Cat Fishin'

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.

Tom goes fishing and plans to use Jerry as live bait to catch the fishes.

First he has to evade Spike the bulldog. That is easily done as he is snoozing allowing Tom to past by.

However Jerry is unwilling to be fish food, it leaves both Jerry and Spike with a sore head.

This is a frenetic cartoon with a better relationship between the cat and mouse pair.

It is Spike who is the antagonist along with some of the fishes.

The animation is good with some funny sequences.

Kids will certainly enjoy this cartoon. Adults might find it a little too straightforward lacking a little bit of zaniness.

We see signs on a fence that say, "Keep Out," "No Tresspassing," "No Fishing," and "Beware Of The Dog." The latter is the familiar "Spike," the big bulldog who sometimes gets into it with Tom.

Anyway, forget the dog and the signs: Tom wants to go fishing. He gets by the big dog - but not without some tense and funny moments - and sits on the dock and opens his tackle box. Under the heading of "live bait," is Jerry, asleep under his blanket. Tom picks him, of course, and Jerry - dresses as bait with a feathered skirt - is dangled in the water. However, that water is too cold for our "bait," so Jerry scampers back up the pole and back into bed.

Pictured after that are Tom's fishing exploits and his battles not only with Jerry but with a huge barracuda-like fish and, back again with Spike. The most vicious of the three is the fish. Overall, this is very entertaining from the get-go and it has an appropriate ending.

'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

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''.