His Mouse Friday (1951)
Jerry is far from Tom's servant here. Tom, shipwrecked, washes up on a tropical island. His first attempts at food - a coconut and a turtle - are much too hard. But he spots Jerry just before Jerry sees him, and soon has him in the frying pan. Jerry escapes to a cannibal village; when he sees Tom's frightened reaction, he has his plan. Using soot from a pot, he blackens himself, then threatens Tom and starts cooking him. But Jerry's plan - and tail, and un-blackened bottom - is exposed when his grass skirt comes off during his war dance. Jerry helicopters away using the bone in his hair, and leading Tom right into the real cannibals. But Jerry's triumph is short-lived, as a pygmy cannibal comes after him.
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It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
A shipwrecked Tom is washed up on a tropical island where he is terrorised by what he believes to be a cannibalistic pygmy, but which in reality is only cheeky Jerry mouse in disguise.Woah! Tom and Jerry cartoons from the '40s and '50s featured quite a lot of gags that might be considered racially offensive these days, but His Mouse Friday has got to be most controversial of them all so far, with Jerry blacking up and pretending to be a cannibalistic savage (complete with grass skirt, bone on his head and 'Ooga Booga' dialogue!). The cartoon also stars a whole tribe of equally offensive, racially stereotypical natives who turn up for the fun.Personally, I find such historically awkward, socially unacceptable entertainment absolutely fascinating—a snapshot of an era gone by when political correctness simply didn't exist. Technically, the cartoon is as accomplished as one might expect, with great animation, well timed gags, wonderful music, and superb direction.
From a very early age, I have been a huge fan of Tom and Jerry. His Mouse Friday is not one of their best though, and I can definitely see why people will not be totally enamoured by it. The story is rather slight and has a going-by-the-motions quality to it, while there are moments that will be seen as not just stereotypical but also politically incorrect and somewhat insensitive(though I will say I was not offended by it, others might though). Apart from a cute ending and a priceless scene with Tom and a big soup bowl, there isn't much of note that one would deem as particularly funny. This said, it is crisply paced and is interesting in that Jerry's voice is to be heard to be really believed. The animation is still wonderful with lots of detail and beautiful colouring, and the music is as catchy, cleverly orchestrated and action-enhancing as ever. Jerry is sweet and cunning, and while Tom is dumber than usual he maintains his likability. Overall, decent but not one of Tom and Jerry's finest hours. 7/10 Bethany Cox
This 'Tom and Jerry' short opens with Tom adrift on a raft; he is so hungry that he starts to eat his shoe. He then spots a small island, once there he tries to get something to eat but has little luck getting to the edible parts of a coconut and a turtle. It is then that he sees Jerry although he is so hungry he sees him as food on legs rather than as a mouse. He tries to catch and cook Jerry but he escapes only to reappear looking much darker, with a bone in his hair and waving a spear. Jerry then orders Tom to get into a large pot and starts cooking him! Tom obviously believes Jerry is a dangerous local. While Tom cooks Jerry starts dancing; when his grass skirt falls off Tom notices that Jerry is no longer uniformly dark! It looks as if Tom now has the upper hand... at least it does until the real locals turn up wanting barbecued cat... and Jerry doesn't get off either; a smaller member of the tribe wants barbecued mouse!To be honest I thought this short would be a lot more offensive that it turned out to be; the locals only appear briefly and they aren't really cannibals as they intend to eat a cat and a mouse; not fellow humans. Some people might be offended by Jerry's blacking up but it was part of a disguise... like donning a beret and a string of onions to look French, not a black-face minstrel impression which would be more offensive.Having dealt with the potential offensiveness one just has to ask whether it was funny or not; overall I'd say it had a decent number of laughs; I liked Tom eating his shoe and failing to open the coconut and laughed when he was forced to add vegetables to the water but told to 'hold the onion'. The locals weren't exactly funny but it was good to see that Jerry's predicament at the end was just as bad as Tom's.
Banned cartoon in which Tom is stranded on what appears to be a desert island. But it's not long before he finds Jerry, and he's bound to be Tom's diner.But things complicate as there's a tribe on the island, and Jerry dresses up like one of them to scare Tom and have him for HIS dinner. Best moment: when Tom has to slice up the vegetables for the 'cat-soup' and throws away the onion. Love that expression on his face.Off course the real tribe come in the picture as well as both Tom and Jerry have to run for their lives, before the cartoon comes to a sudden stop and we don't really know how things end.Apart from that one scene with Tom in the huge soup bowl there isn't much to enjoy here. Not that offensive either, if that's what you're looking for. 3/10.