The Cat and the Mermouse (Short 1949)

The Cat and the Mermouse (Short 1949). The Cat and the Mermouse: Directed by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna. With William Hanna, Jack Sabel. A day at the beach. Tom wants to lay in the sand, but his rest is disturbed by Jerry, who walks by to go fishing. Tom ends up falling off the end of the pier as he chases Jerry and lands underwater, where he encounters a mermaid whose top half looks just like Jerry. A chase, naturally, follows, all underwater. The mermouse, however, runs into a swordfish, and it begins chasing Tom, too, turning into mer-Jerry's ally, until it gets stuck in what looks like a telephone pole. The chase is next interrupted by an octopus, which grabs hold of Tom until Jerry yanks him free when we discover this is all a fever dream of Tom's, and Jerry has actually been performing artificial resuscitation.

“Itu0026#39;s very appropriate that this short was included on the disc for the Esther Williams film u0026quot;Dangerous When Wetu0026quot;. This is because in this full-length film, Tom u0026amp; Jerry appear in a fantasy sequence–swimming with Ms. Williams. So, seeing the pair frolicking about at the beach in u0026quot;The Cat and the Mermouseu0026quot; seems like a perfect extra for the disc.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs I mentioned above, Tom u0026amp; Jerry are at the beach. Not surprisingly, they begin beating the crap out of each other. Soon, Tom falls into the sea and sees Jerry…or what he thinks is Jerry. Instead, itu0026#39;s a u0026#39;mermouseu0026#39;–a mermaid version of a mouse. For much of the rest of the film, itu0026#39;s like a standard Tom u0026amp; Jerry cartoon but underwater. And, like in their appearance in u0026quot;Dangerous When Wetu0026quot;, Tom doesnu0026#39;t seem to have any trouble breathing under water! u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLike any Tom u0026amp; Jerry cartoon before they were ruined in the late 1950s (itu0026#39;s a long story but these later films were dreadful), the animation is top-notch–better than the Disney or Warner Brothers shorts. With wonderful backgrounds, great animations and lovely colors, it certainly looks great. As for the story, itu0026#39;s the usual but set in a very unusual locale–making it more enjoyable than an average film in the series. Not among their best, but quite good.”