Lolcat & Lolmouse

Since treating myself to that Tom & Jerry DVD at hmv the other week, I've become dangerously obsessed with the hilarious antics of the cat and mouse duo. I've even bought a cat and a mouse and encouraged them to have slapstick chases and fights through the house, but to no avail. I may have to resort to inviting a large black lady to come round and yell "THOMAS!!!" at regular intervals, although she must ensure that I only ever see her from the waist down.

Anyway, I thought it was only fair to share the love, so here's the very first cartoon to feature Tom & Jerry: Puss Gets The Boot.



Released in 1940 by MGM and directed by animation titans William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Puss Gets The Boot is interesting for several reasons:

• The cat and mouse aren't called Tom and Jerry, they're called Jasper and Jinx (although the mouse isn't referred to by name in the cartoon). If you win a pub quiz with that bit of trivia you can send me part of the prize.
• Rudolf Ising is credited as producer, although he had very little to do with it. More hands-on was the uncredited Fred Quimby, whose name children the world over would come to recognise as being synonymous with quality T&J action, as opposed to the later shorts directed and produced by Gene Deitch or Chuck Jones.
• Puss Gets The Boot was the only intended outing for Jasper and Jinx. MGM couldn't see the appeal of a cat chasing a mouse any further than one nine-minute short, although an Oscar nomination for Short Subject (Cartoons) and an overwhelmingly positive reaction soon changed their stupid, tiny minds.

Between 1940 and 1967, 160 more Tom & Jerry shorts were made. I thought it would be nice if I posted one a week until some time in 2014. Then I thought, fuck that. Buy the DVDs you tight bastards.