Pecos Pest
Encyclopedia
Pecos Pest is the 96th one-reel
animated
Tom and Jerry
short
, created in 1953
directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
scored by Scott Bradley and released in theaters on November 11, 1955 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Pecos Pest was directed by Hanna and Barbera, and was the last Tom and Jerry cartoon released to be produced by Fred Quimby
before he went into retirement. The cartoon was also the last Tom and Jerry cartoon produced in Academy format; all subsequent Tom and Jerry cartoons were released in CinemaScope
format. It was animated by Ed Barge, Irven Spence, Lewis Marshall and Kenneth Muse with backgrounds by Robert Gentle. Uncle Pecos and his music were performed (uncredited) by Shug Fisher
.
Jerry receives a telegram from his Uncle Pecos, soon Uncle Pecos arrives. The mustached mouse gives Jerry a performance on his guitar, playing his new song, "Crambone" (his variation of the song "Frog Went A-Courting
"), but his guitar string breaks.
Uncle Pecos asks Jerry if he has a guitar string, but Jerry shakes his head "no". Pecos pokes his head out and spots a sleeping Tom, and he walks up and plucks a whisker off the cat, startling him awake. A shocked Jerry comes to the rescue, and quickly carries his reckless uncle away from Tom to his mousehole, all the while Pecos plays on his guitar with Tom in hot-pursuit. Jerry escapes into his mousehole, but accidentally bangs his uncles head on the wall just above the mousehole while doing so. Jerry quickly drags Uncle Pecos in before Tom can get him. Uncle Pecos then thanks the cat for his "service" and Tom is confused. Pecos again strolls up to the cat and plucks a second whisker after the first one snaps. Pecos plays more of his song until the whisker breaks. Tom flees in panic. Pecos soon finds him, and Pecos tries to reason with the cat, but Tom is intransigent in protecting his whiskers. Pecos grabs a third whisker, but it snaps after only a few notes. Tom frantically looks for somewhere to hide as Pecos searches for him, and Pecos soon swipes a fourth whisker. Tom dashes in panic into a nearby closet and slams the door shut. Pecos invites Jerry out to listen to his encore. Tom steps outside of the closet and enjoys the music until a snap is heard. Tom retreats back inside the closet again, but Pecos attacks the door with an axe, before Tom surrenders and then plucks a fifth whisker for Pecos.
Fortunately, Pecos has to leave for his television performance, which Tom and Jerry watch in their living room. But when playing on air, Pecos' guitar 'string' soon snaps once again, and a laughing Tom ends up aghast when Pecos comically reaches out of the television set, and pulls out Tom's last whisker as Pecos finishes his performance.
Reel
A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...
animated
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...
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...
, created in 1953
1953 in film
The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
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....
scored by Scott Bradley and released in theaters on November 11, 1955 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Pecos Pest was directed by Hanna and Barbera, and was the last Tom and Jerry cartoon released to be 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...
before he went into retirement. The cartoon was also the last Tom and Jerry cartoon produced in Academy format; all subsequent Tom and Jerry cartoons were released in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
format. It was animated by Ed Barge, Irven Spence, Lewis Marshall and Kenneth Muse with backgrounds by Robert Gentle. Uncle Pecos and his music were performed (uncredited) by Shug Fisher
Shug Fisher
Shug Fisher , born George Clinton Fisher, Jr., was an American character actor, singer, songwriter, musician and comedian. During a 50-year career, he appeared in many Western films, often as a member of The Sons of the Pioneers in Roy Rogers serials...
.
Plot
Frog Went A-Courting
"Frog Went A-Courtin'" is an English language folk song. Its first known appearance is in Wedderburn's Complaynt of Scotland under the name "The frog came to the myl dur", though this in Scots rather than English...
"), but his guitar string breaks.
Uncle Pecos asks Jerry if he has a guitar string, but Jerry shakes his head "no". Pecos pokes his head out and spots a sleeping Tom, and he walks up and plucks a whisker off the cat, startling him awake. A shocked Jerry comes to the rescue, and quickly carries his reckless uncle away from Tom to his mousehole, all the while Pecos plays on his guitar with Tom in hot-pursuit. Jerry escapes into his mousehole, but accidentally bangs his uncles head on the wall just above the mousehole while doing so. Jerry quickly drags Uncle Pecos in before Tom can get him. Uncle Pecos then thanks the cat for his "service" and Tom is confused. Pecos again strolls up to the cat and plucks a second whisker after the first one snaps. Pecos plays more of his song until the whisker breaks. Tom flees in panic. Pecos soon finds him, and Pecos tries to reason with the cat, but Tom is intransigent in protecting his whiskers. Pecos grabs a third whisker, but it snaps after only a few notes. Tom frantically looks for somewhere to hide as Pecos searches for him, and Pecos soon swipes a fourth whisker. Tom dashes in panic into a nearby closet and slams the door shut. Pecos invites Jerry out to listen to his encore. Tom steps outside of the closet and enjoys the music until a snap is heard. Tom retreats back inside the closet again, but Pecos attacks the door with an axe, before Tom surrenders and then plucks a fifth whisker for Pecos.
Fortunately, Pecos has to leave for his television performance, which Tom and Jerry watch in their living room. But when playing on air, Pecos' guitar 'string' soon snaps once again, and a laughing Tom ends up aghast when Pecos comically reaches out of the television set, and pulls out Tom's last whisker as Pecos finishes his performance.