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Baby Puss (1943 film)
Encyclopedia
Baby Puss is a 1943
one-reel animated cartoon
and is the 12th Tom and Jerry
short
directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
and produced by Fred Quimby
, Baby Puss was released to theaters on Christmas day, 1943 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer.
This is the first Tom and Jerry short to be animated by Ray Patterson
, who arrived from Walt Disney Productions after working on The Old Army Game, a Donald Duck
cartoon also released in 1943. Excepting some time spent at Walter Lantz Productions in the 1950s, Patterson would continue to work for Hanna and Barbera into the 1980s.
A little girl named Nancy is playing house, and pretending to be a mother and has dressed Tom(the secondary character/protagonist of this episode), apparently the family pet, up to be her baby. She is scolding Tom, who is hiding under some furniture. She drags Tom out by his tail and threatens to spank him. Tom is resentful over his treatment and feels humiliated. She carries him to the bassinet, tucks him in, and shoves a bottle of milk in his mouth. She warns him, under threat of more spanking, to stay in bed while she "goes downtown to buy a new girdle
." Indignant at first, Tom gets a taste of milk and quickly accepts his lot, cooing like a baby and drinking from his baby bottle.
Jerry (the antagonist/major villain of this episode) peeks from behind a doll house and sees Tom. Incredulous at first, Jerry proceeds to mock him by playing "Rock-a-bye Baby
" on the turntable
and pretends to be a baby himself. Tom is furious and chases Jerry into the dollhouse. Just when it seems that Tom has Jerry cornered, Nancy returns and scolds Tom again. Tucking Tom back in bed, Nancy threatens to feed him castor oil
if he gets out again.
Tom goes back to his role playing. Jerry emerges from the doll house and runs to the window to get the attention of Meathead (first seen in Sufferin' Cats!
), Butch and Topsy, Tom's three alley cat friends who are outside. When the trio see Tom, they begin to make fun of him. When Tom confronts the other cats, they continue to tease and humiliate him.
The three cats, now joined by Jerry, are so caught up in their abuse of Tom, to the tune of Carmen Miranda
's "Mama Yo Quiero," that they are startled when Nancy returns and demands to know what is going on. Meathead, Butch, and Topsy flee as Nancy prepares to scold Tom. With a little (unsolicited) help from Jerry, she feeds Tom a huge spoonful of castor oil. A sickened Tom rushes to the windowsill to vomit. Jerry laughs at Tom's misfortune, but he ends up accidentally taking a dose of castor oil
himself and soon joins Tom at the windowsill.
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
one-reel animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
and is the 12th Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
directed by William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
and produced by Fred Quimby
Fred Quimby
Frederick C. "Fred" Quimby was an American cartoon producer, best known as a producer of Tom and Jerry cartoons, for which he won seven Academy Awards...
, Baby Puss was released to theaters on Christmas day, 1943 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer.
This is the first Tom and Jerry short to be animated by Ray Patterson
Ray Patterson (animator)
Raymond "Ray" Patterson was an American animator, producer, and director. Patterson was born in Hollywood, California, and was the brother of animator Don Patterson.-Early career:...
, who arrived from Walt Disney Productions after working on The Old Army Game, a Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
cartoon also released in 1943. Excepting some time spent at Walter Lantz Productions in the 1950s, Patterson would continue to work for Hanna and Barbera into the 1980s.
Plot
Girdle
A girdle is a garment that encircles the lower torso, perhaps extending below the hips, and worn often for support. The word girdle originally meant a belt. In modern English, the term girdle is most commonly used for a form of women's foundation wear that replaced the corset in popularity...
." Indignant at first, Tom gets a taste of milk and quickly accepts his lot, cooing like a baby and drinking from his baby bottle.
Jerry (the antagonist/major villain of this episode) peeks from behind a doll house and sees Tom. Incredulous at first, Jerry proceeds to mock him by playing "Rock-a-bye Baby
Rock-a-bye Baby
Rock-a-bye Baby is a nursery rhyme and lullaby. The melody is a variant of the English satirical ballad Lilliburlero. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2768.-Lyrics:...
" on the turntable
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
and pretends to be a baby himself. Tom is furious and chases Jerry into the dollhouse. Just when it seems that Tom has Jerry cornered, Nancy returns and scolds Tom again. Tucking Tom back in bed, Nancy threatens to feed him castor oil
Castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...
if he gets out again.
Sufferin' Cats!
Sufferin' Cats! is a 1943 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 9th Tom and Jerry short. It was produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on January 16, 1943 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer....
), Butch and Topsy, Tom's three alley cat friends who are outside. When the trio see Tom, they begin to make fun of him. When Tom confronts the other cats, they continue to tease and humiliate him.
The three cats, now joined by Jerry, are so caught up in their abuse of Tom, to the tune of Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
's "Mama Yo Quiero," that they are startled when Nancy returns and demands to know what is going on. Meathead, Butch, and Topsy flee as Nancy prepares to scold Tom. With a little (unsolicited) help from Jerry, she feeds Tom a huge spoonful of castor oil. A sickened Tom rushes to the windowsill to vomit. Jerry laughs at Tom's misfortune, but he ends up accidentally taking a dose of castor oil
Castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...
himself and soon joins Tom at the windowsill.
Voice cast
- Sara Berner as Nancy the girl(primary/minor character of this episode) (uncredited)
- William HannaWilliam HannaWilliam Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
as Meathead (uncredited)