Cat Fishin'

Tom sneaks into a secluded area for some fish poaching. The lake is guarded by Spike, but Tom has his same old tricks for taking care of him. In his bait box he has a captured Jerry, who he promptly disguises as a worm and casts into the lake.

Some horrible sort of Gator/Fish creature pops up and decides he'd really like to get a bite of Jerry, but he'll be damned if he's gonna let Tom catch him.

There are a couple of funny moments in this cartoon but it's mostly just generic stuff and recycled gags. The ending isn't really up to much either, it's all just plain uninspired.

This "Tom and Jerry" short called "Cat Fishin'" was one that was clever and fun as Tom sets out to the beautiful lake on a warm sunny day to fish a little. And the fish are swarming ready to bite only Jerry the little mouse is gonna be dinner as he's live bait! However Spike is the pond's guard dog and things become entertaining as Spike proves his teeth are bigger and sharper than any fish in the lake! Overall fun one that again had the cat and mouse in a different setting out of the house one of the better outdoor themed one's.

This is truly a Tom and Jerry Classic. All the usual ingredients are in it: the chase, the plan, the jokes and the danger, mixed with some magic to make an animation short picture believable enough to work with kids, for who these animation short comedies are actually made. But hey, I'm no kid anymore, but I do appreciate it. Maybe that's because I remember how I laughed when I was young with this one. Perhaps the children of today will have fun with the 'Teletubbies' tomorrow. I don't know. If you ask me, 'Teletubbies' are not as good as 'Tom and Jerry' or 'The Muppet Show'. Nowadays, the young people is served with everything on it, no imagination can develop in the mind of the children at all. It's a pity. Kids should have more imagination and fun, like they witness in this 'Cat Fishin''.

'Cat Fishin' (1947)' includes all the ingredients for a great 'Tom and Jerry' toon. There's the two leads, of course, but there's also Spike the bulldog, a guest-star fish and a somewhat silly concept. That concept involves Tom sneaking onto a guarded lake to fish using Jerry as bait; naturally, hijinks ensue. The piece is wonderfully animated, with lively splashes of water and frequent flapping fish complimenting the bouncy character work. The gags are fast and fun, straddling the line between the more conceptual style of the 50s and the pure visual delight of the 40s. It's an entertaining, perfectly escalating time. They just don't make them like they used to. 8/10

To me, the absolute best Tom and Jerry cartoons were made in the 1940s. Those in the early 50s were also excellent, but starting about 1955 or so, the quality steadily went downhill. That is until the began making excremental cartoons in Czechoslovakia called Tom and Jerry but where made by people who'd never seen the originals and who also could not draw--with these, the decline was HUGE.

Okay, enough of my rant,...on to this review. Of the 1940s Tom and Jerry cartoons, this is one of the best because it has spectacularly wonderful animation (in particular the backgrounds and high quality animations of the characters)--better than Warner Brothers and Disney shorts from the same period. Plus, like most of the best of their cartoons, Spike the dog is present to provide an additional foil. Plus, I love the horrible way that Tom treats Jerry when he tries to use him for bait. It made me laugh quite a few times and never degenerated to schmaltz--it was just violent, funny and excellent throughout--just what you expect from the series.

A wonderful cartoon of exceptional quality and charm.