Dog Trouble (1942)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

"Dog Trouble" is an American cartoon from 1942, so this one has its 75th anniversary this year and as it is a Hanna Barbera production, you probably guessed correct already that it is another Tom & Jerry film. At 8 minutes, it is minimally longer than most of what Warner Bros and Disney offered back then during the days of World War II. And even if this is not one of the Oscar-winning T&J short films, it is still among their most known today. This may have to do with the story slightly differing from the usual cat-mouse routine. For over half of the film, the main antagonist was the big dog that got accidentally woken up by Tom's shenanigans in pursuit of Jerry. If you have seen other films starring Spike, you know perhaps that he always has it for Tom, but here he is so angry that he got disturbed that he also wouldn't mind eating Jerry. Luckily Tom helps the little mouse as the duo unites to get rid of the brutal canine. This is still one of the early T&J cartoons and you can see that especially by the way Tom was animated, but also like I previously mentioned by Spike's behavior. It was an okay watch. At times a very action-packed little film, but then again also all about the preparation, like towards the end when Jerry sets up the trap for Spike. Of course, after succeeding with their collaboration, Tom and Jerry cannot stay friends for long and the chase continues and this is also an indicator of many more T&J cartoons being released in the years/decades after this one here.

Tom and Jerry, like Disney and Looney Tunes, were a huge part of my childhood, ever since seeing the entire collection at my sister's now deceased godfather's house when I was about 5 or 6. Dog Trouble was one of the first T&J cartoons, that particular era for T&J cartoons were very interesting and are well made and fun but there is the sense that they were still trying to find their feet. You do get that vibe here in Dog Trouble with the routine story and a rather crudely drawn Spike(coincidentally in his first collaboration with the duo). However, the rest of the animation in Dog Trouble is great, the colours are luscious and the backgrounds show detail and fluidity. The music is one of my personal favourites of the early T&J cartoons, just love the trombone motif, the musical laugh idea I have seen a fair bit when it comes to animation but still worked very well here. The gags are as ever physical humour-based, they come thick and fast and are funny, while the chase sequences while not the most original on the block still add to the not-too-rushed-but-never-a-bore pace of Dog Trouble. I also loved the characterisations, Tom is showing a crafty side here, Spike is at his most dog-like and Jerry still is endearing but clever. All in all, very good, just not among Tom and Jerry's best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Tom and Jerry on the same side? It didn't happen often but it happens in this early Tom and Jerry cartoon. This is the one the big bulldog is first introduced. "Spike," as we know him, is bigger and scarier than he was in future cartoons, although he never was a slouch in the "scare" department. However, he's like a roaring lion in this one, going after both Tom and Jerry after the latter two were going at each other. This cartoon is so-so, at best, however. Most Tom and Jerry cartoons, in my opinion, in the first year or two were weak in comparison to the rest of the way. The humor isn't as clever in here and the chase routines are just that: routine. Frankly, I never laughed at anything in here. This one had historical value, and little else.

Tom and Jerry are doing their usual chasing-around-the-house/cat tail in a mousetrap antics when Tom slams right into the sleeping big bulldog later to be known as Spike. Angery at being woken from his peaceful sleep, he chases after the cat and mouse, forcing them to team up to defeat him.Jerry sets the trap while Tom uses himself as bait, soon enough the house is trashed and Spike is thrown out. Really simple stuff with only some slight invention. Mammy-Two-Shoes makes an appearance, but chances are you'll see the PC version in which she is unnatually re-dubbed to sound less 'racist'. Whatever!