''Purr-Chance to Dream'' is a 1967 short and the final ''
Tom and Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
'' short produced under
MGM Animation/Visual Arts
MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an American animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman and animator Ken Harris as Sib Tower 12 Productions. Its productions include the last series of ''Tom ...
, and was directed by Ben Washam and produced by Chuck Jones. This is the final short of the original ''Tom and Jerry'' series until 2001's '' The Mansion Cat'', and the final theatrical ''Tom and Jerry'' short of the entire franchise until 2005's '' The Karate Guard''.
Plot
Tom wakes up after a nightmare of being turned into a nail-shape and pounded into the ground by a giant
bulldog
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.The Cat's Me-Ouch!'') comes out. When Tom grabs Jerry, the bulldog grabs his tail and rapidly eats away at Tom's fur, spinning in a blur, until Tom is literally bits of sausage except for his head, and pounding his head to the ground. Jerry pats the bulldog as a reward, in which the bulldog licks Jerry in the face and snuggles up.
Tom has several attempts at catching Jerry, even attempting to attack the dog with a hammer, stuffing an oversized bone with a grenade, spraying himself with dog repellent, and lastly playing fetch with the dog by throwing a stick into a safe, and hurling the safe into a deep pit.
However, every time the minuscule pup manages to eat away at Tom, and in the final attempt when he grabs the mouse, the pup manages to chew at Tom's fur until he is bits of sausage again.
Tom finally gives up, he takes some medicine and plays some smooth jazz on a record before going to sleep and calmly dreaming of being pounded once again into the ground, which to Tom, doesn't seem so scary and has now become a rather pleasant thought, after all, it's better than dealing with that tiny dog.
Tom Ray
Thomas Archer Ray (August 2, 1919 – April 6, 2010) was an American animator.
Career
Ray was born in Williams, Arizona. He began work at Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1937, working under Tex Avery for six months. He applied for a job at MGM and w ...
Don Morgan
Don Morgan, (born 1951) is a Canadian provincial politician. He is the Saskatchewan Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Saskatoon Southeast. He, along with Minister Donna Harpauer, is the longest-se ...
Maurice Noble
Maurice James Noble (May 1, 1911 – May 18, 2001) was an American animation production designer, background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate and right-hand m ...
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...
&
June Foray
June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...
Jones and Michael Maltese get additional director (Jones) and writer (Maltese and Jones) credits for reused footage from '' The Cat's Me-Ouch!''. It was the last short in the series by MGM, the last of Jones' shorts, and the second-to-last short by MGM after '' The Bear That Wasn't''. The next theatrical ''Tom and Jerry'' short, '' The Karate Guard'', would be released in 2005 by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
The title is a play-on-words of "perchance to dream", a quotation from
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...