''The Two Mouseketeers'' is a 1952 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 65th ''

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 in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

and released to theatres on March 15, 1952 by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 ...

. It was produced by

Fred Quimby Frederick Clinton Quimby (July 31, 1886 – September 16, 1965) was an American animation producer and journalist best known for producing the ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoon series, for which he won seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Films ...

and directed by

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 ...

and Joseph Barbera. The short is a spoof of Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...

'' and its film adaptations, featuring mice Jerry and his best friend Nibbles as "Mouseketeers" trying to raid the French king's banquet table, which is protected by Tom as a guard. Three years after the cartoon's release, the term "Mousketeer" was also used to refer to the child cast members of the television show, ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...

''. The cartoon was animated by Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse and Irven Spence. Musical supervision was done by Scott Bradley, using a version of the theme music by

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

and the Sportsmen Quartet named "Soldier of Fortune", from the film '' The Girl of the Golden West''. The character of Nibbles speaks French in this short and was voiced by six-year-old Francoise Brun-Cottan. ''The Two Mouseketeers'' won the series' sixth

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for

Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

. Such was the cartoon's success, that Hanna and Barbera created a total of four adventures in the ''Mouseketeers'' series; the second, 1954's '' Touché, Pussy Cat!'' received an Oscar nomination. The success of the short led to three more ''Mouseketeers'' shorts: '' Touché, Pussycat!'' (1954), '' Tom and Chérie'' (1955) and '' Royal Cat Nap'' (1958). The premise was also featured in comic books from

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark" ...

Plot

In 17th century

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Mouseketeers ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

Jerry and his friend Nibbles decide to help themselves to a lavish royal banquet. Tom, in the service of the cardinal, has been ordered to guard the spread from the King's Mouseketeers with his life, under threat of

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

if he fails. Jerry and Nibbles enter the castle hall through a stained-glass window. Jerry releases the rear-end cover on a suit of armor, making a small drawbridge to the windowsill; they sneak into the armor, emerge from the helmet's visor and then parachute onto the table. Jerry lands first, followed by Nibbles who lands on a roasted

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly co ...

's mouth, causing him to get stuck. Jerry pulls Nibbles out of its mouth. Afterwards, Nibbles goes inside a big block of cheese, pretending it is a tower with only a few floors. Nibbles waves to Jerry on the top-floor but loses his balance and he falls on an unopened banana, which opens and shoots into Jerry's mouth, causing the brown mouse's body to become banana-shaped. They then unwittingly catch Tom's attention by showering him with

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

after trying to open the cork with the roasted pig's tail. After hiding from Tom by wearing white paper decorations from the standing rib roast to look like two ribs, Jerry runs off, but little Nibbles begins making a ham sandwich while singing " Alouette" to himself. Tom sneaks up behind him and pokes him with his

rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impo ...

, and the angry Nibbles yells in protest: "''Hé! Attention là! Vous pourriez faire mal à quelqu'un, Monsieur Pussycat! Pussycat? Au secours! Au secours! Le pussycat! Le pussycat! Au secours du pussycat!''" ("Hey! Watch it! You could hurt someone like that, Mister Pussycat! Pussycat? Help! Help! The pussycat! The pussycat! Save me from the pussycat!"). But before he can get away, Tom captures him by putting his rapier through Nibbles'

tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more develope ...

. Failing to escape, Nibbles greets him ("''Bonjour, Monsieur Pussycat.''"). Jerry manages to stab Tom in the rear-end to rescue Nibbles, and throws a custard in Tom's face for good measure. A sword fight then ensues, ending with Tom catching Jerry. Nibbles tips a

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...

toward Tom and it shaves the tabard and all the fur off the cat's back from head to hind end, revealing a ruffled white underwear. Nibbles runs away, but is sent flying by Tom into a full

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

glass – but Jerry saves him by hurling a

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

at Tom, followed by multiple vegetables and meat chunks. After impaling them all on his rapier, Tom then heats and eats them like a

shish kebab Shish kebab is a popular meal of skewered and grilled cubes of meat. It can be found in Mediterranean cuisine and is similar to or synonymous with dishes called shashlik and khorovats, found in the Caucasus region. It is one of the many types o ...

. Nibbles, now drunk, climbs out of the glass. He pokes Tom in the rear-end, making him yowl and jump up in pain, as Nibbles waves his sword, yelling: "''Touché, pussycat!''" But as he runs away, Tom catches him. Jerry makes the save by hitting Tom on the head with a mace so hard that the cat falls through the table, before having another swordfight between Tom and Jerry. While this goes on, Nibbles brings along a cannon and stuffs it with everything on the banquet table. Just as Tom catches Jerry, Nibbles lights the cannon and it violently explodes. As the smoke disappears, Jerry and Nibbles are seen walking triumphantly down the street with some of the stolen banquet food. Suddenly, they look up and see a guillotine in the distance with drumroll, the blade rises up and comes down, strongly suggesting that Tom has been executed (although off-screen, in order to comply with the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

). Both mice gulp, and Nibbles sighs: "''Pauvre, pauvre pussycat.''" ("Poor, poor pussycat."). Then he shrugs, saying: "''C'est la guerre!''" ("That's war!"). After that, the two Mouseketeers continue their victory march.

Production

*Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera *Animation: Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence *Layout: Dick Bickenbach *Music: Scott Bradley *Produced by: Fred Quimby

Availability

VHS *

Quest for Camelot ''Quest for Camelot'' (released internationally as ''The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot'') is a 1998 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and directed by Frederik Du Chau and very loosely based on t ...

DVD * Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases, Vol. 3 *

Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection The ''Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection'' is a series of two-disc DVD sets released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video. Originally planned as an uncensored, chronological set, the issued ''Spotlight Collection'' sets include s ...

Vol. 1, Disc Two * Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners (restored)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Two Mousketeers, The 1952 animated films 1952 short films 1950s American animated films 1950s animated short films 1952 comedy films Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Films based on The Three Musketeers Short films directed by Joseph Barbera Short films directed by William Hanna Tom and Jerry short films Films scored by Scott Bradley Animated films set in Paris 1950s English-language films 1950s French-language films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films Films produced by Fred Quimby Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio short films 1950s multilingual films American multilingual films American comedy short films American animated short films French-language American films Animated films about cats Animated films about mice