who was inside the Hose?.

The animation is complete disgust, the house and the furniture look passable but the rocket and the space station are very empty, it is supposed to be a space station, at least there should be more buildings out there right?, the space itself is well drawn and I like the scene where Tom gets stuck in a Stone but all in all, Animation is Abysmal, Movements are Sloppy and too Jerky, Character Designs are Simplistic but still look Decent.

The Music is too out of place, it went from being Horrendous and Bizarre to being Surreal and Strange, this time the Music is not as Bad as in other shorts like Sorry Safari or Tall In The Trap but it is still of a Doubtful Quality but it is understandable that it was the Budget bass that forced them to do Limited Music.

The Sound Effects are Terrible and too poorly Synthesized, the Sound of space is too generic and out of place in my opinion, the Voice Acting is Miserable with the exception of the man who Counts the Seconds before Takeoff, that acting is acceptable but Jerry's Laughter is Too Irritating and Scary to Hear.

The Idea of a Short in Space by now is Original and Promising but it was wasted Just like It's Greek To Me Ow but it's, It is not a complete disgrace as it is Entertaining and has decent scenes like Jerry on the Rocket and Tom finding a Capsule with a Soviet Dog inside but not as Good as O Solar Meow and Minimally Post Guided Mouse and Advance and be Mechanized.

In itself, Mouse Into Space is not the Worst of Deitch but it is still a Disgrace as the Critic Said "The Little Song Bird" but I don't hate this short as much as he and other critics but I don't like the short either, the Surrealist Music , Scary Sound effects and Poor Animation make this a Complete Odyssey and at the same time a unique Short in the Series, it is not as good as the excellent O Solar Meow but it fulfills the Promise of bringing our Cat and Mouse duo into space for the first time.

For everything I said before, I rate this short with a 6.