Dog Trouble
Encyclopedia
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
, Cecil Surry
and Bill Littlejohn
.
is running across a tablecloth, not going anywhere. As Jerry runs, Tom
is pulling the cloth like a treadmill
. 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 open mouth is waiting! 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. 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, Jerry 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 the bulldog
) and almost hits him. Tom's chase runs him into the dog, causing them both 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 he 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 horrific brawl are heard, and the mortified mouse resolves to assist his rival in fighting 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 starts to fall, 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 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, Jerry pulls up behind and kicks him in the rear, causing the dog to scream in pain. 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 wrecking the room. Mammy Two Shoes promptly enters and surveys the scene and Spike is dragged across the floor by Mammy and thrown out of the house, as he is not her dog.
Tom and Jerry wave to Spike as they watch him get thrown out, 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 another mousetrap, and despite Jerry's mournful denial, the chase resumes.
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
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 5th 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...
. It was produced in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, released to theatres on April 18, 1942 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer and reissued for re-release in 1952. It was animated by George Gordon
George Gordon
George Gordon may refer to:*George Croughly Gordon , Scottish amateur international footballer*George Henry Gordon , U.S...
, Irven Spence
Irven Spence
Irven Spence was an American animator. He is best known for his work on MGM's Tom and Jerry animated shorts. Spence has been credited variously as Irven Spence, Irvin Spence, and Irv Spence....
, Jack Zander
Jack Zander
Jack Zander was an American animator whose career lasted from the "golden age" of theatrical animation into the 1980s.-Biography:Jack Zander was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan...
, Cecil Surry
Cecil Surry
Cecil Hays Surry was a cartoonist at various film studios in the Golden Age of Animation.Surry was born to Bert F. and Lydia or Lida B. Surry in Chelan, Washington, where his father and uncle owned an orchard. He spent his youth in Washington State; the family moved by 1922 to San Diego...
and Bill Littlejohn
Bill Littlejohn
William Charles Littlejohn was an American animator and union organizer. Littlejohn worked on both animated shorts and features from the 1930s through to the 1990s...
.
Plot
JerryJerry Mouse
Jerry Mouse is a fictional animated character, one of the main characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon short films. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Jerry is a brown anthropomorphic mouse, who first appeared in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss...
is running across a tablecloth, not going anywhere. As Jerry runs, Tom
Tom Cat
Thomas "Tom" Cat is a fictional character and half of the academy-award winning Tom and Jerry cartoon cat-and-mouse duo. He is a blue/grey anthropomorphic cat who first appeared in the 1940 animated short Puss Gets the Boot...
is pulling the cloth like a treadmill
Treadmill
A treadmill is an exercise machine for running or walking while staying in one place. The word treadmill traditionally refers to a type of mill which was operated by a person or animal treading steps of a wheel to grind grain...
. 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 open mouth is waiting! 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. He sees a piece of cheese on a mousetrap
Mousetrap
A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch mice; however, it may also trap other small animals. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. There are various types of mousetrap, each with its own advantages...
and holds it out for Tom's tail to fall into. When the cat's jumping tail repeatedly misses, Jerry 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 the bulldog
Spike and Tyke (characters)
Spike and Tyke are fictional characters from the Tom and Jerry series, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Spike is a stern but occasionally dumb British bulldog who is particularly disapproving of cats, but a softie when it comes to mice, and later, his son Tyke...
) and almost hits him. Tom's chase runs him into the dog, causing them both 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
Cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call and typically has a mechanical cuckoo that emerges with each note...
, 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 he 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 horrific brawl are heard, and the mortified mouse resolves to assist his rival in fighting 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 starts to fall, 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.
Tom and Jerry wave to Spike as they watch him get thrown out, 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 another mousetrap, and despite Jerry's mournful denial, the chase resumes.
Voice cast
- Lillian RandolphLillian RandolphLillian Randolph was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. An African American, she worked in entertainment from the 1930s well into the 1970s, appearing in hundreds of radio shows, motion pictures, short subjects, and television shows.-Early years:Born...
as Mammy Two Shoes (original) (uncredited) - Thea VidaleThea VidaleThea Vidale , is an American stand-up comedian and actress.She began her career doing stand-up comedy in comic clubs in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles...
as Mammy Two Shoes (redubbed) (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 Tom and Jerry (uncredited) - Billy BletcherBilly BletcherWilliam "Billy" Bletcher was an American actor, comedian, and voice artist, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.-Career:...
as Spike the bulldog (uncredited)
Censorship
- When this cartoon aired on TBS and TNT, the entire scene where Mammy Two Shoes comes in, calls Spike an "overstuffed Pekingese hound dog" and throws Spike out instead of Tom was sometimes cut.