The Invisible Mouse

In one of the usual chases between Tom and Jerry, the latter jumps into a bottle of invisible ink and becomes invisible; he then proceeds to have some fun at Tom's expense. This is a fantastic cartoon, with tons of gags (albeit mostly violent ones, but since when did cats and mice use tact?) and a frenetic pace. Recommended. (Mind you, here's a puzzle: Jerry dives head-first into the bottle of invisible ink, so how come when he emerges it's the BOTTOM half of him that is invisible?)

After the usual chase scene, Jerry accidentally winds up inside a bottle of invisible ink, which was part of a chemistry set. He quickly discovers he's invisible...so the predictable results occur, meaning he uses his new hidden condition to torment Tom. Jerry often is just defending himself, but often he has sadistic streak in him that torments the cat whenever possible, even when unprovoked.

Here, he makes Tom think his eyes are deceiving him when cheese from a mousetrap disappears before his eyes, or milk from a dish. Tom can't take anymore so he tries to sleep this nightmare off, but Jerry sets fire to his paw! Man, I hope little kids didn't ideas watching these cartoons back in the '40s and '50s! I always found Jerry, the little mouse, more evil than cute.

Thankfully, in cartoons, generally, whatever damage a character suffers is gone within seconds and he's back to normal.

The best part of this cartoon is about two-thirds of the way through when Tom figures out what the story is with Jerry, and tries different methods to detect where the mouse is located (such as putting flour on the floor to see his footprints).

The basic joke here is simple. These characters -- all cartoon characters of the era -- are drawn on paper with ink. So using "invisible ink" will make a character invisible.

I'm sure this isn't the first cartoon that implicitly plays with the notion that the characters are drawings on a page. (I'd like to know which was the first.) And this is a pretty subtle reference. But we get it without even thinking about it.

Other than that, the chases and such are ordinary, most involving techniques Tom uses to make Jerry visible.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This episode can be described in one word: HORRIBLE!!! This episode is just boring, unfunny and nauseating! The music is annoying and boring, the animation is lame. Come on! Even Gene Deitch episodes and The Tom and Jerry Show from 2014 did a better work than this. The only good things about this episode is the Tom screams, but in overall, this is just another weak and horrible Tom and Jerry episode from 1947.

In conclusion, the worst 1947 episode and one of the worst Tom and Jerry episodes. Never waste your time in this garbage episode! 2/10

This particular T & J caper requires its audience to accept the ridiculous conceit that invisible ink can actually turn you invisible. And if you swallow that idea, then you should have no problem with the rest of this so-so cartoon that also features bannisters that split into two, an unoccupied fish bowl conveniently located for dousing flaming feet, and a transparent rodent who can somehow cast a shadow against a wall.

Personally, I believe that the makers of this adventure came up with the invisibility idea in order to save them from the trouble of animating one of the main characters, but whatever the reason behind the concept, The Invisible Mouse never manages to be anything other than average.