Fine Feathered Friend
Encyclopedia
Fine Feathered Friend is a 1942
one-reel animated cartoon
and is the 8th Tom and Jerry
short
released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and reissued for re-release in 1949. It was directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
and produced by Fred Quimby
. The cartoon is set almost entirely in a barnyard, where Tom's efforts to catch Jerry are made all the more problematic by a hen and her nest of soon to be hatched chicks. It was animated by Pete Burness
, Kenneth Muse
, Jack Zander
and George Gordon
. Bill Littlejohn
was credited on the original print, but his credit was omitted in the 1949 reissue. This is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to have animation by Kenneth Muse
, an ex-Disney animator who would draw the characters in the style that is remembered today. This is also the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to credit the animators. This is also the second to last cartoon featuring Clarence Nash
(Known as the voice of Donald Duck
) as Tom's Screeches and Meows but was not credited.
Tom then sets up a mousetrap tied to a string and puts it underneath the mother hen. Jerry comes out with the trap and he sets the trap with Tom's tail on it. Tom doesn't realize his tail is in the trap for a while and then screams out in pain!
Tom then sneaks into the barn inside a butter churner. He sticks the hen with a fork and searches the nest for Jerry. As the hen lands, he sneaks back inside the churner and sticks the hen again. After the hen lands again, Tom tries to stick the hen a third time. But the hen hides behind the churner and lets out a scream. She moves the churner, grabs the fork and ends up sticking Tom. The hen starts to ride Tom like a horse but she stops when she hears tiny chirps from her nest. Her eggs have hatched. She picks them up from her nest and sends them off to play. Jerry runs away from the nest with a few feathers and he tries to blend in with the other chicks. But one of the chicks mistakes Jerry's tail for a worm.
Mother hen and her chicks then walk in a line past Tom. Jerry sneaks past Tom and he doesn't figure out that Jerry is in disguise. So he gives Tom a swift kick and hitches a ride on the hen's backside. He waves at Tom and Tom realizes his stupidity. Tom then stands by an opening in the barn's wall and sees the shadows of the chickens passing by. He grabs a chick, thinking that it's Jerry, and runs away. When he opens his hands the baby chick yells for his mama, who promptly arrives. Tom smiles and hands back the chick. The mother hen then slams a bucket onto Tom's head.
The chicken then cross paths with a family of ducks and Jerry follows the ducks into a pond. He goes underwater and then starts getting chased by Tom again. Jerry again tries to cut Tom's head with the shears but fails. Tom then grabs the shears and starts chasing Jerry with them. Tom chases Jerry near the mother hen who is having a drink of water and Tom cuts off her tail feathers. The hen responds by grabbing Tom, wrapping a towel around his backside and cuts off his fur. Tom is then shown pacing outside the henhouse with bandages on his backside. As he looks in, the mother hen has tied a feather duster to herself and Jerry is resting, using the hen's feathers as a pillow with the rest of the baby chicks.
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 8th 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...
released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and reissued for re-release in 1949. It was 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...
. The cartoon is set almost entirely in a barnyard, where Tom's efforts to catch Jerry are made all the more problematic by a hen and her nest of soon to be hatched chicks. It was animated by Pete Burness
Pete Burness
Wilson D. "Pete" Burness was an American animator and animation director. He won two Academy Awards during his career and was perhaps best known for his work on the Mr. Magoo series. He also contributed to the Tom and Jerry series, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, and Rocky and His Friends.Burness...
, Kenneth Muse
Kenneth Muse
Kenneth Lee Muse was an American animator. He is best known for his work on the Tom and Jerry series at MGM.-Biography:...
, 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...
and George Gordon
George Gordon (animator)
George Gordon was a film and TV animator and director of animated productions. Starting in film in 1930, he moved to TV in its early days. He is credited with hundreds of cartoons spanning the period 1937-1983....
. 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...
was credited on the original print, but his credit was omitted in the 1949 reissue. This is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to have animation by Kenneth Muse
Kenneth Muse
Kenneth Lee Muse was an American animator. He is best known for his work on the Tom and Jerry series at MGM.-Biography:...
, an ex-Disney animator who would draw the characters in the style that is remembered today. This is also the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to credit the animators. This is also the second to last cartoon featuring Clarence Nash
Clarence Nash
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck for the Walt Disney Studios...
(Known as the voice of 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...
) as Tom's Screeches and Meows but was not credited.
Plot
The cartoon opens with Jerry trying to get a piece of cheese from a mousetrap in a barn. Tom comes out of his hiding place to watch Jerry and he hears the trap go off. He chases after Jerry who has his tail caught in the trap while holding onto the cheese. Jerry stops the chase and hands Tom the cheese. Jerry then releases his tail, grabs the cheese back, and runs away. Jerry tries to cut Tom's neck with a pair of shears by a door but fails. Tom then chases Jerry near a chicken sitting on her nest. Jerry hides underneath the hen and Tom startles the hen when he reaches underneath her to grab Jerry. The hen responds by pecking Tom's head scaring him away. The hen sits back down on her nest and Jerry emerges eating his cheese. Jerry leaves the barn but gets chased back into it by Tom. He runs underneath the hen again, and Tom ends up getting pecked again by the hen. Jerry then realizes how warm it is underneath the hen and he has to use one of the hen's feathers as a fan. Meanwhile, Tom has returned and he quietly tries to reach Jerry. But he ends up stepping into the hen's food bowl and runs away. He briefly disguises himself as a milkmaid and then tries again. As he reaches underneath the hen, he grabs one of the hen's eggs instead of Jerry, which results in the hen clucking at Tom in a mean way. The hen then arranges the eggs with a nearby triangle in the same manner as arranging billiard balls.Tom then sets up a mousetrap tied to a string and puts it underneath the mother hen. Jerry comes out with the trap and he sets the trap with Tom's tail on it. Tom doesn't realize his tail is in the trap for a while and then screams out in pain!
Tom then sneaks into the barn inside a butter churner. He sticks the hen with a fork and searches the nest for Jerry. As the hen lands, he sneaks back inside the churner and sticks the hen again. After the hen lands again, Tom tries to stick the hen a third time. But the hen hides behind the churner and lets out a scream. She moves the churner, grabs the fork and ends up sticking Tom. The hen starts to ride Tom like a horse but she stops when she hears tiny chirps from her nest. Her eggs have hatched. She picks them up from her nest and sends them off to play. Jerry runs away from the nest with a few feathers and he tries to blend in with the other chicks. But one of the chicks mistakes Jerry's tail for a worm.
The chicken then cross paths with a family of ducks and Jerry follows the ducks into a pond. He goes underwater and then starts getting chased by Tom again. Jerry again tries to cut Tom's head with the shears but fails. Tom then grabs the shears and starts chasing Jerry with them. Tom chases Jerry near the mother hen who is having a drink of water and Tom cuts off her tail feathers. The hen responds by grabbing Tom, wrapping a towel around his backside and cuts off his fur. Tom is then shown pacing outside the henhouse with bandages on his backside. As he looks in, the mother hen has tied a feather duster to herself and Jerry is resting, using the hen's feathers as a pillow with the rest of the baby chicks.