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Overview


The Mansion Cat is a Tom and Jerry cartoon that premiered on March 21st, 2001, then on April 8th, 2001 on Boomerang, and May 28th, 2001 on Cartoon Network.

It is the first entry in the original Tom and Jerry series of shorts in the 34 years since Purr-Chance to Dream in 1967 and the 162nd overall. It is also the first short involving William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in the 43 years since Tot Watchers in 1958. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons in association with Turner Entertainment Co., and distributed by Warner Bros. Television, making it the first Tom and Jerry cartoon released by Warner Bros. Entertainment since the 1996 Time Warner-Turner merger (now known as Warner Bros. Discovery).

Plot[]

The cartoon begins with an iris showing Jerry running, but as the iris disappears, it is shown that Jerry is going nowhere, Tom has captured his tail. However, when the owner calls his name, he lets Jerry's tail go, freeing him back into his cage. The owner (voiced by Joseph Barbera) of Tom and a large house tells Tom he is going away for a while, the house is in perfect shape, hopes to find it that way when coming back and doesn’t want Tom blaming "the mouse" for any destruction this time. Of course, this means Tom will spend most of the picture chasing Jerry around the house, causing extensive damage. After seeing the owner's car leave, Tom carries Jerry in his cage and throws them out.

First, Tom throws the habit-rail out of the mansion, sits on the sofa, eats a lot of food stolen from the refrigerator, and watches TV (Note: Muscle Beach Tom was shown on TV). Then, traditional chase and damage happen. Among the sequences: Jerry shoves Tom into a VCR, then shelves the resulting cassette-sized cat; Tom traps Jerry in a coffee maker; as Jerry traps Tom in a refrigerator, he comes out again in ice cubes; Jerry sucks Tom and half the living room into a vacuum cleaner, Tom chases Jerry through the yard and into the house on a riding lawn mower. At the end, he crashes the mower into his owner's returning car, who tells Tom he "makes a better hood ornament than a house cat".

Characters[]

Main Characters[]

Supporting Characters[]

Minor Characters[]

Availability[]

The short has not been released on any home media yet and rarely airs on Boomerang.

Trivia[]

  • The short is dedicated in memory of William Hanna, who passed away on March 22nd, 2001, just a few days short of the short's debut.
  • When Jerry sucks the curtain in the living room into a vacuum cleaner, Spike makes a cameo appearance.
  • When Tom surfs to catch Jerry during a flood, several pictures of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera can be seen hanging on the wall.
  • Despite the short being released in 2001, it is revealed to be made in 2000, according to the credits.
  • The short made its Cartoon Network premiere on May 28, 2001 as part of the Tom and Jerry: Slamfest Memorial Day marathon.
  • The short also aired sometime between 2001-2002 on the Kids WB! block; the only time they aired anything Tom and Jerry until Tom and Jerry Tales premiered on the block in 2006.
  • This was the final Tom and Jerry production to be produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions before the company was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation on March 12, 2001.
  • This is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon that was made 9 years after the critically panned Tom and Jerry: The Movie as none of the aspects from that movie were to be reused after explicitly dismissing them from the series.
  • Unlike most modern Tom and Jerry productions since the 1990s, which use the character designs from the late-1940s/early-1950s cartoons, this short uses the character designs from the later Cinemascope cartoons of the late 1950s.
    • Because of this, Tom does not have the grey line separating his eyes from the late 1940s-early 1950s cartoons, which was removed later in the Hanna-Barbera run and was unused in any of the following eras up until Tom & Jerry Kids.
  • As of 2023, this short has yet to be released on home media or streaming services.
  • Director Karl Toerge and musician J. Eric Schmidt who worked on this short, previously worked on Warner Bros. Animation's cartoon series The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries. J. Eric Schmidt would return to compose music for the direct-to-video film Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring.
  • Due to the negative reaction of Tom and Jerry: The Movie, both Tom and Jerry are reverted back to being "mute" from this point onward.
    • However, in some later media, they were given dialogue, but are consequently limited, similar to the classic shorts. An example of this is the Tom and Jerry Tales episode "Kitty Hawked".
  • This is the first and only time that Joseph Barbera had a voice role.
  • It is the 162nd short overall in 34 years.
    • The first not to be produced or released by MGM because Turner bought the franchise along with the rest of MGM's animated productions from MGM in 1986, then Turner merged with Time Warner ten years later.
      • Also, Turner acquired Hanna-Barbera in 1991, five years after acquiring MGM's animated productions and five years before its eventful merger with Time Warner.
    • Also the first that did not premiere in theaters, instead premiering on television.
    • This is also the first Tom and Jerry short of the 21st century/new millennium.
    • The beginning of this short starts with Jerry running from Tom with his paw on his tail. This is near-identical to the start of the first Tom and Jerry short, Puss Gets the Boot.
    • This is the first Tom and Jerry production to be animated using digital ink-and-paint as opposed to traditional cel animation.

In Other Languages[]

Names, etymology and in other regions
Language Name Definition, etymology and notes
French Un chat de confiance A Trusted Cat

Gallery[]

Videos[]

References[]

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