Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse

No matter what Tom does, he can't seem to keep Jerry away from slurping down his bowl of milk. He locks Jerry in a safe, traps him in a dresser drawer, blocks his mouse hole, on and on....but nothing works as Jerry keeps coming back for more milk.

Finally, Tom decides to make a fatal elixir, putting all kinds of garbage in a bowl of milk. Jerry drinks it and turns into The Incredible Hulk, and starts beating up on Tom. However, the stuff seems to wear off quickly, in which Tom then gets the upper hand, but then becomes effective again. This back-and-forth goes on and on with funny results.

This is another wild-and-crazy episode and a unique "take" on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I am actually very fond of this cartoon for what it is: an intentional tribute to the Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Worm Turns" of 1937. That this has been left out of every other post on this message board is utterly amazing! It also makes it slightly surprising that the cartoon itself was nominated for an Academy Award, although many other tributes and parodies have had the honors over the years.

The scene with the fly is a direct parody of the Mickey toon, in which a fly is the first to benefit from the newly concocted "Courage Builder" strength elixir. The sound effects, as well as much of the visual popping and sparkling in the mixture, are directly lifted from this cartoon.

The complex, and undeniably great result is a cartoon with a unique twist in the ending, which provides a much greater entertainment value for someone familiar with the earlier toon, who can appreciate the contrast and the blatant inter-textual references.

Annoyed that Jerry keeps on 'half-inching' his milk, Tom the cat mixes up a noxious and potentially deadly concoction, puts it in his bowl and waits for the rodent to strike. However, rather than causing Jerry to pop his clogs, the foul mixture of milk and household chemicals turns the meek mouse into a muscle-bound hulk...

This one might not be the greatest of Tom and Jerry's escapades (despite being Oscar nominated), but it packs enough laughs to make it worth a go. The animation is above average, with the scenes in which Tom mixes his potion being particularly well rendered (the coloured lighting and shadows cast by the cat are very effective).

Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Mouse is silly fun and gets a respectable rating of 7/10 from me.

An early Tom & Jerry animated short film, this see's the creators influenced by Louis Stevensons classic Jekyll & Hyde.

We see Tom tired of Jerry stealing his milk so proceeds to poison him, but with unintended consequences. Yes, Tom tries to kill Jerry with poison! That's unexpectedly dark, and certainly wouldn't be acceptable by modern standards.

The rest is your run of the mill stuff and poor Tom just can't catch a break. I think that's why I was never a fan of the show when I was a kid, I always feel too sorry for the poor cat.

Interesting ideas, but ultimately this is just more of the same formula that we've been peddled with for over 60yrs.

The Good:

Well animated

The Bad:

More of the same

Too dark

I know these cartoons are just cartoon but still they need someone to feel and cheer for. When Tom starts the fight, I feel for Jerry and it should apply here as well but it doesn't.

All Tom wants to do is enjoy his milk but Jerry rudely won't leave him alone. Then at insult to injury Jerry become super strong and beats up Tom. The ending is very insulting as well. Jerry, much like in the Wright Bros episode, is just a big bully in this and I won't advocate such a thing.