Love That Pup

There's not much original about this short. Tom chases Jerry in the yard where they encounter Spike and his son Tyke sleeping peacefully. Jerry seeks refuge in their kennels while setting up Tom as the bad guy to the irritable Spike (voiced by an uncredited actor).

Jerry comes across as much more malevolent than Tom in this one, and deserves a comeuppance. The visual humor involves stepping on rakes (fans of Sideshow Bob will be very familiar with this) and a gag I'm sure I've seen before in which Tom prods around in Spike's mouth looking for Jerry. It's mildly amusing, but far from being a standout T&J short.

The running gag in here was used a number of times in future Tom and Jerry cartoons, mainly Tom inadvertently getting in trouble with the big dog "Spike" because of his obsession to chase Jerry. The mouse winds up hiding in Spike's little son's doghouse and that sets up the future gags where Tom always winds up getting hammered by the ferocious and protective father.

A secondary continuing gag is Tom stepping on a rake and having it slam into his face. This happens at least a half dozen times.

Despite the familiar scenes, which you can predict, there were some original jokes that were funny, such as Tom playing with Spikes false teeth. I'd like to feel sorry for the poor, dumb cat but Tom never learns his lesson and keeps bothering the dogs....and pays for it - big- time!

Love that Pup sees the debut of Tyke, son of doting daddy bulldog Spike. When Jerry takes refuge from Tom inside Tyke's kennel, the determined cat resorts to some risky trickery to try and catch the pesky rodent.

Other than the introduction of another cute character to the Tom and Jerry cast, this is a pretty standard outing for the cartoon pair. Jerry repeatedly gets the better of the poor cat, with Tom having lots of painful encounters with a variety of garden implements while trying to avoid grumpy Spike. The funniest moment comes when Tom attempts to convince Spike that he is a dog, the silly cat eventually giving the game away when his growl turns into a miaow.

Love That Pup is not one of my favourite Tom and Jerrys, but there are still a lot of good things. The problem with it though is that it is very predictable at times, the repeated running gag especially and there is not really that much new. On the other hand, it is lovingly animated with luscious colours and detailed backgrounds. The character designs are well-drawn as well. The music always has added so much to the humour of the Tom and Jerry cartoons, and with its jaunty, catchy rhythms and lively orchestration, Love That Pup is not an exception. The gags are not exactly fresh, but they are at least amusing, and are helped by the crisp pacing. Tom is cunning and likable, and while Jerry is more I agree malevolent than usual he plays off him very well. The dog is a good character as well.

Overall, rather predictable but still good fun. 8/10 Bethany Cox