Tom and Jerry shorts - best to worst

NOTES: Won an Academy Award for Short Subjects, Cartoons.


Plot: Tom's new book on "how to catch a mouse" doesn't prove too helpful against Jerry; actually, Jerry seems to make better use of it than Tom.

NOTES: Won an Academy Award for Short Subjects, Cartoons. In 1994 it was voted #42 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field..


Plot: Jerry is determined to disrupt Tom's concert while Tom fights him with the piano without missing a single note.

Plot: As the title implies, Tom and Jerry are in a bowling alley. Both spend a lot of time sliding on the well-polished lanes. Eventually, Jerry takes up residence among the pins and Tom tries to bowl him down.

NOTE: First appearance of the Ants.


Plot: Tom's getting ready to settle into the hammock, but Jerry has beat him to it and the battle begins.

NOTES: Nominated for an Academy Award for Short Subjects, Cartoons. This is the first (and only) Christmas-related cartoon in the original HB series. First time Tom rescues Jerry. Also the first time Jerry rescues Tom.


Plot: Well, a mouse *is* stirring... And he's having fun playing with the toys, until he mistakes Tom for a stuffed toy and wakes him up.

Plot: Tom is a feline fisherman, Jerry is his live bait, and Spike is the bulldog guarding the lake.

Plot: Mammy Two-Shoes tells Tom and Butch that the cat who gets rid of the icebox-raiding, breadbox-invading mouse (Jerry) is the one who can stay.

NOTE: Nominated for an Academy Award for Short Subjects, Cartoons.


Plot: When Tom's harassment gets out of hand, Jerry writes to his Cousin Muscles, a tough inner city mouse, and asks for his help.

NOTE: The first time Tom defeats Jerry.


Plot: Tom inherits $1,000,000 from an eccentric aunt on the condition that he not harm any living thing - even a mouse. And guess which mouse keeps following him around and pointing this out to him?

Plot: Tom is told by his owner, Mammy Two-Shoes, to guard the refrigerator for the night and keep Jerry away from it, or else he'll be thrown out of the house. Upon hearing this, Jerry outwits Tom, but goes too far... to a point where Tom falls into a barrel of cider and gets drunk. The drunk Tom is nice to Jerry, but makes a mess in the kitchen, among other things that are against Mammy's orders. So Jerry does his best to snap Tom out of it before the cat gets into some serious trouble with Mammy.

NOTES: First cartoon to win an Academy Award for Short Subjects. First cartoon with animation by Ray Patterson.


Plot: As Tom and Jerry stage their typical fight sequences, the patriotic soldier theme of the title is evidenced by such things as a carton of eggs labeled "Hen Grenades"; Jerry dropping light bulbs from an airplane like bombs; and Jerry sending a telegram with the message "Sighted Cat - Sank Same."


www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifc3yQeabtg&feature=related

Plot: In a pool room, Tom sets up a game of Pool to play by himself. But when his game disturbs Jerry, the chase begins again... only this time, it's pool ball style.

NOTES: First appearances of Butch and Topsy. First and only appearance of Nancy. First cartoon to use "An MGM Tom and Jerry Cartoon" end titles.


Plot: A little girl dresses up Tom to look like a baby. Jerry thinks this is hilarious, so when the girl leaves, he whistles to three alley cats to come see in order to humiliate Tom.

NOTE: First cartoon to credit Fred Quimby.


Plot: When Tom loses his patience with chasing Jerry constantly, he hires a mouse exterminator (Butch) to get rid of Jerry once and for all. Once Butch arrives, everything goes according to plan... but not for long. Jerry quickly gains the upper hand, backfiring all capture attempts upon both Tom and Butch.

Plot: It's icy fun in the kitchen, as Jerry and Nibbles turn the floor into an ice-skating rink by freezing overflowing faucets.

NOTE: First and only time that the face of Mammy Two Shoes is shown.


Plot: Mammy Two-Shoes goes out to play cards with some friends, so Tom calls his friends over for a party at the house. Unfortunately for Jerry, the partying disturbs him greatly, so he does his best get in contact with Mammy to tell her about the party before Tom and his friends catch him.

NOTES: First Tom and Jerry cartoon in which the characters are so named. The first "official" Tom and Jerry cartoon, as its "prequel" was originally meant to be a one-shot cartoon.


Plot: Jerry decides to have a midnight snack, but Tom prevents that from happening and has a snack himself. Mammy Two-Shoes thinks it was only Jerry and orders Tom to go after him.

Plot: Taking place in front of a huge audience at the Hollywood Bowl, Tom is conducting an orchestra. But Jerry wants to conduct it, too, resulting in a fight between the two rivals for the conductor's position.

Tired of fighting, Tom, Jerry, and Spike sign a truce to never harm each other again, and to be best buds. They do everything together, including protect each other from harm. That is... until they start to fight over a hunk of meat.

NOTES: Tom is known as "Jasper" in this short. Jerry is unnamed in this short, but is officially known as Jinx. First appearances of Tom, Jerry, an owner for Tom, and Mammy Two Shoes. First cartoon to get nominated for an Academy Award for Short Subjects, Cartoons. First "Hanna-Barbera" Tom and Jerry cartoon. First time Jerry defeats Tom.


Plot: Feline "Jasper" is given an ultimatum by his master: break one more thing and you're out! Rodent Jerry does his best to make sure that his tormentor "gets the boot".

NOTE: Won an Academy Award for Short Subjects, Cartoons.


Plot: Tom is chasing Jerry as usual, but with all the ruckus, Spike can't get any sleep. At last, Spike grabs Tom by the collar and warns him that if he hears one more sound, he'll pulverize Tom. Upon listening to this, Jerry does the best he can to make a racket and ultimately wake Spike up...

Plot: It's a moonlit night, and Tom wants to impress a cute female kitten (Toodles). So he brings a guitar, ties up Spike, the one guarding Toodles' property, and plays a serenade for Toodles. Unfortunately for Jerry, who happens to dwell close by, the serenading disturbs his sleep. More annoyed than ever, he decides to do all he can to ruin Tom's night.

NOTES: This was one of two Tom and Jerry cartoons to be omitted from the final Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection due to politically incorrect content. Casanova Cat (1951) is the other.


Plot: Mammy Two-Shoes has finally finished cleaning the house, but Tom and Jerry's chasing antics get it all dirty again. Mammy cleans it up once more, then tells Tom that if the house is dirty yet again by the time she gets back from the store, he'll be kicked out. Jerry sees this as a perfect opportunity to be rid of Tom, so he does his best to makes the house as filthy as possible.

Plot: Tom is chasing both Jerry and the house canary, but the two go out of reach by taking refuge in the canary's birdhouse. Tom tries everything to get up to them, but everything fails, ultimately resulting in him crashing through the whole house. When he comes out the other side, he has pink lace attached to him. Tom realizes that he can actually use the lace as wings to fly; a new weapon in his quest to get to Jerry and the canary...

Plot: On the radio, Tom listens to The Witching Hour, a radio show that tells scary stories that almost give Tom a heart attack. After seeing Tom's reaction to the radio show, Jerry schemes a way to scare Tom some more. He moves everything in the house to make it seem like a ghost is in the house.

Plot: Tom accidentally gives Tyke the hiccups when he, also accidentally, awakens him from his nap. Spike is not pleased about this, and won't stop standing over Tom until he gets rid of Tyke's hiccups.

Plot: Jerry decides to move out of the country and into the big city. He writes a note for Tom, telling him about his departure. He arrives in the city to have bad luck everywhere he goes. Jerry sees that the city is just not for him, so he goes back to the country, tearing the note he wrote for Tom to shreds. He then gives Tom a nice big kiss before happily walking into his mouse hole.

Plot: Butch is going shopping... in an ally. He finds what he can in a garbage cans, and takes them with him. But a bottle of fresh milk on a doorstep catches his attention, and goes over to get it. But Tom opens the door and takes the milk before Butch can. Butch then sees a cooked chicken on the windowsill, and proceeds to takes that, only to have the window slammed shut on his fingers before he can. Determined, Butch dresses up as a hungry baby in order to get into the house and snatch the chicken, as well as all of the other delicious foods that could be there...

NOTE: First Tom and Jerry short to be seen re-filmed in other cartoons.


Plot: Tom is at a golf course having fun golfing. But Jerry happens to live in one of the golf holes, and is annoyed whenever the golf ball falls on his head. Tom then decides to turn Jerry into a tee, among other things. Jerry keeps getting more and more annoyed, and does his best to get back at Tom.

NOTE: Final appearances of Fluff, Muff and Puff.


Plot: Tom is using Jerry as a paddle-ball, when the doorbell rings and Mammy Two-Shoes brings in three cute kittens. Mammy is about to go to the store to get some milk for them, when the kittens attempt to blow Tom up. Mammy turns around at the noise, only to find Tom in a position which looks like he's going to hurt the kittens. After giving him a whack, he warns him that if the kittens are harmed by the time she gets back, it'll be trouble for Tom. But once Mammy leaves, the kittens to everything they can to provoke Tom, as well as Jerry. So the two rivals team up to get back at them.

Plot: Tom is doing his best to teach a younger cat how to catch a mouse, but the youngster isn't able to focus very well. When Tom finally tells the young cat to do a test run by catching Jerry, the little one determinedly sets off. But Jerry sees that the young cat likes mice despite his teachings, and takes advantage of this and uses it against Tom.

Tom calls his girlfriend (Toots) on the phone and invites her over for dinner. She gladly accepts, and comes over quickly. Tom uses Jerry as a servant to serve all of the food. This annoys Jerry greatly, so he does his best to ruin the evening for Tom.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYCj0HxRmrM

Plot: Tom is competing against Butch in a tennis tournament, but bad luck keeps falling upon the two throughout the game. Jerry, of course, decides to use this to his advantage.

NOTE: First appearance of Spike.


Plot: Tom is chasing Jerry again, when they run into a bulldog (Spike). Spike gets angry and starts to chase Tom and Jerry. So instead of chasing each other, they decide to team up for the time in order to get back at Spike.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNcunpNl4AQ

NOTE: First appearance of Tyke.


Plot: When chasing Jerry, Tom misses his target and mistakenly grabs Spike's son, Tyke, instead. After snatching his son back, Spike beats Tom to a pulp. Realizing that he's safe around them, Jerry cuddles up against the two dogs. Tom then attempts to come up with a plan to catch Jerry without either Spike or Tyke noticing.

Plot: When Tom hears on the radio that a ferocious lion has escaped from the circus, he immediately shuts all the windows, grabs his gun, and prepares for the worst. Jerry hears this, too, and actually encounters the lion in the basement, who turns out to be harmless and only wants food and a way to get back to the jungle where he belongs. So Jerry decides to help him out, but the two have to watch out for a cautious Tom.

Plot: Spike and his son, Tyke, are watching Tom and Jerry's chasing antics. Spike then decides to teach Tyke on how to really be a dog. First lesson? Chasing cats. Object of the lesson? Tom, of course.

NOTE: Only appearance of a love interest for Quacker.


Plot: After reading the book, The Ugly Duckling, a duckling feels sad because he thinks he's ugly, too. While crying, Jerry finds him and tries to cheer him up. But it's no good, as the duckling is so sad that it willingly sacrifices itself to Tom. But Jerry won't let him, and does his best protect him from Tom, whose interest in eating the duckling perked up.

Plot: Tom is ready to have some fun in the sun at the beach, and proceeds to woo a female cat (Toodles). But when he finds Jerry in a lunch basket, the chase begins again, with beach pranks galore.

NOTE: First appearances of Fluff, Muff and Puff.


Plot: Tom is chasing Jerry as usual, when during the chase, a piano comes tumbling down the stairs, smashing into Tom and killing him. Tom then floats up the gates of Heaven, but the gatekeeper refuses to let him through since all he did was attempt to catch Jerry for most of his life. He does say, however, that if he can get Jerry to sign a Certificate of Forgiveness within one hour, he will be allowed passage into Heaven... otherwise, he'll have to go to Hell.

NOTES: Produced simultaneously in both the standard Academy format (1.37:1) and in widescreen CinemaScope (2.55:1). First appearances of Joan and George.


Plot: Husband and wife are complaining about the large bills, and realize that they're all from cat and dog food. So they make up their minds that either Tom or Spike has to go, and tell them that whoever catches Jerry first gets to stay.

Plot: Tom and his friends come back from a night of partying. Exhausted, Tom falls asleep right on the windowsill. But when Mammy Two-Shoes catches him sleeping by daytime, she wakes him up, tells him to go on mouse patrol, and warns him that if he falls asleep again, he'll be in trouble. Jerry easily takes advantage of this, as he tries to get Tom into just that trouble by luring him to sleep over and over again.

Plot: Jerry is once again the victim of two cats (one of them being Tom, of course), and at first, neither realize that there is another cat, they think they are each other's reflection. They both cause trouble for Jerry, who is tired of it and ties the two cats up.

NOTE: Nominated for an Annie Award.


Plot: Tom and Butch both try to impress a female cat with their muscle building abilities, with not only each other, but Jerry, for competition.

Plot: Tom falls into a lake and sinks to the bottom. Once there, it's an underwater adventure as he attempts to catch a mermouse (Jerry), with various events happening along the way.

NOTE: First appearance of Lightning.


Plot: Mammy Two-Shoes is being "attacked" by Jerry again, so she once more orders Tom to get rid of him. When he epically fails once again, Mammy decides that Tom is too old to work in the mouse-catching business anymore, and brings in a younger, faster, and more hyper cat named Lightning that disposes of Jerry in an instant. Proud of the new cat, Mammy tells him to take good care of Tom, and goes to bed. But when Lightning frames Tom for raiding the refrigerator, Tom gets kicked out of the house, as well. So both Tom and Jerry come up with a plan to get rid of Lightning once and for all.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV58kY6gk5Q

Plot: Jerry takes Tom inside his home. But when the mistress wants to evict the cat, Tom scares her with Jerry and tosses Jerry out into the snow. Tom is now pampered by the mistress and Jerry dresses up like a ghost to scare Tom.

Plot: Tom is chasing Jerry as usual, with Mammy Two-Shoes cheering him on. But when she attempts to crush Jerry herself by whacking him with a broom, she accidentally whacks Tom on the head instead. This causes Tom to suffer a case of amnesia, and he begins to act like a mouse. So both Jerry and Mammy individually try to cure him.

NOTE: First appearance of Nibbles.


Plot: A baby mouse named Nibbles is sent to Jerry's mouse hole by the Bide-a-Wee Mouse Home with a request to take care of him. Since Nibbles is always hungry, particularly for milk, the two sneak over to a sleeping Tom's dish to steal some of his milk. But unfortunately, Tom wakes up and chases both mice, with Jerry doing his best to protect Nibbles.

Plot: It's nighttime, and a circus train is passing through town. But a baby elephant is sleeping too close to the edge of the car he's in, and tumbles out, rolls down the hill, into a house, and right into Tom's basket. Not noticing out of tiredness, Tom curls up on top of the elephant, who's under the blanket. It manages to make a quick getaway, then sucks up Tom's milk with it's truck. Thinking it was Jerry, Tom marches into the kitchen. Jerry was actually drinking milk, but is wasn't Tom's. Still thinking he did it, Tom prepares to smash his bowl on him, when the elephant comes to his rescue. The two then hide from Tom in the closet, and decide to play a trick on him; Jerry paints the elephant to make him look like a super-sized version of himself.