Tom and Jerry, not to be confused with the theatrical shorts
Tom & 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 ...
from the 1940s, are
fictional characters
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
that starred in a series of early sound
cartoons
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
produced by the
Van Beuren Studios
The Van Beuren Corporation was a New York City-based animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936.
History
In 1920, the Keith-Albee organization formed Fables Pictures for the ...
, and distributed by
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
. The series lasted from 1931 to 1933.
American
cartoon artist Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera.
Born to Italian im ...
began his career as an animator and storyman on this series. In 1940, Barbera co-created with
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 ani ...
another duo of cartoon characters for
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
using the same names: a cat and mouse named ''
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 ...
''. When
Official Films
Official Films, Incorporated (Inc.) was founded by Leslie Winik in 1939 to produce educational shorts. Soon, after buying some negatives of public-domain Keystone Chaplin films, the company found itself in the 16mm/8mm home movie business. It obta ...
purchased the Van Beuren library in the early 1940s, the characters were renamed Dick and Larry to avoid confusion with MGM's Tom and Jerry. Today, animation historians refer to the original Tom and Jerry characters as Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry. Today, all of these cartoons are in the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
.
Description
The characters were a
Mutt and Jeff
''Mutt and Jeff'' was a long-running and widely popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns". It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newsp ...
-like pair, one short (Jerry) and one tall (Tom). Each cartoon featured a different adventure and the plot varied from film to film. Sometimes they were lawyers, hunters, plumbers, hobos, etc. The duo were likely named after the
stage play
A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright.
Pla ...
and/or the
mixed drink of the same name, both of which predated the duo by a century through an 1821 book titled ''
Life in London'' written by
Pierce Egan
Pierce Egan (1772–1849) was a British journalist, sportswriter, and writer on popular culture. His popular book '' Life in London'', published in 1821, was adapted into the stage play ''Tom and Jerry, or Life in London'' later that year, which ...
(
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
sportswriter and author of ''Boxiana''), itself based on
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached ...
's,
Isaac Robert Cruikshank
Isaac Robert Cruikshank, sometimes known as Robert Cruikshank (27 September 1789 – 13 March 1856), was a caricaturist, illustrator and portrait miniaturist, the less well-known brother of George Cruikshank, both sons of Isaac Cruikshank. Just ...
's, and Egan's true story about their careers. Stylistically, the cartoons were similar to those made by
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...
, which like Van Beuren Studios was located in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
; one 1932 short, ''Piano Tooners'', even introduced a "flapper" character similar to Fleischer's
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...
, and Maltin (1980) says "it's probable that one of the women who did Betty Boop's voice . . . also worked on recording sessions for this studio."
[Maltin, Leonard. ''Of Mice and Magic: a History of American Animated Cartoons''. Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1980. p. 198.] According to Markstein's
Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonop ...
, Fleischer staff sometimes moonlighted at Van Beuren's, which was situated just across the road, and this accounts for the many visual similarities between the two. Tom and Jerry's adventures were generally absurd comedies featuring music as sound effects. Tom and Jerry, however, did not obtain popularity of the type Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, and
Bosko
Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series and was the star of 39 ''Looney Tunes'' shorts released by Warner Bros. He ...
had, and the series was cancelled in 1933.
Filmography
Home video availability
Thunderbean Animation released a complete set of the series on DVD in 2010. There is currently a Blu-ray in the works from the same company.
Also, Mill Creek Entertainment released 12 shorts out of 26 as part of the ''Giant 600 Cartoon Collection'', ''150 Cartoon Classics'' & ''200 Classic Cartoons'' DVD sets. The series appeared on ''Tom Sawyer, And Other Cartoon Treasures'', including Tom & Jerry shorts.
Some shorts were eventually restored on some ''Cartoon Roots'' Blu-ray releases. It was also released on DVD as ''Tom & Jerry & Friends: The Tuba Tooter'' as part of the
Digivew Productions’ ''Cartoon Craze'' series. The short (''The Tuba Tooter'') was included on one of the discs of ''350 Classic Cartoons'' as well.
See also
*
List of films in the public domain in the United States
Most films are subject to copyright, but those listed here are believed to be in the public domain in the United States. This means that no government, organization, or individual owns any copyright over the work, and as such it is common property ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Before the Cat and Mouse: Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry''Plane Dumb'', a Tom and Jerry cartoon*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080520074751/http://www.foro3k.com/cine-tv-radio-espectaculos/65325-tom-jerry-antes-del-gato-y-el-raton.html TOM & JERRY: Antes del gato y el ratón(Spanish)
Animated duos
Animated film series
Film characters introduced in 1931
Film series introduced in 1931
Van Beuren Studios