Tom and Chérie
Encyclopedia
Tom and Chérie is the 94th one reel
animated
Tom and Jerry
short
, created in 1955
directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
and produced by Fred Quimby
with music by Scott Bradley. It was the third (of four) cartoons in the Mouseketeer
series of cartoons, the first of which, The Two Mouseketeers
(1952) won an Academy Award, and the second, Touché, Pussy Cat!
(1954) received an Academy Award nomination.
The animation was done by Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, and Lewis Marshall, this being Marshall's first Tom and Jerry cartoon for which he received an animation credit (replacing Ray Patterson who had left). The backgrounds were designed by Robert Gentle and the layouts by Richard Bickenbach.The cartoon was produced in CinemaScope
, a form of Widescreen, and released to theatres on September 9, 1955 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer.
, and tells him to deliver it. Tuffy goes out, and after briefly mocking Jerry, looks at the letter and goes a deep shade of red after looking at it. But, when Tuffy is about to go out and deliver the letter, Tom appears saying 'En garde!' (On guard!) and swipes his sword at him, scaring him back in. He pokes his sword through the door. Tuffy tries to tell Jerry about the cat, but Jerry shows the little mouse his book, persuading him that a mouseketeer is brave. Tuffy then looks in the mirror and asks himself if he is a man or a mouse. But after going out and encountering Tom again, he decides he is a mouse. Later, Tom is hiding in wait for Tuffy. Tuffy tries to disguise himself with a knight's helmet. He says hello to Tom, but he is not fooled. He immediately jumps in front of Tuffy and fights him. Jerry hears the commotion from outside. Tom then lifts off the helmet and it falls right on top of his head, knocking him into a nearby window. Tuffy is still swiping his sword until Jerry pokes him on the back. Tuffy tries to call for the cat but to no avail. He tries to persuade Jerry that Tom was here, but Jerry brings him back to his mousehole and punishes Tuffy by making him write 'Un mouseketeer est brave' about 100 times on a blackboard. Then Tuffy goes to the door and holds his hat out. It gets chopped into pieces by Tom. Tuffy then nervously peeks out, but Jerry pokes him on the back with his sword, sending Tuffy rocketing past Tom to Lilli's house. He knocks on the windowsill. Lilli comes to the window and sees the love letter. She giggles at the sight, then disappears and returns with another letter with perfume on it. Tuffy then goes to deliver it to Jerry. But to see if Tom is around, he puts his hat on his sword and waves it. Tom waves his hat and then appears and fights Tuffy again. Then Tuffy hides in a vent and pokes Tom in the bottom saying 'Touche, pussycat!' The fight continues. Tuffy runs inside Jerry's mousehole and gives the letter to Jerry. He kisses it, writes another love letter, gives it to Tuffy and then the little mouse delivers it, encountering Tom every time. And by every fight Tuffy haves with Tom, he gets more tattered and torn by the minute. Eventually, Jerry receives a letter from Lilli, telling him that their love is finished. Heartbroken, Jerry throws away her portrait and tears up the letter. But all is not lost, as Jerry simply replaces her portrait with that of another beautiful, rich, French mouse (Marie) and begins his correspondence with this one.
A battered and exasperated Tuffy is forced to deliver this letter. Tom jumps out once again, yells "En garde!" and is ready for another duel. But the little mouse just walks past him. Tom then challenges him three more times but Tuffy keeps ignoring him. After the third and final attempt, a tired and frustrated Tuffy looks up at Tom and says with contempt, "En garde! En garde! En garde! Foo!" He then resumes his assignment to deliver the letter, leaving Tom behind still holding his sword and puzzled.
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 1955
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
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...
with music by Scott Bradley. It was the third (of four) cartoons in the Mouseketeer
The Two Mouseketeers
The Two Mouseketeers is a 1952 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 65th Tom and Jerry short, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on March 15, 1952 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical supervision...
series of cartoons, the first of which, The Two Mouseketeers
The Two Mouseketeers
The Two Mouseketeers is a 1952 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 65th Tom and Jerry short, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on March 15, 1952 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical supervision...
(1952) won an Academy Award, and the second, Touché, Pussy Cat!
Touché, Pussy Cat!
Touché, Pussy Cat! is the 89th one-reel animated Tom and Jerry short, created in 1954 directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby with music by Scott Bradley...
(1954) received an Academy Award nomination.
The animation was done by Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, and Lewis Marshall, this being Marshall's first Tom and Jerry cartoon for which he received an animation credit (replacing Ray Patterson who had left). The backgrounds were designed by Robert Gentle and the layouts by Richard Bickenbach.The cartoon was produced 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...
, a form of Widescreen, and released to theatres on September 9, 1955 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer.
Plot
The cartoon begins with Jerry looking at a portrait of a gorgeous French mouse called Lilli. Jerry then writes Lilli a love letter and calls his assistant, TuffyTuffy
Tuffy is a fictional character from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. He is the little grey, diaper-wearing orphan mouse whose cartoon debut came in the 1946 short The Milky Waif. Tuffy was later featured in the 1949 Academy Award-winning short The Little Orphan...
, and tells him to deliver it. Tuffy goes out, and after briefly mocking Jerry, looks at the letter and goes a deep shade of red after looking at it. But, when Tuffy is about to go out and deliver the letter, Tom appears saying 'En garde!' (On guard!) and swipes his sword at him, scaring him back in. He pokes his sword through the door. Tuffy tries to tell Jerry about the cat, but Jerry shows the little mouse his book, persuading him that a mouseketeer is brave. Tuffy then looks in the mirror and asks himself if he is a man or a mouse. But after going out and encountering Tom again, he decides he is a mouse. Later, Tom is hiding in wait for Tuffy. Tuffy tries to disguise himself with a knight's helmet. He says hello to Tom, but he is not fooled. He immediately jumps in front of Tuffy and fights him. Jerry hears the commotion from outside. Tom then lifts off the helmet and it falls right on top of his head, knocking him into a nearby window. Tuffy is still swiping his sword until Jerry pokes him on the back. Tuffy tries to call for the cat but to no avail. He tries to persuade Jerry that Tom was here, but Jerry brings him back to his mousehole and punishes Tuffy by making him write 'Un mouseketeer est brave' about 100 times on a blackboard. Then Tuffy goes to the door and holds his hat out. It gets chopped into pieces by Tom. Tuffy then nervously peeks out, but Jerry pokes him on the back with his sword, sending Tuffy rocketing past Tom to Lilli's house. He knocks on the windowsill. Lilli comes to the window and sees the love letter. She giggles at the sight, then disappears and returns with another letter with perfume on it. Tuffy then goes to deliver it to Jerry. But to see if Tom is around, he puts his hat on his sword and waves it. Tom waves his hat and then appears and fights Tuffy again. Then Tuffy hides in a vent and pokes Tom in the bottom saying 'Touche, pussycat!' The fight continues. Tuffy runs inside Jerry's mousehole and gives the letter to Jerry. He kisses it, writes another love letter, gives it to Tuffy and then the little mouse delivers it, encountering Tom every time. And by every fight Tuffy haves with Tom, he gets more tattered and torn by the minute. Eventually, Jerry receives a letter from Lilli, telling him that their love is finished. Heartbroken, Jerry throws away her portrait and tears up the letter. But all is not lost, as Jerry simply replaces her portrait with that of another beautiful, rich, French mouse (Marie) and begins his correspondence with this one.
A battered and exasperated Tuffy is forced to deliver this letter. Tom jumps out once again, yells "En garde!" and is ready for another duel. But the little mouse just walks past him. Tom then challenges him three more times but Tuffy keeps ignoring him. After the third and final attempt, a tired and frustrated Tuffy looks up at Tom and says with contempt, "En garde! En garde! En garde! Foo!" He then resumes his assignment to deliver the letter, leaving Tom behind still holding his sword and puzzled.