Starring Tom, Jerry, Jerry’s cousin, Spike the dog
Written By: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna, Tex Avery, and others
Directed By:
Studio: Warner Brothers
Buy on Amazon.com link

I just love how all these Hanna-Barbera cartoons are being released on DVD now. I still watch Tom and Jerry and giggle like a 5 year old. Now the animated shorts have been digitally re-mastered and offer T&J fans a lot of great episodes on DVD!

If you haven’t seen an episode of Tom and Jerry by now, than there is something seriously wrong with you and you need to be smacked over the head with a shovel. Each animated short/episode/whatever features Tom the cat trying to catch and eat Jerry the Mouse. That’s pretty much it really. Though sometimes Jerry tries to be a wiseass and annoy Tom while he’s trying to pick up a chick, and then some shorts features Jerry’s tough cousin, or his little nephew that he has to teach things to. My favorite Tom and Jerry episodes usually are with Spike the dog and his son. I love the little bulldog puppy, and Tom usually screws things up by messing with the dog. Resulting in having Tom getting his ass handed to him by Spike. These cartoons are known for being extremely violent for it’s time, and I believe a lot of it was cut, but now most of the episodes are in its uncut glory! Gotta love the cartoon violence!

For some reason though, I can’t watch a bunch of episodes together because it just starts to get redundant and the same things happen. I love watching the episodes first thing in the morning though. I think that’s the ideal time to watch Tom and Jerry for me. Though when the shorts air on TV, they air during the day or at the butt crack of dawn. That doesn’t really fit with my schedule anymore. I think I like the newer episodes more (disc 2) than the first disc. I have the same feelings toward Looney Tunes & Disney shorts. The older ones aren’t as funnier, plus the newer shorts look a lot cleaner and sharper. The animation also gets streamed line, and the characters morph into something better. The DVD quality for these episodes is good, but it’s not totally flawless. But watching these on DVD and then seeing them on regular TV, you can totally tell the difference.

There are a few extras on here that Tom and Jerry fans will appreciate. I like the feature on the composer Scott Bradley and the MGM Orchestra; Bradley and the orchestra composed all the memorable music to the animated shorts. There isn’t too much dialogue to the cartoons besides loud screaming and cartoon sound effects, so the music played a very important part in the series. If the music sucked, it wouldn’t have been as successful I think. Then again, they could have just hired another composer if Bradley didn’t work out. Bradley also composed a few full-length features, like sequences in Anchors Aweigh and Dangerous When Wet Swimming. Those movies featured Tom and Jerry in the live action movies, and those sequences are also found on this DVD set. There’s a great documentary about Hanna & Barbera and how they came up with this idea about a Cat and Mouse cartoon. It wasn’t exactly an original idea but they wanted to make it more for movie theater folks and adult crowds. It was never meant to be a kid’s cartoon. Hearing stories from the two was great and a lot of the stuff they were saying was very interesting too. They talked about how they did the live action movies with Tom and Jerry. One of them says it was really easy to do, and other said it was a pain in the ass haha. That featurette ran about a half hour. There’s not too much else besides that though for extras.

Tom and Jerry is such a classic cartoon, and gave inspiration to other animators to make wacky, violent cartoons. Hey, without Tom and Jerry, there wouldn’t be Itchy and Scratchy! If you like Tom and Jerry and want some better quality shorts than what TV has to offer, than go out and buy this Premiere Collection. The more you buy, the quicker Warner Brothers will go and make more Tom and Jerry DVDs!

Features:
– 2 All-New Documentaries How Bill and Joe Met Tom and Jerry and Behind the Tunes: The MGM Orchestra
– Commentary on 3 Key Cartoons by Animation Historian Jerry Beck
– Anchors Aweigh Dance Sequence with Jerry and Gene Kelly
– Dangerous When Wet Swimming Sequence with Esther Williams

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Mono CC

Video:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Standard 1.33:1 Color

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: The Cat Concerto, The Invisible Mouse, Jerry and the Goldfish, Flying Cat, Two Mouseketeers, Two Little Indians, Baby Butch
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 0 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: