Busy Buddies

'Busy Buddies (1956)' sees Tom and Jerry teaming up to look after a mischievous baby. Even if the pair's tumultuous team-ups are often less successful than their rivalries, this piece is an endearing and enjoyable experience. It has a simplified, fur-less design, even when compared to shorts starring the duo released in the same year, but it still maintains the energetic, sight-gag-stuffed animation you expect from such a cartoon. Its generally '50s' aesthetic is actually rather pleasing to look at and it does some interesting things with lighting, too. The film's narrative is incredibly simple; it has about as much depth as the series' iconic cat-and-mouse chases, except the cat and mouse are chasing a kid this time. It's just incredibly charming, though. Its occasional strokes of fantasy and its bouncy score add up to really fun time. It's also really funny. It does feel really short, though, despite being around the same length as most other 'Tom and Jerry' toons. 8/10

'Busy Buddies' is a nice animated short where Tom and Jerry have to work together. The babysitter does nothing but talking on the phone to one of her friends while the baby keeps crawling away. Tom and Jerry have to make sure nothing happens to the baby. It's a nice and pretty funny short. It is fun to see the cat and the mouse work together for a change.

This was the first of two Tom & Jerry cartoons to feature Jeannie, the baby-sitter who is left to look after Tom's owners' baby but really couldn't care less (the other was 'Tot Watchers' (1958)). Once the couple have gone out for the evening, Jeannie darts onto the telephone and starts a massive conversation, completely oblivious to the baby boy's needs. Tom & Jerry take advantage of the couple's absence, they raid the kitchen, but are soon halted by the baby, who has escaped... I'm hoping that the above hasn't spoiled the enjoyment too much, and firmly believe it is still the mere backbone of the story and I've not given away any clever gags or slapstick. It's not brilliant, but it's still clever and amusing fare from William Hanna & Joseph Barbera.

Boy, you know you are in the mid 1950s just watching the first 20 seconds of this cartoon. First, you see the artwork, then the Cinemascope widescreen, then the clothes on the parents and teenage baby-sitter and then - wham - the baby-sitter rushes to the phone and lies upside with her feet propped up on a chair yakking away.

While the teen girl does what she does best - talk on the telephone (has anything changed, except it's now a cellphone?), Tom and Jerry use the opportunity to raid the kitchen and gulp down all the food they can. Some of those scenes are good, such as Jerry's method of eating two cookies at once, and Tom's watermelon-eating typewriter-like system.

Meanwhile, who's watching the constantly crawling baby? Well.....mostly Tom and Jerry.

This cartoon reminded me of the John Hughes 1994 film "Baby's Day Out" in which a baby crawls all over New York City, pursued by a couple of inept crooks. In this cartoon, it's the same except it's all inside a house. The baby even crawls through stove pipes. At least Tom and Jerry were on the same page in this one, which was unusual.

I liked Busy Buddies very much as I do with most Tom and Jerry cartoons, but at the same time I didn't love it. It is fairly light on story and the babysitter is a plot device if little else. The animation this said is wonderful, with lots of detail and lush colours, while the upbeat, beautifully orchestrated and action-enhancing music still manages to impress. The gags, revolving mainly around the lengths Tom and Jerry go to raid the kitchen of food, are clever and well-timed, while not feeling routine at the same time. What was also interesting about Busy Buddies was that this was one of the rare occurrences where Tom and Jerry were on the same side, which was a refreshing change from the norm. The duo are their likable selves and their rapport is as ever irresistible. The baby is also a well-utilised addition and works well with Tom and Jerry.

So all in all, fun if not one of Tom and Jerry's best. 8/10 Bethany Cox