Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse
Tom and Jerry series
Original title card (Black and White)
Directed by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Produced by Fred Quimby
Story by William Hanna (unc.)
Joseph Barbera (unc.)
Music by Scott Bradley
Animation by Ed Barge
Michael Lah
Kenneth Muse
Additional animation:
Ray Patterson (unc.)
Pete Burness (unc.)
Effects animation:
Al Grandmain
Studio MGM Cartoons
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)
  • June 14, 1947 (1947-06-14)
Color process Technicolor
Running time 7:25
Preceded by The Cat Concerto
Followed by Salt Water Tabby

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse is a 1947 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 30th Tom and Jerry short. The cartoon was made in 1946 and released June 14, 1947, and was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby and animated by Ed Barge, Michael Lah and Kenneth Muse with additional animation by Ray Patterson and Pete Burness (both uncredited) and effects animation by Al Grandmain. The short is a parody of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons in 1947, but lost to Warner Bros. Tweetie Pie, ending their streak of 4 consecutive wins.

Plot

After the milkman delivers two milk bottles, Tom eagerly snatches one and pours it out to drink, but is met by Jerry, who also wants the milk. Tom tries three times to lock Jerry in a room to keep him away from the milk, but each time, Jerry manages to keep sipping the milk. Tom then plots how to get rid of Jerry so he can drink milk in peace. Tom mixes chemicals such as moth balls, acid, ammonia and poison into the milk to create a deadly drink and stirs it with a spoon until it melts in the formula. After a fly takes a sip from the bowl and immediately drops dead, Tom, delighted, places the bowl outside Jerry's hole, confident he will fall for his new trick. Jerry seemingly drops dead just as the fly did, but the poison is revealed to be an elixir, and instead of killing him, Jerry becomes incredibly muscular and starts advancing on a nervous Tom.

Attempting to halt the advance, Tom grabs a phone book and smashes it down on Jerry, but fails to even faze him; Jerry just tears the book apart and off him without slowing his pace. Grabbing the fireplace poker, Tom whacks the mouse but all it does is leave four muscular-mouse shaped dents in the poker. Calling a full retreat, he attempts to lock himself in the living room, but the door shatters around him as Jerry simply walks into it. Tom then seals himself inside a wall safe, but Jerry easily jack-hammers through and pulls him out. As Jerry starts slamming Tom against the safe, however, the elixir's effects wear off and Jerry returns to his normal size. Jerry then swiftly runs for the milk bowl, and manages to drink some of the elixir again before Tom grabs him. Jerry, with his reactivated power, grabs Tom by the whiskers and starts thrashing him around mercilessly. However, due to drinking a small amount, the elixir wears off very quickly. Before Jerry can drink it substantially for a third time, Tom quickly upends all the milk from the bowl and chases Jerry across the kitchen. Jerry manages to put Tom's tail inside a waffle iron and flee into the fridge.

As Tom searches the fridge for Jerry, Jerry locks Tom inside the fridge and attempts to recreate the elixir before Tom can-opens his way out from the fridge. Tom then steals the elixir from Jerry before Jerry can drink it and holds Jerry next to him as he drinks it. Tom grows larger and larger, but it turns out that Jerry had incorrectly made the elixir and the opposite effect occurs to Tom as he shrinks to a smaller size than Jerry. Delighted with his now superior strength to Tom, Jerry grabs Tom's tail before punching him in the face, which makes Tom shrink a little more. Then Jerry snaps Tom's tail, which causes him to shrink even further. With Tom now in the size of an ant, he flees as Jerry starts to chase him with a flyswatter as the cartoon closes.

Production

  • Directed by: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
  • Story: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
  • Animation: Ed Barge, Michael Lah, Kenneth Muse
  • Additional Animation: Ray Patterson (uncredited), Pete Burness (uncredited)
  • Assistant Animation: Tom Byrne (uncredited), Oliver Callahan (uncredited), Irving Levine (uncredited), Lewis Marshall (uncredited), Barney Posner (uncredited)
  • In Between Artists: John Boersema (uncredited), Jack Carr (uncredited), Frank Gonzales (uncredited), Bill Weber (uncredited)
  • Effects Animation: Al Grandmain
  • Layout: Robert Gentle (uncredited), Harvey Eisenberg (uncredited)
  • Backgrounds: Robert Gentle (uncredited)
  • Animation Check: Irene Wyman (uncredited)
  • Ink and Paint Supervision: Art Goble (uncredited)
  • Ink and Paint: Sue Dalton (uncredited), Rita Giddings (uncredited), Colene Gonzales (uncredited), Florence Heintz (uncredited), Martha Sigall (uncredited)
  • Photography: Jack Stevens (uncredited)
  • Editing and Sound: Fred McAlpin (uncredited)
  • Recording Director: Douglas Shearer (uncredited)
  • Music: Scott Bradley
  • Co-Producer: William Hanna
  • Produced by: Fred Quimby

Availability

DVD

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