

The original series is notable for having won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film seven times, tying it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the theatrical animated series with the most Oscars.

Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood, California between 19, when the animation unit was closed. Tom and Jerry is an American animated series of theatrical shorts, television shows and specials, feature film, home films created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that centered on a never-ending rivalry between a cat ( Tom) and a mouse ( Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. Underlying the humor were certain harsh aspects of life like loneliness, sorrow, depression, insecurity, and desperation – issues that are mature and often complicated for children to grasp.Read more about Jerry Mouse at: Wikipedia The racism in Tom and Jerry is also prominent when a character gets too close to explosives and it gives off leaving him with a “funny” black face. There have been claims of racist stereotyping through her depiction in the series. The only non-sexualized female in the series was probably the African-American maid, Mammy Two-Shoes most often shown headless. As mentioned earlier, stalking, wolf-whistling, and other obnoxious acts can be witnessed time and again when any hot female is around. For instance, it featured female cats like Toodles Galore who were seductive eye candies subjected to all sorts of sexist stereotypes.Įvery such female character in the series is depicted as the highly sexualized typical vamp and gold digger who exploits the male lead as he tries to woo her. Needless to say, Tom and Jerry is no exception to the rule. Level Of SexismĪll the classic old cartoons featured a cast almost entirely comprising of male characters, with a handful of female tosses existing solely as a sexual foil for the boys.

These acts not only nurture unhealthy habits in children but also promote toxic masculinity. Practice Of Unhealthy Habits By The Charactersĭespite the show being directed towards children, it contains a number of scenes where unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, abusing, stalking, and so on are shown as being practiced and often glorified by the characters. This results in children behaving violently, hitting each other for fun, and injuring themselves. This tells children that no matter how hard you hit someone, it’s all fun and games as it would do no harm- something that not only gives them false ideas but also encourages them to do the same. These repetitive acts of violence despite their level of fatality, never get anyone killed. With the characters having almost no dialogue, the humor in the series is created entirely through actions.Īlthough it gained wide popularity and acclaim across the globe it also faced certain criticisms at one point of time that held it being inappropriate for children due to the following reasons.Ī series where trying to kill each other is the daily routine of the lead characters, the basis of its storyline and the essence of all its humor is expected to contain nothing but violence. Bean, Here Are The 90s Cartoons We Miss Today

In most episodes, Jerry baffled Tom’s attempts to catch him, living to bother him again the next day, though Tom would occasionally win the upper hand, or the two would team up against a shared foe.Īlso Read: From Tom And Jerry Show to Mr. Tom is a hapless cat whose pursuit of Jerry, the clever mouse, is never-ending. Tom and Jerry made their debut in the theatrical short Puss Gets the Boot (1940) and were a hit with the audiences. Several recurring characters appear in a lot of shorts. The series revolves around the rivalry between the main characters, Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse, and is most known for Metro-Goldwyn-161 Mayer’s theatrical short films. Tom and Jerry is an American animated television series and a series of short films developed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1940. That is why as an adult it is almost shocking to discover that the show which made our childhood worth cherishing was not suitable for children in the very first place! The cat and mouse duo was an absolute treat to watch, something I looked forward to everyday. Among all the cartoons I watched, my personal favorite happened to be Tom and Jerry. The best memories of childhood were probably the hours I spent in front of my television set teleported into the magical world of cartoons after a long day at school.
