Baby Butch is the 84th one-reel animated Tom and Jerry short.
Characters[]
Plot[]
Butch is in an alleyway, rummaging through the trash bins to find whatever food to put in his own shopping basket. He then spots a full bottle of milk placed on a doorstep of a nearby house and sneaks over to steal it. Tom however, shows up opening the front door and immediately switches the bottle with an empty one prior to Butch grabbing the milk. He then sees a ham on the window seal and attempts to get it, only for Tom to take it and unknowingly slam the window on his fingers before putting it into the fridge.
Butch watches before an idea forms. He picks some items out of the trashcan nearby, including a bassinet, baby hat, and a big white shirt, which he turns into a diaper and puts the hat on. He then pulls the bassinet over to the door. He then pulls the blanket over himself and knocks on the door after he takes the note he wrote out (transcribed as per writing style, including any underlines and other uses of capitals used in the note): "I AM A POOR HUNGRY WAIF. FEED ME!" Tom brings him inside and has him wait a moment. Once he's gone, Butch gets up and quickly runs to the kitchen to grab the ham from earlier. By the time he returns to the bassinet, however, Tom is also returning so he tosses it aside and gets back into the bassinet. When Tom returns he gives Butch a bottle of milk, which he drinks before he acts disgusted and spits it out, plus exclaiming "MILK?!" until remembering he's supposed to be a baby and quickly covers it up.
Jerry enters the room and finds the ham behind the catch. Tom leaves and Butch happens to notice, so he grabs the ham and smashes Jerry with it before re-hiding it beneath the bassinet. After Tom burps him, he leaves again, this time bringing Butch. Jerry comes by to see the ham and tries another round at its theft, only for a repeat of his earlier attempt after Tom leaves to get a hot kettle of water. When he returns, he pours the water into the bath and grabs the ham thinking it is Butch. The moment he sees, however, Butch is quick to swap places and lowers the ham, which Jerry furiously grabs once again!
Butch is put into the water before he jumps out screaming, incidentally shoving Tom head-first into it while he gives chase. After he bangs his head on the cabinet, Tom finds him and Butch points Jerry and the ham out, crying. Tom chases Jerry while Butch escapes in the commotion to raid the fridge. When he sees them coming he is quick to hide. Tom grabs the ham and puts it into the fridge when he finds Butch with mouth open ready to eat it. Butch points it out in hopes of eating it without difficulty. Instead of listening though, Tom puts the ham down and grabs Butch, leading him into another room. Unknown to him, Butch grabs the ham again. When Jerry steals it again he points it out to Tom. When Jerry runs by he grabs the ham. Jerry, fed up with Tom falling through Butch's trickery, stops the cat before pointing at Butch raiding the fridge.
Tom, now getting Jerry's picture, immediately rushes towards the fridge to snatch the ham off of Butch. The two cats play a short grab-of-war with each other on the ham, until Butch slams the refrigerator door on Tom before claiming the ham. Butch makes his grand escape, but, not paying attention, he slams into the lower half of the door he is heading for, which Jerry closed to trip him off of his stash and send him on empty-handed; he ultimately ends up in a trash can in defeat.
Later that night, Tom and Jerry are enjoying the ham for themselves, with Tom carving a slice for the mouse and another one for himself. Butch however, appears near the window in his disguise once again, coaxing them to feed him. Fed up with Butch's tricks, the cat and mouse ultimately decide to let him carve the ham for himself while staring at him in a distrustful way. Just as Butch carves a tiny slice of the ham, he immediately grabs the main portion of the ham and consumes it as fast as he could, while using his arm and leg to keep both Tom and Jerry at bay as the short concludes.
Errors[]
- In the scene where Tom finds Butch in the fridge, Tom carries Butch with the fridge door open. But when Tom chases Jerry to get the ham back, the door is closed. It might be possible Butch is the one who closed it to hide away some evidence.
Notes[]
- This was the first cartoon short to use the 1954 blue Tom & Jerry title card. Although the current print of the cartoon is a late-50's reissue, it was originally the first of the only two cartoons to use the first version of the title card and it was later used in "Mice Follies".
- This is the last Tom and Jerry cartoon to be reissued, and reason why, a different version of the 1954 blue Tom & Jerry title card was changed.
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