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The Bodyguard is a 1944 one-reel animated cartoon and the 14th Tom and Jerry short.

Characters[]

Starring[]

Featuring[]

Plot[]

The cartoon opens with Tom chasing Jerry. Jerry hides behind a potato mound in a garden when he hears Spike the bulldog call to him. Spike has been caught by a dog catcher and locked in the back of his truck, and Jerry is the only one who can help him escape from the truck before it drives away. Despite their differences (previously shown in 1942's Dog Trouble), Jerry shows Spike mercy and frees him by removing a piece of wood that latches the cage shut. Spike falls out of the truck just as it pulls away, and thanks Jerry by vowing to assist the mouse at any time at the sound of a whistle.

1944 Tom and Jerry Storyboard

The storyboard of the episode.

Completely carefree, Jerry strolls down the sidewalk, and Tom jumps out from around the corner with a plate, a fork, and a knife, and a napkin around his neck. As Jerry screeches to a stop and reverses direction, Tom sneaks around the fence and holds out two pieces of bread just as the mouse passes by, such that Jerry is unable to stop in time. Just as Tom starts to cut the bread in half with Jerry in it, Jerry whistles and Spike makes the save by grabbing Tom by the neck. He checks on Jerry to make sure he is O.K. and then issues Tom an ultimatum: the cat had better leave Jerry alone or he will face the consequences; and to prove his point, he squashes Tom into an accordion before walking off, reminding his pal once again to "just whistle". Seeing an opportunity to provoke Tom, Jerry picks up a tiny board and challenges the cat to a fight, who flippantly flicks the board away and prepares to punch the mouse into oblivion. Jerry then whistles and before the punch lands, Spike zooms in and his own punch lands onto Tom's face, slamming him backwards into a city mailbox and leaving him dazed. Once again, Spike reminds Jerry of their pact: "Anytime, chum"

Tom then tries to smash Jerry with a lead pipe and the resulting chase takes the duo to Spike. Jerry perches on the dog and pushes on Spike's nose to reveal a sharp set of teeth, as if to say "Stay away from me". Before the canine can attack him, Tom wriggles out of the situation by kissing Jerry, dropping him in a stroller and rolling the mouse down the street, using the pipe as a flute. When he passes behind a set of garbage cans, Tom basks in his victory by laughing menacingly; in the same evil voice, he utters "In me power!" Unfortunately, the cat's attraction to the opposite sex gets the better of him when he soon spots a cute female cat and loudly wolf-whistles at her, momentarily forgetting that this will lead to Spike attacking him. The dog pops up behind him and smashes Tom's head with a pair of garbage can lids like cymbals.

Later, Tom spots Jerry strolling along, still on top of the world and soon the cat notices a bubble gum machine nearby. He shakes, throttles, and nudges the machine to obtain two gumballs, then covers one of them in glue. So as to get Jerry to eat the other piece of gum, the cat sits down and draws attention to himself chewing his piece. The manner in which Tom methodically enjoys his gum makes Jerry hungry for a piece. Tom then offers Jerry the glue-covered gumball, and Jerry suspiciously smells it, but follows through and starts chewing the gum. Jerry then shakes Tom's hand as a thank you and Tom winks at the camera. Quickly, the mouse figures out that the gum has glued his mouth shut and that he is unable to whistle (this gumball has glued his mouth shut so that he cannot whistle anymore because his voice is muffled). Using a similar trick to Tom's earlier in the cartoon, Jerry points to his lips and rubs his stomach as if to say that he adored the gum, then leaves the scene with Tom in pursuit. Jerry quickly shakes his hand again and runs away with Tom behind him.

Jerry briefly stops the chase to attempt to whistle a second time, and when he is still unable to do so, shrugs and begins to run away again. When he sees an anvil up ahead, the mouse holds it up and Tom runs into it, causing the cat to resemble a table. Jerry tries to escape through a hole in a fence but gets stuck, and as he unsuccessfully tries to free himself, Tom then grabs a slim wooden board and motions to hit Jerry with it...until he sees Spike walk by and decides to wait. Jerry tries to gesture to Spike that he needs help and that he can't whistle, but Spike doesn't understand what Jerry is saying and will only respond to the whistle. With the danger of retaliation past, Tom whacks Jerry all the way towards Spike again. Jerry tries again to tell his friend what happened and begs Spike to help him ("Please help me" is clearly audible even though it is muffled). Spike laughs at this, calls it "baby talk", and goes inside a yard. Jerry then pounds on the door for help, but has to run away from the approaching cat. As Spike opens the door, Tom's head gets stuck in Spike's mouth, forcing the cat to again shrug and run away.

The mouse eventually crawls through another hole in a different fence and tries to whistle until he turns red in the face. Eventually, Jerry blows a bubble and it keeps enlarging as Jerry forces more air into it. Tom climbs over the fence to chase the mouse, but soon sees the bubble growing to a gigantic size and cringes in terror as it explodes and bursts into a gust of wind. A long, shrill whistle is emitted by the released air and Jerry's cleared mouth, and Tom pleads with Jerry to stop whistling, but he keeps going. "Knowing" Spike will completely whale on him, he digs his own grave, Tom then writes his will, which says "I Thomas leave all to charity". As Tom finishes writing and grabs a flower, both cat and mouse look up in puzzlement at the dog's disappearance, and once more find him locked up in the back of the dog catcher's truck again. This time, a padlock keeps the door shut so that Spike will no longer be able to escape the same way again and can no longer help his friend. Still whistling, Jerry chases the truck down the road with Tom chasing him.

Notes[]

  • This cartoon marks the first regular appearance of Spike Bulldog. It is also the first time Spike speaks.
  • This was the first cartoon where Jerry and Spike are shown as friends.
  • The cartoon thematically connects to the events in Puttin' on the Dog, where Spike is now in a dog pound.
  • This is second appearance of Toots, but she has white fur. She is little different than Puss n' Toots in different color fur, but still in her kitten size.

Availability[]

Gallery[]

Tom and Jerry Cartoons
1940 Puss Gets the Boot
1941 The Midnight SnackThe Night Before Christmas
1942 Fraidy CatDog TroublePuss n' TootsThe Bowling Alley-CatFine Feathered Friend
1943 Sufferin' Cats!The Lonesome MouseThe Yankee Doodle MouseBaby Puss
1944 The Zoot CatThe Million Dollar CatThe BodyguardPuttin' on the DogMouse Trouble
1945 The Mouse Comes to DinnerMouse in ManhattanTee for TwoFlirty BirdyQuiet Please!
1946 Springtime for ThomasThe Milky WaifTrap HappySolid Serenade
1947 Cat Fishin'Part Time PalThe Cat ConcertoDr. Jekyll and Mr. MouseSalt Water TabbyA Mouse in the HouseThe Invisible Mouse
1948 Kitty FoiledThe Truce HurtsOld Rockin' Chair TomProfessor TomMouse Cleaning
1949 Polka-Dot PussThe Little OrphanHatch Up Your TroublesHeavenly PussThe Cat and the MermouseLove That PupJerry's DiaryTennis Chumps
1950 Little QuackerSaturday Evening Puss • Texas TomJerry and the LionSafety SecondThe Hollywood BowlThe Framed CatCue Ball Cat
1951 Casanova CatJerry and the GoldfishJerry's CousinSleepy-Time TomHis Mouse FridaySlicked-up PupNit-Witty KittyCat Napping
1952 The Flying CatThe Duck DoctorThe Two MouseketeersSmitten KittenTriplet TroubleLittle RunawayFit To Be TiedPush-Button KittyCruise CatThe Dog House
1953 The Missing Mouse • Jerry and JumboJohann MouseThat's My Pup!Just DuckyTwo Little IndiansLife with Tom
1954 Puppy TalePosse CatHic-cup PupLittle School MouseBaby ButchMice FolliesNeapolitan MouseDownhearted DucklingPet PeeveTouché, Pussy Cat!
1955 Southbound DucklingPup on a PicnicMouse for SaleDesigns on JerryTom and ChérieSmarty CatPecos PestThat's My Mommy
1956 The Flying SorceressThe Egg and JerryBusy BuddiesMuscle Beach TomDown Beat BearBlue Cat BluesBarbecue Brawl
1957 Tops with PopsTimid TabbyFeedin' the KiddieMucho MouseTom's Photo Finish
1958 Happy Go DuckyRoyal Cat NapThe Vanishing DuckRobin HoodwinkedTot Watchers
1961 Switchin' KittenDown and OutingIt's Greek to Me-ow!
1962 High SteaksMouse into SpaceLanding StriplingCalypso CatDicky MoeThe Tom and Jerry Cartoon KitTall in the TrapSorry SafariBuddies Thicker Than WaterCarmen Get It!
1963 Pent-House Mouse
1964 The Cat Above and The Mouse BelowIs There a Doctor in the Mouse?Much Ado About MousingSnowbody Loves MeThe Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse
1965 Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of LifeTom-ic EnergyBad Day at Cat RockThe Brothers Carry-Mouse-OffHaunted MouseI'm Just Wild About JerryOf Feline BondageThe Year of the MouseThe Cat's Me-Ouch
1966 Duel PersonalityJerry, Jerry, Quite ContraryJerry-Go-RoundLove Me, Love My MousePuss 'n' BoatsFilet MeowMatinee MouseThe A-Tom-Inable SnowmanCatty-Cornered
1967 Cat and Dupli-catO-Solar-MeowGuided Mouse-illeRock 'n' RodentCannery RodentThe Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R.Surf-Bored CatShutter Bugged CatAdvance and Be MechanizedPurr-Chance to Dream
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