Dog Trouble
 |
| Dog Trouble | |
|---|---|
| File:Dogtroubletitle.JPG Dog Trouble reissue title card | |
| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Produced by | Fred Quimby (unc. on original issue) |
| Animation by | George Gordon Irven Spence Jack Zander Billie LittleJohn |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Running time | 7' 57" |
Dog Trouble is a 1942 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 5th Tom and Jerry short. It was produced in Technicolor, released to theatres on April 18, 1942 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer and reissued for re-release in 1952. It was animated by George Gordon, Irven Spence, Jack Zander and, uncredited, Billie LittleJohn.
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (February 2010) |
The cartoon opens with Jerry running across a tablecloth, unfortunately not going anywhere. It is quickly revealed that as Jerry runs, Tom is pulling the cloth as if it were a treadmill (similar to Puss Gets the Boot). Tom reaches the end of the cloth and Jerry runs across to the other side of the table as Tom gives chase. Jerry tries to stop at the end of the table, but Tom's mouth is waiting and hungry! Although he cannot stop, Jerry uses one of the cat's whiskers to swing himself back out, then escapes into his mousehole. Tom then knocks on the wall to get Jerry to come out, and patiently waits as Jerry tiptoes through an electrical outlet on the other side of the wall. Before he can steal away to a safer location, he sees a piece of cheese on a mousetrap and holds it out for Tom's tail to fall into. When the cat's jumping tail repeatedly misses, the mouse simply does the job himself, and then runs for his life as Tom yelps in agony at his throbbing tail.
Jerry tries to run out the door, but he runs directly into a large sleeping bulldog (Spike) and almost hits him. Tom's chase runs him physically into the dog, causing the two to kiss! Spike wakes up in rancor at this disturbance and the cat runs away, finding shelter by climbing up a lamp. Jerry gets his due as well when the dog hears him laughing at Tom's misfortune and starts to give chase to the mouse instead. Jerry escapes by climbing up the cuckoo clock, but accidentally activates it, causing the bird to pop out twice (with Jerry hanging onto it), giving the dog two (failed) chances to chomp on him.
In delight, Tom comes down from the lamp, but the alert Spike forces him to climb back up. The same thing happens to Jerry, and this time when the cuckoo bird pops out with Jerry on board, Spike succeeds in destroying the cuckoo but misses the mouse. Still, Jerry has to scramble in thin air to hold on for dear life. Tom again tries to sneak away quietly, and succeeds until the floor creaks causing Spike to go after him again. Off-screen, sounds of a dreadful brawl are heard, and the mortified mouse resolves to assist his rival in defeating the greater danger. The cat jumps onto a desk as the dog attempts to bite him, and Jerry whistles for Tom to join him on top of the clock where it's safe. To avoid the next chomp, Tom leaps all the way to the clock, but his grip is unstable and Tom's whiskers start snapping under the tension. As he becomes whiskerless, the cat gropes in thin air to safety, and Tom extends his hand to Jerry in gratitude. When Jerry loses balance trying to shake the cat's hand, Tom returns the favor by lowering his tail to pull him out of Spike's mouth, and with this alliance fully sealed, they shake hands.
The new allies connive a plan together; Jerry sneaks across the ceiling sides, down a curtain, and into a sewing basket. He ties a piece of the long thread of yarn to his body and starts to sneak through the house. As a cover for Jerry's plan, Tom rudely taunts the dog and holds out his tail, continually pulling it up every time Spike tries to bite it. Meanwhile, the mouse has woven the entirety of the yarn through the house as a trap for Spike. As the dog pants angrily at his failures, Jerry pulls up behind and kicks him in the rear. When the dog lands, he sticks out his tongue and throws the dog's lips over his own face, provoking Spike to chase him around the corner. The mouse then hides and leaves Spike to fall into the yarn trap, completely destroying the room. Mammy Two Shoes promptly enters ("Land sakes! What's goin' on in here?"), surveys the scene ("Why you overstuffed, Pekingese hound, you! What you doin' in here wreckin' up the house?"), and throws Spike out of the house, as he is not her dog (Get out of here you pug-nosed, old-messin', good-for-nothin'! You know darn well you ain't allowed in the house here no how!").
Tom and Jerry wave to Spike as he gets taken outside, and Tom breathes a sigh of relief...until a snap is heard behind the curtain they are hiding. Tom's tail has gotten caught in a second mousetrap, and despite Jerry's mournful denial, the chase resumes to end the cartoon.
Censorship
- When this cartoon aired on TBS and TNT, the entire scene where Mammy Two Shoes throws Spike out was sometimes cut.[1]
- On Cartoon Network, and European airings, the above scene is left intact, but, like many other Mammy Two Shoes shorts on Cartoon Network, her voice is redubbed. ("My goodness, what's going on in here? Why, you overstuffed Pekingese dog, you! What are you doing wrecking up the house? Get out of here you pug-nosed, old-messing, good-for-nothing! You know darn well you are not allowed in this house, ever!")[1]
- In this episode, Spike attacks both Tom and Jerry; whereas in other episodes, Jerry is friendly with Spike and are normally both against Tom.
References
- ^ a b "Censored MGM Cartoons"